United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi on Sunday urged India to ensure that no individual is left stateless out of the 19,06,657 persons that had failed to make it to the final National Register of Citizens (NRC) list which came out on August 31 last.
Also read: Assam: Names of 1414 indigenous families of Hojai missing from NRC
UNHCR expressed concern over the fact that many people are at risk of statelessness if they do not possess another nationality, according to reports.
“Any process that could leave large numbers of people without a nationality would be an enormous blow to global efforts to eradicate statelessness,” UN High Commissioner Grandhi was quoted as saying.
“I appeal to India to ensure that no one is rendered stateless by this action, including by ensuring adequate access to information, legal aid, and legal recourse in accordance with the highest standards of due process,” he added.
Assam on Saturday finally got its updated version of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) with a total of 3,11,21,004 persons found eligible for inclusion in the final list.
A total of 19,06,657 persons including those who did not submit claims have failed to make it to the final NRC list.
Moreover, the people have been repeatedly assured that those whose names have been excluded from NRC would get an opportunity to file their appeal and be heard in the Foreigners’ Tribunal (FT) as per the direction of the Union Home Ministry.
Notably, the time limit for them to fill in appeals has been increased to 120 days from 60 days.