The European Institutions are committed under the treaty of the European Community and the EU Communication on the EU’s Role on Promoting Human Rights and Democratisation in Third Countries to respect and promote human rights in all their activities. Fundamental rights are defined as one of the core values of the European process and as an essential element of the EU external actions including its bilateral relations with third countries. Yet translating those obligations into reality is another issue and we can but state that there remains a significant gap between rhetoric and practice.
The Commission Communication on “An EU-India Strategic Partnership” is therefore a new opportunity for the EU to translate into action its long-term commitment to the promotion of human rights. Unfortunately we must state that this Communication has failed to honour this commitment, as it barely mentions human rights nor does it adequately address two of the major rights issues affecting Indian people: caste-based discrimination and torture, including widespread impunity of the perpetrators.