India abstains from vote on US group press freedom plea

India has abstained from voting, while China and Pakistan voted against a bid by a US advocacy group for press freedom, seeking accreditation as an NGO at the United Nations.

The non-governmental organisation (NGO) Committee of the United Nations voted yesterday to deny the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) consultative status with the Economic Social Council (ECOSOC).

India, Iran and Turkey abstained from voting while 10 countries, including Azerbaijan, Burundi, China, Cuba, Pakistan, Russia and Sudan, voted against the CPJ’s application. Greece, Guinea, Israel, Mauritania, Uruguay and the US voted in favour of the group.

CPJ said without the consultative status, it would be unable to access UN bodies and processes, notably the Human Rights Council in Geneva, where accredited NGOs can deliver a counter-narrative to states.

The vote came after the CPJ’s application, first made in 2012, was deferred seven times.

“It is sad that the UN, which has taken up the issue of press freedom, has denied accreditation to the CPJ,” said CPJ executive director Joel Simon.

Noting that its application has been deferred for years by persistent, lengthy, and repetitive questioning, the CPJ said during the session, the NGO Committee “hid behind the pretence” of rules and procedures. Earlier this week, during a session of the NGO committee, India had asked about CPJ’s activities in the country. CPJ’s representative described the situation in India as “vibrant” and while expressing concern about incidents against journalists, he noted that the organisation was in dialogue with the Government, sharing perspectives, according to details of the meeting provided by the UN.