9 May 2025. In its submission, FIDH urges the EU to ensure that its partnership with India is not pursued at the expense of fundamental rights and to mainstream human rights into all areas of cooperation—including trade, defense and technology—within the Strategic Agenda. To ensure meaningful accountability, the EU should include human rights benchmarks across all aspects of the Strategic Agenda. These should be informed by recent recommendations made during recent United Nations (UN) reviews, as well as commitments made by India ahead of its election to the UN Human Rights Council in 2021.
It is also essential that civil society actors in India and the EU be actively engaged in shaping and monitoring bilateral cooperation. Independent mechanisms—such as Domestic Advisory Groups and complaints systems—should be established to oversee implementation of agreements like the proposed EU-India Free Trade Agreement. Civil society input must be treated as substantive and integral, not merely symbolic.
Finally, the EU must abandon its long-standing silence on India’s human rights violations. Public expressions of concern are critical for affirming EU values and solidarity with HRDs. The EU must use its voice to reflect the human rights challenges on the ground.
Read the full submission here (in english only).