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Table of Contents
BASICS
•Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
•Head – Prince Zeid bin Ra’ad (Amman, Jordan)
• First-ever UN human rights report on Kashmir calls for international inquiry into multiple violations
THE 49-PAGE REPORT IS THE FIRST OF ITS KIND ON KASHMIR.
Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein said he would urge the Human Rights Council, which opens a new session next week, “to consider establishing a Commission of Inquiry (COI) to conduct a comprehensive independent international investigation into allegations of human rights violations in Kashmir.“
A Commission of Inquiry is one of the UN’s highest-level probes, generally reserved for situations like the conflict in Syria.
• The Indian Army is the second largest standing army in the world. With over 1.2 million active personnel service in harsh environments like deserts, forests, glaciers etc, it forms the
backbone of the Indian defence forces. (Data source Globalfirepower.com)
HIZBUL MUJAHIDEEN
The group has been designated as a terrorist group by India, the European Union and the
United States The group was designated as a foreign terrorist organisation by the United States State Department on 16 August 2017.
MAIN FOCUS
REPORT ON PAKISTAN
While the report examines the situation in Pakistan-Administered Kashmir within that
time frame, the human rights violations in this area are of a different caliber or magnitude and of a more structural nature.
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN PAKISTAN ADMINISTERED KASHMIR
The rights office also said that restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly made it
difficult to obtain information about conditions in AJK.
REACTION
• The MEA said, “It is a selective compilation of largely unverified information. It is overtly prejudiced and seeks to build a false narrative. The report violates India’s sovereignty and
integrity. …it is disturbing that those behind this report have chosen to describe internationally designated and U.N.-proscribed terrorist entities as ‘armed groups’ and terrorists as ‘leaders’. This undermines the U.N.-led consensus on zero tolerance to terrorism.”
INCORRECT DESCRIPTION IN REPORT ‘MISCHIEVOUS’
Incorrect description in report ‘mischievous’
India reiterated that it does not recognize the geographical territories as defined in the report. It said, “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”.
The MEA also said that the report failed to take into account the global consensus on terrorism and added, “Terrorism is the most egregious violation of human rights. Yet the authors have conveniently ignored the pattern of cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan and territories under its illegal control.”