A/HRC/43/51/Add.3 362. JAL 28/08/2019 Case no: IND 17/2019 State reply: none to date Allegations concerning the continued judicial proceedings against and arbitrary detention of ten human rights defenders promoting the rights of the Dalit minority, and the house arrests of five of them. 363. JAL 11/09/2019 Case no: IND 18/2019 State reply: none to date Allegations concerning the suspension of registration of the human rights organisation Centre for Social Development, and the surveillance, threats and attacks against its staff and their family members, including a recent attempted shooting of the daughter of the organisation’s secretary, which appears to be linked to his work in defence of human rights and his engagement with the UN in the field of human rights. 364. PR 11/01/2019 India: UN experts alarmed by alleged police killings in Uttar Pradesh 365. PR 22/08/2019 UN rights experts urge India to end communications shutdown in Kashmir 366. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of India for its replies to four of the ten communications sent during the reporting period, plus an additional reply received to communication IND 10/2018 sent during the previous reporting period. The Special Rapporteur welcomes this positive step of the Government of India, in responding substantively to the questions and concerns posed to some of the communications received, which reflects an increased cooperation with the mandates of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. He also thanks the Government for the responses received this year to communications IND 10/2018, IND 12/2018 and IND 15/2018, which were sent during the previous reporting period. The Special Rapporteur urges the Government of India to engage fully with the mandates by responding to all communications, including those pending from the current reporting period. 367. The communications sent by the Special Rapporteur during the reporting period reveal a continued pattern of alleged violations and attacks against human rights defenders in the country, including allegations of violations committed by State authorities, or in collusion with State authorities. 368. The Special Rapporteur expresses his continued concern over the use of national security legislation, including the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), to arrest, detain and charge a number of human rights defenders, notably those who represent minority rights and marginalised communities, including Dalit (formerly ‘Untouchable’) and adivasi (indigenous) minorities. 369. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government for its reply concerning the case of Dr. G. N. Saibaba (IND 30/2018 and IND 10/2019, and IND 15/2018 from the previous reporting period), a human rights defender sentenced under the UAPA to life imprisonment in 2017 on charges of being a member of the banned Communist Party of India; opposing industrial development in Gadchiroli, Maharastra, and “waging war against the state”. Dr. Saibaba is a wheelchair user with severe disabilities, who has a spinal disorder and polio since the age of five. The Special Rapporteur acknowledges the Government’s assurances that appropriate measures have been taken to ensure Dr. Saibaba is able to access the necessary health treatment, but remains concerned at his conditions of detention and the reported continuing deterioration of Dr. Saibaba’s state of health. In another example of the use of the UAPA against rights defenders, the Special Rapporteur reiterates his concern at the judicial proceedings and arbitrary detention of the ten human rights defenders who are the subject of communication IND 17/2019, which appear to be directly related to their work in defence of human rights, including minority rights and the rights of the Dalit (formerly ‘Untouchable’) community in particular. 370. The Special Rapporteur reiterates his concerns at the highly detrimental impact of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), which has been increasingly used to obstruct Indian civil society’s access to international funding. The application of this law seems to be designed to stigmatise and obstruct the legitimate and important work of human rights and 53