Srinagar, Aug 14: It seems the World has finally started taking note of the spiraling renewed strife in Kashmir with the United Nations Thursday saying that it is monitoring the situation in Kashmir and the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is aware of it.
UN human rights officials in Geneva are also aware of it and are “determining whether to make any comment,” associate spokesman Farhan Haq said when asked by reporters whether the UN is aware that Kashmir is suddenly becoming a ‘hot spot.’
“The Secretary-General is aware of the situation. We are monitoring it,” he said.
“I believe our human rights colleagues in Geneva are also aware of the situation,” Haq said.
OIC condemns killings
Strongly condemning what it called the excessive and unwarranted use of force against the Kashmiri people, Secretary General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Professor Dr Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu has expressed his deep concern over the deteriorating situation in Kashmir that resulted in loss of life and property of the Kashmiri people.
The Secretary General called upon the Indian Government to take immediate steps to end violence against innocent Kashmiris in the interest of creating and sustaining an enabling environment for the ongoing peace process between Pakistan and India, aimed at peaceful settlement of the long standing Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
The Secretary General also expressed deep concern on the reported attacks on the life and property of Muslims in the State and the ongoing economic blockade. He called for steps on the part of international humanitarian and human rights organizations, including the UN Human Rights Council, to address the situation in a manner that would prevent the human rights violations there.
Expressing deep sorrow and grief at the martyrdom of Shaikh Abdul Aziz-a prominent Kashmiri leader, the Secretary General offered condolences with his family and those of other innocent Kashmiris who had lost their lives in the ongoing violence.
AI for probe
Amnesty International asked the Government of India to ensure that it protects the right to life in accordance with its responsibilities under international law. This includes the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which it is a state party, and standards such as the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials and the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, which state that firearms should be used only when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life.
‘The Indian authorities should conduct investigations and bring to justice police officers, as well as protesters, in a quick, transparent, and fair way in order to cool down sectarian tension,’ Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Director, said.
AI also asked the government of Jammu & Kashmir to rescind the order issued yesterday authorizing security forces to ‘shoot on sight’ in response to communal clashes in the town of Kishtwar.
HRW for restraint
Asking India to refrain from using excessive force against protesters in Jammu and Kashmir, leading international human rights watchdog, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has appealed to all parties in the troubled state to settle peacefully the ongoing dispute, which has claimed nearly 40 lives.
Ongoing protests by Muslims and Hindus in Jammu and Kashmir State since June 2008 have turned “increasingly violent,” claiming nearly 40 lives, injuring hundreds, and “fueling religious hatred,” HRW said.
“To end this cycle of tragedy, the government should order security forces to act with restraint and all parties should try to settle the dispute peacefully,” it added.
The Indian security forces, HRW said, should abide by the UN Basic Principles on the use of force and firearms, which call upon law enforcement officials, including members of the armed forces, to employ nonviolent means before resorting to use of force and only in proportion to the seriousness of the offence.
“With violence escalating, the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir is again at the brink of catastrophe,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, senior Asia researcher at HRW. “Political leaders and civil society in Jammu and Kashmir should seek a mutually agreeable solution to the immediate crisis, so that peace is restored,” Ganguly added.
Civil Society appeals UNHCHR
Meanwhile, in a joint appeal to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR), around 50 civil society activists from across the world led by Dr Angana Chatterji, Associate Professor, Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, California Institute of Integral Studies, have sought the urgent intervention of the UNHCHR in ensuring that human rights, as enshrined in the charter of the United Nations, are upheld in Kashmir.
“We write to bring to your attention the profound humanitarian crisis continuing in the Kashmir Valley due to the ongoing blockade of the Srinagar-Jammu highway. This has resulted in severe shortages in the Kashmir Valley of food and other vital provisions,” the appeal to UNHCHR reads.
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