US Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed the credibility of United Nations experts during a media interaction on Wednesday, describing the phrase “UN experts” as an “oxymoron” when questioned about criticism of India’s handling of protests by opposition groups and students.

Rubio made it clear that the United States would not take a position on what he characterised as India’s internal political affairs. Responding to allegations by UN experts regarding an alleged crackdown on demonstrators, he said, “Well, the UN experts, yeah. My favourite. The UN experts, or is that an oxymoron?”

Emphasising Washington’s stance, Rubio stated, “No, it’s a domestic political matter. I mean, I am not going to get involved in their politics. This is a democracy. They have elections here. So I am not going to align on their domestic political matters.”

He noted that public demonstrations and political disagreement are normal features of democratic societies. At the same time, he drew a distinction between peaceful protests and violent unrest involving vandalism, arson and destruction of property.

Rubio argued that freedom of expression and political debate are essential democratic values. Referring to Cuba as a contrasting example, he highlighted how opposition voices there can face imprisonment, oppression or exile. However, he reiterated that India’s domestic political issues are matters for its own citizens, adding, “But we’re not going to comment on internal political matters. That’s for the Indian people to decide and navigate.”

The remarks came amid an ongoing disagreement at the United Nations over assessments of India’s human rights record. India has strongly challenged attempts to portray recent protests as evidence of broader human rights concerns and has accused certain UN-linked bodies of applying inconsistent standards.

Addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, Indian diplomat Barkha Tamrakar defended India’s constitutional and legal framework, stressing that safeguards including Article 21 of the Constitution protect human rights and guarantee due process.

Tamrakar rejected criticism based on what she described as unverified allegations and incomplete data. She said, “India firmly opposes any attempt to convert unverified allegations, incomplete statistics, or a report that contains no India country observation into a negative characterization of the world’s largest democracy… Human rights should not be used as an instrument of political pressure or selective country targeting.”

She further argued that assessments of human rights issues must remain impartial, evidence-based and free from political considerations, warning against the selective targeting of individual countries.

India’s response followed claims by certain UN experts that authorities had restricted peaceful assembly and engaged in “enforced disappearances”. New Delhi strongly rejected those allegations and questioned the basis on which they were made.

Indian representatives also highlighted what they described as contrasting reactions from international human rights officials to protests in different parts of the world. They pointed to comments by UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk regarding police action against violent protests in France and elsewhere in Europe, where demonstrators were referred to as “vandals”.

According to India, such differences in tone underscore concerns about double standards in the treatment of democratic nations. New Delhi has maintained that characterisations based on unverified allegations, incomplete statistics or reports lacking India-specific observations do not accurately reflect the realities of the world’s largest democracy.

ANI