UN Urges Freedom to Protest 'Without Fear' Amid Delhi Demonstration

United Nations: The United Nations has said it is "aware" of the students' demonstrations in New Delhi and that it is important that people wishing to protest peacefully be allowed to do so without any fear of harassment, arrest or injury.

Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, responding to a question on Friday about the UN's position on the youth-led protests in India, said, "We're obviously very much aware of the protests that we've seen in New Delhi."

"It is important that people wishing to protest peacefully be allowed to do so without the fear of harassment, the fear of arrest, or the fear of injury," said Dujarric.

Addressing a press briefing, he said it is incumbent on security forces, "there as it is everywhere," to ensure that those rights are protected.

The briefing covered a range of global issues that included concerns about seafarers, tensions in the Middle East and climate change, and also addressed questions about candidates for the post of the next secretary-general of the UN.

India's Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday after weeks of protests over exam paper leaks.

The protests were spearheaded by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) - a satirical collective that turned into a national movement in weeks.

It started on June 20 in New Delhi's Jantar Mantar, with CJP taking up the issue of the NEET exam paper leak in May, for which around 2 million students had to sit for a retest. There were also reports of students dying by suicide in several states.

The protesters demanded education reforms in the country and Pradhan's resignation.

On July 20, thousands of protesters marched towards the parliament, defying a police ban and barricades, which triggered a crackdown that left several injured.

The protest was called off after Pradhan's resignation.