United Nations: Firmly rejecting charges of 'honour killings' of women in the country, India has said that the report of United Nations Special Rapporteur in this regard was "based on hearsay" and lacked credibility.

"India is of firm belief that selective reproduction of unsubstantiated reports which are based on heresay seriously affects the credibility and importance of the report," said S S Ahluwalia, MP, Indian representative at the United Nations Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee.

He was referring to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's report, which stated that the Special Rapporteur continued to receive reports of so-called honour killings from India, among other countries.

No report of the so-called honour killings has been transmitted to India by the Special Rapporteur as had been done with other alleged crimes, Ahluwalia said.

He also took objection to the report contending that United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) has worked to "ensure" that the issue of trafficking in women and girls is recognised in India.

Stressing that this reference is "erroneous and misleading", he said that the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act of 1956 supplemented by the Indian Penal Code prohibits trafficking in human beings.

The National Commission for Women has also been performing "crucial sensitisation functions" in this and other areas, he said.

Ahluwalia also asserted that India would not be found lacking in political will to bring any perpetrator of such crimes to justice.

PTI