UNITED NATIONS, July 17 (TNS): Several envoys of different Organizations of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries expressed solidarity with the people of Indian occupied Kashmir on Monday at a meeting organized at United Nations headquarters by Pakistan’s Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi.
Briefing OIC Ambassadors on the current state of human rights in Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Ambassador Lodhi said the plight of the long-suffering Kashmiri people has been brought into fresh spotlight by the 14 June report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ziad Raad Al-Hussein, according to a press release issued by Pakistan Mission to the UN.
“This is the first-ever UN human rights report on the grim situation in the occupied territory and covers the period between June 2016 and April 2018”, she said, adding that significantly, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also endorsed the report on 12 July. In his statement, secretary-general noted that the “action” of the High Commissioner represents the “voice” of the UN on the issue, she said, pointing out that this lends ownership of the report by the entire UN system.
While the findings of the report are neither new, nor surprising, “they speak of a litany of systematic violations of the fundamental human rights of the Kashmiri people,”Ambassador Lodhi said.
The Pakistani envoy also highlighted key aspects of the report, especially the impunity with which human rights are being violated and the lack of access to justice. She also referred to the report’s mention of special laws in force including the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and the Public Safety Act (PSA), which it says 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, she said, also noted the resort to excessive force by occupation forces and their failure to adhere to applicable national and international standards on the use of force. One of the most lethal weapons used against innocent protesters, she stressed, was the pellet-firing shot-gun, which the Pakistani envoy said had led to the first mass blinding in human history.
