"First-ever UN human rights report on Kashmir calls for international inquiry into multiple violations"
GENEVA: There is an urgent need to
address past and ongoing human rights violations and abuses and deliver justice
for all people in Kashmir, who for seven decades have suffered a conflict that
has claimed or ruined numerous lives, a report by the UN Human Rights Office
published on Thursday says.
The 49-page report – the first ever issued by the UN on the human
rights situation in Indian-Administered and Pakistan-Administered Kashmir –
details human rights violations and abuses on both sides of the Line of
Control, and highlights a situation of chronic impunity for violations
committed by security forces.
“The political dimensions of the dispute between India and
Pakistan have long been centre-stage, but this is not a conflict frozen in
time. It is a conflict that has robbed millions of their basic human rights,
and continues to this day to inflict untold suffering,” said UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.
“It is also why I will be urging the UN Human Rights Council to
consider establishing a commission of inquiry to conduct a comprehensive
independent international investigation into allegations of human rights
violations in Kashmir,” said Zeid.
Noting the continuing serious tensions in recent weeks, including
those stemming from a series of incidents in Srinagar, he called on Indian
security forces to exercise maximum restraint, and strictly abide by
international standards governing the use of force when dealing with future
protests, including ones that could well occur this coming weekend.
The UN Human Rights Office – which,
despite repeated requests to both India and Pakistan over the past two years,
has not been given unconditional access to either side of the Line of Control –
undertook remote monitoring to produce the report, which covers both
Indian-Administered Kashmir and Pakistan-Administered Kashmir.
The main focus of the report is the human rights situation in the
Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir from July 2016 - when large and unprecedented
demonstrations erupted after Indian security forces killed the leader of an
armed group - to April 2018.
Indian security forces used excessive force that led to unlawful
killings and a very high number of injuries, the report says, citing civil
society estimates that up to 145 civilians were killed by the security forces
between mid-July 2016 and the end of March 2018, with up to 20 other civilians
killed by armed groups in the same period.
One of the most dangerous weapons used against protesters in 2016
– and which is still being employed by security forces – was the pellet-firing
shotgun. According to official figures, 17 people were killed by shotgun
pellets between July 2016 and August 2017, and 6,221 people were injured by the
metal pellets between 2016 and March 2017. Civil society organizations believe
that many of them have been partially or completely blinded.
“Impunity for human rights violations and lack of access to
justice are key human rights challenges in the state of Jammu and Kashmir,” the
report says, noting that the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers
Act 1990 (AFSPA) and the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act 1978 (PSA) have
“created structures that obstruct the normal course of law, impede
accountability and jeopardize the right to remedy for victims of human rights
violations.”
The report also points to evidence that
the armed groups that have operated in Jammu and Kashmir since the late 1980s
have committed a wide range of human rights abuses, including kidnappings and
killings of civilians and sexual violence. Despite the Government of Pakistan’s
denial of any support for these groups, the report notes that a number of
experts have concluded that Pakistan’s military continues to support their
operations across the Line of Control.
The report also examines a range of human rights violations in
Pakistan-Administered Kashmir which, according to the report, are of a
different calibre or magnitude and of a more structural nature. In addition,
the report says, restrictions on freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and
association in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and in Gilgit-Baltistan have
limited the ability to obtain information about the situation.
Among the issues highlighted in the report is the constitutional
relationship of these two “distinct territories” with Pakistan. AJK has
effectively been controlled by Pakistan throughout its entire history.
Pakistan’s federal authorities also have full control over all government
operations in Gilgit-Baltistan, and federal intelligence agencies are
reportedly deployed across both regions.
The impact of Pakistani counter-terrorism operations on human
rights is detailed in the report, which notes the concerns of the UN Human
Rights Committee at the “very broad definition of terrorism laid down in the
Anti-Terrorism Act.” The report quotes a respected national NGO that found hundreds
of people had been imprisoned under the Act in Gilgit-Baltistan, and that it
was being used to target locals who were raising issues related to people’s
human rights.
Among its recommendations, the report calls on India and Pakistan
to fully respect their international human rights law obligations in
Indian-Administered and Pakistan-Administered Kashmir respectively.
India should urgently repeal the AFSPA; establish independent,
impartial and credible investigations to probe all civilian killings since July
2016 and all abuses committed by armed groups; and provide reparations and
rehabilitation to all injured individuals and to the families of those killed
in the context of security operations. Similarly, the PSA should be amended to
ensure its compliance with international human rights law, and all those held
under administrative detention should either be charged or immediately
released.
The report urges Pakistan to end the misuse of anti-terror
legislation to persecute those engaging in peaceful political and civil
activities and those who express dissent. The sections of the AJK interim
constitution that limit the rights to freedoms of expression and opinion, and
peaceful assembly and association should be amended. Any political activists,
journalists and others convicted for peacefully expressing their opinions
should be immediately released. The constitutions of AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan
should also be amended to end the criminalization of Ahmadiyya Muslims. UN report in PDF