Geneva: Kashmiri delegation calls for UN action against HR violations in IIOJK
Geneva: A Kashmiri delegation staged a powerful protest at the United Nations office in Geneva, denouncing India’s illegal occupation and systematic violations of human rights by Indian troops in occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Kashmir Media Service, led by Altaf Hussain Wani, the protest demonstration was attended and addressed by Shameem Shawl, Advocate Parvaiz Ahmad Shah, Sardar Amjad Yousuf, Dr Waleed Rasool, Mariya Tarana, Gazala Habib and others.
Speakers emphasized the urgent need for the UN Commission to intervene to stop the ongoing bloodshed and rights violations in IIOJK. They highlighted the plight of Kashmiri prisoners, particularly women held in notorious facilities like Tihar jail, condemning India’s arbitrary detention of political leaders, journalists, and activists under draconian laws. They urgently called for the release of all unlawfully detained prisoners, urging international bodies to exert pressure on India to address this issue.
The delegation pointed out that thousands of Kashmiris, detained since August 5th and afterward, were being held far from their homes in Indian jails. They criticized Indian authorities for using arbitrary detentions as a repressive tool against Kashmiri political leaders, civil society members, journalists, lawyers, and human rights defenders. They also condemned India’s practice of prolonged detentions under anti-terror laws to suppress dissent and instill fear among the populace in IIOJK.
Calling for the immediate release of all illegally detained prisoners, including Kashmiri Hurriyat leaders such as Masarrat Aalam Butt, Muhammad Yasin Malik, Shabir Ahmed Shah, Nayeem Khan, and Asiya Indrabi, the delegation urged the UN Council to press India on this matter.
The delegation also raised concerns over India’s policies aimed at altering the demographic composition of Kashmir and labeled the BJP’s Hindutva ideology as a grave threat to Kashmiris’ existence. They highlighted that the human rights situation in the occupied territory had deteriorated further since India’s unilateral revocation of Article 370 and 35A in August 2019. They called on the international community to address the challenges stemming from Hindutva-driven politics in Kashmir.
Meanwhile, Altaf Hussain Wani, representing the World Muslim Congress, underscored the international legal obligation to protect and investigate unlawful deaths during an interactive dialogue with the special rapporteur on extrajudicial and summary executions at the 56th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Addressing the disrespect and mutilation of deceased individuals by Indian troops in occupied Kashmir, Wani highlighted that since 2019, the Indian government has failed to return 658 bodies of those killed by occupation forces in so-called encounters.
He emphasized that the mutilation of dead bodies in armed conflicts constitutes a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Wani condemned the deposition of these bodies without the consent of their families, stressing that such actions not only violate humanitarian law but also obstruct families’ rights to truth, justice, and reparations.
