India Dismissed Switzerland’s Criticism Over Minority Rights

In a sharp diplomatic exchange at the 60th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, India issued a scathing rebuttal to comments made by Switzerland on the treatment of minorities in India. The rare rebuke unfolded during the General Debate on the oral update by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, where Switzerland — currently holding the presidency of the Council — urged India to strengthen protections for minorities and uphold media freedoms.

Representing India, Kshitij Tyagi, Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of India in Geneva, rejected the Swiss statement in unequivocal terms.

“We would also like to respond to the surprising, shallow, and ill-informed remarks made by Switzerland, a close friend and partner,” Tyagi stated before the Council. “As it holds the UNHRC presidency, it is all the more important for Switzerland to avoid wasting the Council’s time with narratives that are blatantly false and do not do justice to the reality of India. Instead, it should focus on its own challenges such as racism, systemic discrimination, and xenophobia.”

Tyagi emphasised that India, as the world’s largest and most diverse democracy, remains committed to pluralism and stands ready to assist Switzerland in addressing its internal issues. The strong tone of India’s response highlighted New Delhi’s growing willingness to call out what it sees as unfair or selective criticism on international platforms.

India: Parallel Clash With Pakistan

In a parallel exchange on the same day, India also delivered a blistering Right of Reply to Pakistan following remarks from Islamabad during the debate.

Tyagi accused Pakistan of misusing the Human Rights Council as a stage for political propaganda and reiterated India’s long-standing stance that Pakistan sponsors cross-border terrorism.

“We are compelled, once again, to address provocations from a country whose own leadership recently likened it to a ‘dump truck,’ perhaps an inadvertently apt metaphor for a state that continues to deposit recycled falsehoods and stale propaganda before this distinguished Council,” he remarked.

He cited multiple terrorist attacks linked to Pakistan-based groups, including the assaults in Pulwama, Uri, Pathankot, Mumbai, and the recent Pahalgam attack in April, which he described as having turned “a meadow of joy into a killing field.”

Referring to global memories of terrorism, Tyagi recalled the anniversary of the September 11 attacks and reminded the Council that Osama bin Laden had been sheltered in Pakistan until his death in a U.S. Navy SEAL raid in Abbottabad.

“We need no lessons from a terror sponsor; no sermons from a persecutor of minorities; no advice from a state that has squandered its own credibility,” Tyagi concluded.

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