The OHCHR was not allowed to conduct its investigation or given any access to the areas by India or Pakistan. The report is based on remote research and begins with the Burhan Wani incident. The official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Ravish Kumar said that the report violates India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
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Geneva: The UN released its first-ever report on human rights violations in Kashmir committed by India and Pakistan on Thursday. The 49-page report was issued by The UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR.)
“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.
He also called for a Commission of Inquiry (COI) which is one of the highest-level probes for a major crisis. He said that he would request the Human Rights Council to conduct a comprehensive independent international investigation through COI at the new session that opens next week.
https://twitter.com/UNHumanRights/status/1007164641749979137
What the report says
The title of the research is ‘Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Kashmir: Developments in the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir from June 2016 to April 2018, and General Human Rights Concerns in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.”
The OHCHR was not allowed to conduct its investigation or given any access to the areas by India or Pakistan. The report is based on remote research and begins with the Burhan Wani incident where the 22-year-old Hijbul Mujahideen commander was killed by Indian security forces.
The statement released by OHCHR says, “145 civilians were killed by the Indian 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. 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.”
It also spoke about the impunity with which armed groups have historically conducted sexual violence with the example of the Kunan Poshpora mass rape 27 years ago.
“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,” said the OHCHR.
India rejects ‘selective’ research
The official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Ravish Kumar, called the report “fallacious, tendentious and motivated,” and said that it violates India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“It is a selective compilation of largely unverified information. It is overtly prejudiced and seeks to build a false narrative. The entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. Pakistan is in an illegal and forcible occupation of a part of the Indian state through aggression. We have repeatedly called upon Pakistan to vacate the occupied territories. The incorrect description of Indian territory in the report is mischievous, misleading and unacceptable. There are no entities such as “Azad Jammu and Kashmir” and “Gilgit-Baltistan,” he said in his statement.
“The authors have conveniently ignored the pattern of cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan and territories under its illegal control. It is disturbing that those behind this report have chosen to describe internationally designated and UN-proscribed terrorist entities as “armed groups” and terrorists as “leaders”. This undermines the UN-led consensus on zero tolerance to terrorism. We are deeply concerned that individual prejudices are being allowed to undermine the credibility of a UN institution. Such malicious reports cannot undermine the will of the people and the Government of India to take all measures necessary to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country from cross-border terrorism,” he said.
BJP and Congress unite against the report
Both parties trashed the report and called it prejudiced and biased, said a report by PTI on Friday.
The report quoted Senior BJP leader Ram Madhav who said that the report had been prepared by “juveniles” as they did not know the intricacies of the problem. “It is very fashionable to talk about human rights. We reject this report,” he said. BJP’s spokesperson Anil Baluni rejected it as prejudiced and baseless, saying it was “incomprehensible” and added that the only issue about the valley was the violence caused by Pakistan-sponsored terrorism. “The BJP completely rejects the report,” he said.
“The Congress supported the government on its stand rejecting the report and said it needed to be junked as it had not taken into account the ground realities in Kashmir and had encouraged terrorists by terming them militant groups. Congress communications in-charge Randeep Surjewala said the report had been prepared without understanding the ground situation in Jammu and Kashmir and asked if the United Nations should overlook state-sponsored terrorism being exported on Indian soil by Pakistan. “Jammu and Kashmir is an integral and inseparable part of India. We reject UN Human Rights Report as a prejudiced attempt by vested interests to hurt India’s sovereignty and national interests,” he said. “Congress party supports the government’s stand in dismissing the report,” he added. Union minister Harshvardhan said the report was based on “largely unverified information,” the report said.
Activists welcome the findings
The PTI report quoted CPI leader D Raja who called for introspection and asked the government to look into charges instead of rejecting the report. “India is an important member of the United Nations. Instead of rejecting the report outright India should do serious and appropriate retrospection as to why such a report has been given. Every day there are some incidents happening and we all agree that everyday situation is becoming worst and deteriorating,” he said.
A report by Al Jazeera quoted human rights activists from the valley. “Kashmir-based human rights activist Khurram Parvez said that the UN report on Kashmir was “historical and symbolically a huge step leading to a significant acknowledgement of the Indian government’s role in massive human rights abuses.” Parvez, who works with civil society organisations in Indian-administered Kashmir, said the UN report had “authenticated our allegations that impunity for armed forces is chronic in Jammu and Kashmir.” Immad Nazir, who works with Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) in the disputed territory, agreed. “The International community should also take note of… the violence perpetrated on the civilian population who demand their political rights as recognised by the UN.” Ilyas Zargar, a 29-year-old resident of Srinagar, also welcomed the report and called on the UN to “hold India accountable for the daily human rights violations in Kashmir” through a real inquiry into abuses,” the report said.
Welcoming the report, Kashmiri separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq tweeted, “People of Kashmir thank the U.N., especially the bold efforts of its HR commissioner, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, for its support to the right of self-determination.”
Chinese conspiracy
Prakash Katoch, a veteran lieutenant-general of the Indian Army, wrote an article in Firstpost about the report being a Chinese conspiracy.
“There have been two recent instances where UN officials may have been bribed (see here and here). China has also been interfering in the UNHCR mechanism, with the agency ignoring treatment and protection of human rights activists critical of China, bending to the wishes of China thwarting UN scrutiny of its own human rights record. Whether or not UN officials are being bribed in this scenario is still unclear.
It is quite possible that the UNHCR report has been initiated at the behest of Beijing and Islamabad, with Pakistan mentioned superfluously in the report to avoid suspicion. The timing has been matched with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary and working group meetings (24 to 29 June), where there is every possibility of Pakistan being ‘greylisted’, something China will find difficult to defend. This UNHCR report is likely to be used to deflect terrorism support by Pakistan. India has already responded to the report. It is time New Delhi takes up strongly for Pakistan to vacate PoK,” he wrote.
Methodology of the report
“The report largely draws on information that is mostly available in the public domain, some of which was obtained by various parties in India through the Right to Information Act, and also reflects the findings of research and monitoring carried out by local, national and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and human rights defenders. Wherever possible, OHCHR has used official documents and statements, such as Parliamentary questions, court orders, and police reports. OHCHR considers the Press Trust of India—India’s largest news agency and managed by an autonomous trust—as a reliable source to quote Indian authorities and official statements. OHCHR conducted a small number of interviews to corroborate information; due to access issues and security concerns of witnesses, it was not possible for OHCHR within the timeframe available for producing this report to use direct witness testimony. As OHCHR was denied access to Kashmir, it was not possible to directly verify allegations. OHCHR bases its findings on its methodology, using a “reasonable grounds” standard of proof. This implies that there are reasonable grounds establishing that an incident or pattern of conduct have occurred whenever OHCHR has obtained a reliable body of information, consistent with other material, based on which a reasonable and ordinarily prudent person would have reason to believe that such an incident or pattern of conduct had occurred,” said the report.