India against new rights group at Commonwealth

New Delhi says the 54-member group should focus more on development challenges instead of human rights

27 October 2011 Iftikhar Gilani New Delhi  

India has said that the proposal to inspect human rights violations in Sri Lanka or elsewhere is ill-timed given the Commonwealth funding problems

As India seems set to block an attempt by some countries to constitute a human rights monitoring group at the 54th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), international human rights groups have taken a strong exception to New Delhi’s stance.

The summit begins in the Australian city of Perth o Friday. Vice-President Hamid Ansari left for Perth on Thursday to lead the official delegation at the summit, which includes an executive session where leaders would make formal statements and a retreat during which they would interact informally without the presence of aides.     Full Story>>>