On March 5, India summoned swiss envoy Ralf Heckner after several anti-India posters were put up in front of the UN office in Geneva after the latest UNHRC session, reports said. India has reportedly lodged a formal protest against the malicious posters, one of which said” women in India are treated as slaves”.India’s concerns were conveyed to Switzerland, Hecker said.
Government sources said that Ministry of External Affairs( MEA) Secretary( West) Sanjay Verma had “ called in ” the Swiss Ambassador Ralf Heckner and raised “ the issue of unsupported and vicious anti-India bills ” in front of the United Nations structure in Geneva.
Swiss ambassador to India Ralf Heckner. (ANI File Photo)
During the UNHCR’s latest meeting, posters in the square outside the UN office in Geneva included slogans against the alleged oppression of minorities and women in India. One poster claimed that women in India were treated as slaves, while another declared that child marriage was a severe violation of children’s rights in India. Some posters focus on Dalits, declaring Dalits to be children of the lesser gods.
Another believes underage weddings are a “major violation of child rights in India”, while still another declares “Indian Christians experiencing state-sponsored terrorism”. The majority of the posters have messages in both English and French.
A tent placed up nearby contained more posters, including two that stated, “India No to terror assaults on minorities” and “India stop burning churches”.
The MEA’s decision to act was made after the poster’s video was widely shared on social media and received over one million views. The Swiss ambassador promised the MEA that he would take India’s concerns seriously to Bern.
Please note that although the poster was displayed in a public place, it does not reflect the official position of the Swiss government. This is not the first time such a poster has been put up during a UNHRC meeting.
Similar posters have been put up in the past during sessions of the UNHRC. It is understood that the external affairs ministry decided to act on Sunday after the video shared on social media got more than a million views.
The video is going viral- https://youtu.be/kd4V2Cm5_SA