UN Report On Kashmir

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India with its occupation of Kashmir is not only abusing the valley itself, but
also the rights of the Kashmiri people. And this abuse is in continuation for
the past seven decades. Despite using the brute force, Indian forces are
struggling hard to conquer the people of Kashmir, who through resistance
have penned down the history of valour and courage. It is the perpetual
struggle of Kashmiris against Indian aggression and occupation that the
United Nations human rights chief on Thursday called for investigating the
abuses in Kashmir.

The chief, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, wants the Human Rights Council to form
a Commission of Inquiry (COI) to carry out an independent international
investigation into allegations of human rights violations in Kashmir. It is
encouraging to see that the UN has shown its concern over India’s violation
of human rights in the colonised territories of Kashmir. The request of
human rights chief –after it has published its report on status of human
rights in the valley of Kashmir– to constitute a COI is indication of the fact
that UN has the knowledge of how India is trying to curtail the dissent
against its illegal occupation of the valley through worst kinds of human
rights violations. While the first-ever report is a probe on alleged rights
violations by both India and Pakistan in the disputed valley, the statement
is very harsh on and critical of India that allows its forces to violate people’s
rights with impunity.

The report is the result of remote monitoring of the region for almost two
and half years when both sides declined Zeid’s wish for unconditional
access to Kashmir. Although the report details the account of Indian
abuses in the valley, the chief asked India not to repeat examples of
excessive use of force, when Mr Zeid should have appealed to the
international community to play its role in forcing India to quit the region.

The recently published report highlights a wide range of human rights

violations in Indian Administered Kashmir ranging from lack of access to
justice to sexual violence to torture to enforced disappearances to arbitrary
arrests and detention to name few among many. Moreover, the UN report
also criticizes the constitutional and legal structures that Indian government
has put in place to provide legal protection to its soldiers from the legal
system of India. It is about time to constitute a COI over the situation of
human rights in Kashmir. And the COI’s findings should serve the purpose
of the first step in decolonising the valley and granting the people their
inherent right of self-determination.