'Verify before she vilifies': India rejects UN rapporteur's claims on youth protests

NEW DELHI: India has rejected allegations by UN special rapporteur Gina Romero that young people in the country face retaliation and stigmatisation for discussing mental health and gender justice, calling the claims based on anonymous and unverified submissions.Speaking at an interactive dialogue with Romero during the 81st session of the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee, India’s first secretary Anuj Swarup questioned the evidence cited in her report on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.“Yet, the special rapporteur, Ms Gina Romero, asserts that young people in India face retaliation or stigmatisation for discussing mental health or gender justice, though merely citing unnamed submissions in the footnote. This level of arbitrary report writing is precisely the reason that the United Nations and its institutions have lost credibility,” Swarup said.“A sweeping charge against the world's largest youth population resting on anonymous and unverified claims is not evidence.