Citizenship Amendment Act may leave Muslims stateless, says U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres

U.N. chief says he is personally concerned about the future of minorities in India.

U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres speaks to The Associated Press, in Lahore, Pakistan, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2020. Guterres said Tuesday that the coronavirus outbreak that began in China "is not out of control but it is a very dangerous situation." Antonio Guterres said that "the risks are enormous and we need to be prepared worldwide for that." The outbreak has infected more than 73,000 people globally. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudhry)

India’s new citizenship law may render a large number of Muslims stateless, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said.

In an interview to The Dawn newspaper in Pakistan, he expressed concern about the Citizenship Amendment Act , and urged countries to act humanely while framing new laws.

“There is a risk of statelessness,” he said asked about the impact of the law on the Muslim community.

Mr. Guterres said he was personally concerned about the future of the religious minorities in India after the enactment of the new citizenship law, which seeks to give citizenship to persecuted minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

While enacting new citizenship laws, measures should be taken to ensure that they did not create stateless citizens, he said.

Mr. Guterres

visited Pakistan for four days during which he acknowledged the country’s role as a leading contributor to the U.N. peace keeping missions across the world.

Kashmir situation

The Secretary-General highlighted the reports brought out by various human rights bodies on Kashmir and said these reports showed the ground reality in the region, which has been under lockdown since India ended the special status of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 2019.

Task of UNSC

“It is essential that these reports are taken seriously,” he said, conveying the U.N.’s concern over developments in Kashmir. He said it was the task of the Security Council to constitute a committee to investigate the human rights scenario in Kashmir.