Baku Initiative Group to raise India’s discriminatory policies at UN

The Baku Initiative Group (BIG) has announced plans to bring the Indian government’s discriminatory policies against national minorities to the agenda of the United Nations and other international institutions.

Speaking to journalists at an international conference dedicated to India’s treatment of ethnic and religious minorities, BIG Executive Director Abbas Abbasov said the initiative reflects one of the organisation’s core priorities—defending the rights of national minorities worldwide, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

The conference focused on the consequences of discriminatory policies targeting ethnic minorities in India, including alleged crimes against Sikhs and other minority groups, as well as broader patterns of violence. Participants included representatives of international secretariats, heads of think tanks, lawyers and experts from the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.

Abbasov emphasised that the situation in India should not remain a domestic issue but must be examined by the international community. He argued that global institutions have an obligation to respond objectively to cases of violence and discrimination.

“As an international non-governmental organisation, we plan to place this issue on the agenda of the United Nations and other international institutions,” Abbasov said.

He added that the Baku Initiative Group will continue its work to protect the rights of indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities by exposing what it sees as colonial and neo-colonial policies in different parts of the world, noting that the organisation has already recorded progress in defending indigenous rights in New Caledonia and other overseas territories.

“We have already achieved certain successes in defending the rights of indigenous peoples, for example, in New Caledonia and other overseas territories,” he noted.

By Vugar Khalilov