The Supreme Court ordered that no tariffs be charged to migrants. (Representation)
The United Nations:
Independent United Nations experts have expressed deep concern over the plight of migrant workers in India amid the COVID-19 pandemic and have expressed the hope that the government will quickly implement the Supreme Court order to alleviate their difficulties.
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to housing Balakrishnan Rajagopal and United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty, Olivier De Schutter, applauded the government’s efforts so far on Thursday to provide “relief packages” to people living in poverty and to plan additional train journeys to transport migrant workers. to their birthplace.
They said, however, that these measures were “clearly inadequate and insufficient due to the vast majority of internal migrant workers who did not qualify for relief packages and the lack of coordination among state governments for the transportation of internal migrants “.
UN experts have expressed the hope that the Supreme Court order will be implemented quickly and will help to improve the situation of internal migrant workers considerably.
“Many are stranded in intolerable conditions, starving and homeless, after losing their income and being forced to leave their residence by their owners,” said the experts.
Last week, the Supreme Court ordered that migrant workers stranded across the country should not be charged for train or bus travel and receive food and water.
The District Court, which issued interim directions, said that all migrant workers stranded in various locations will receive food from the states concerned and Union Territories (UT) in locations to be announced and will be given to them. notified during the period they are waiting for them to board a train or bus.
A bench led by judge Ashok Bhushan said that the home state would provide meals and water at the station and during the journey, while the railways would provide the same for migrant workers. He said that they would also be provided with food and water to travel by bus.
“The scale of the COVID-19 crisis in India is testing the government’s commitment to protect the rights of the most vulnerable members of society.
“Ensuring that internal migrant workers receive the necessary assistance urgently during this crisis, in accordance with an order issued by the Supreme Court, will give the government the opportunity to show its willingness to discharge its responsibilities under human rights law, “said UN experts.
Interior Minister Amit Shah said Saturday the government is grieved by the suffering of migrant workers and is doing its best to ensure that they do not experience any problems during commuting or reaching their respective states.
He noted that a crore of people had been able to return home so far.
Mr. Shah’s remarks came amid criticism of the government over the management of the migrant problem, as tens of thousands of people were forced to walk for days or take unsafe modes of transportation to their homes. country of origin during the closure of the coronavirus.
UN experts’ call approved by Special Rapporteur on the right to food Michael Fakhri, Special Rapporteur on right to physical and mental health Dainius Puras and Special Rapporteur on minority issues Fernand de Varennes.
Experts also expressed concerns directly to the Indian government, according to a UN press release.
Rajagopal of the United States is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as part of the right to an adequate standard of living and on the right to non-discrimination in this context.
De Schutter of Belgium is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights.
The special rapporteurs are part of the special procedures of the Human Rights Council.
Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the United Nations human rights system, is the general name for the Council’s independent fact-finding and follow-up mechanisms that deal with either specific country situations, or thematic issues in all regions of the world.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
