The longest pending disputes on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)
The Jammu and Kashmir dispute is one of the longest pending disputes on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Several UN Security Council resolutions inter alia affirm the right of Kashmiris to self-determination and how the Jammu and Kashmir dispute would be resolved. They categorically state that the final disposition of the state of Jammu and Kashmir will be made under the will of the people expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the United Nations. India has been taking different steps to strengthen its occupation of Jammu and Kashmir since 27 October 1947 when it forcibly took over control of the erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. However, in a major development, on 5 August 2019, India scrapped the special status of the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and bifurcated it into two ‘Union Territories’ to alter its internationally-recognized disputed status and undermine the right to self-determination of the Kashmiri people. India has since started a process to change the demographic structure and political landscape of IIOJK. The ultimate aim is to transform the Kashmiri people into a disempowered minority in their land.
India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 were in blatant violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolutions and international law, including the 4th Geneva Convention and India’s commitments to implement the UNSC Resolutions. Notwithstanding the solemn commitments made by the Government of India to the people of Jammu & Kashmir, Security Council, and Pakistan, to abide by and implement relevant Security Council resolutions, India has progressively reneged on these commitments at every stage. However, India’s prevarication cannot change the facts of history and law. History has shown time and again that the Jammu & Kashmir dispute constitutes a threat to peace and security in the region with consequences across the borders. In that backdrop, the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding, reaffirmed in February 2021, is a prime example of Pakistan’s efforts to maintain peace along the LOC; save precious Kashmiri lives; and alleviate the sufferings of the Kashmiris living along both sides of the LOC. The human rights situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) has worsened significantly following India’s illegal and unilateral actions of 5 August 2019 aimed at perpetuating its illegal occupation and altering the demographic composition of the disputed territory and turning Kashmiris into a minority in their homeland
Since 5 August 2019, India’s occupation forces have intensified their campaign of oppression that includes: extrajudicial killings; arbitrary arrests; torture; enforced disappearances; collective punishments; sexual violence; restrictions on freedom of expression and religion; curbs on media; internet shutdowns; and arrests of human rights defenders. The entire Hurriyat political leadership – the genuine voice of the Kashmiri people – has been arbitrarily incarcerated for the past several years. The total number of detained political activists and human rights defenders comes to around 4000. Unfortunately, the prospects of durable peace and stability in South Asia, and the great potential for economic development and regional cooperation, have been held hostage by India’s unhelpful approach to the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. In any case, Pakistan will continue to call upon the international community to demand India to:
- Reverse all illegal and unilateral measures taken on or after 5 August 2019
- Stop the gross, systematic, and widespread human rights abuses in IIOJK
- Halt and reverse the illegal demographic changes in IIOJK in contravention of international law and India’s solemn obligations under relevant UNSC resolutions
- Drop fabricated charges and immediately release Kashmiri political leadership, journalists, human rights defenders, and youth held in arbitrary detention;
- Repeal its draconian emergency laws, and withdraw its heavy military presence from Kashmiri cities, towns, and villages
- Provide unhindered access to UN OHCHR, OIC, human rights organizations, and international media to investigate and report on the situation in IIOJK and
- Take concrete and meaningful steps for the full implementation of UNSC resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir.
UN Resolutions on Kashmir
Since 1948, the UN Security Council has remained seized of the Jammu & Kashmir dispute under the Agenda item “India-Pakistan Question” and passed over a dozen resolutions. Important resolutions related to the J&K dispute are given below:
- 1948 Resolutions 38 39 47 51
- 1950 Resolution 80
- 1951 Resolution 91
- 1951 Resolution 96
- 1952 Resolution 98
- 1957 Resolution 122-1
- 1957 Resolution 123
- 1957 Resolution 126
- Proposal In Respect of Jammu and Kashmir Made by General McNaughton on 22 December, 1949
- Resolution Adopted at the Meeting of the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan on 5 January 1949
- Resolution Adopted by the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan on 13 August 1948
- Statement of the President of the Security Council on 18th May 1964
UNHCHR Reports on Kashmir
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has published two Reports in 2018 and 2019, extensively documenting India’s systemic, systematic, and flagrant human rights abuses in Indian Illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). The reports indict India, inter alia, for its excessive use of force, including pellet gunshots; extrajudicial killings in the garb of so-called cordon and search operations; arbitrary arrests and detentions; and torture against Kashmiri civilians, journalists as well as political and human rights activists. They further draw special attention towards the persisting climate of impunity, enjoyed by the Indian occupation forces under the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and Public Safety Act (PSA). Pakistan has welcomed the two UN Kashmir Reports and strongly echoed its key recommendations, which call for fully respecting the right to self-determination of the people of Jammu & Kashmir and the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry (COI) to investigate the gross and systematic human rights violations in IIOJ&K.
OIC Resolutions
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) supports the legitimate and just struggle of the people of India Illegally Occupied Jammu&Kashmir (IIOJ&K) for their inalienable right to self-determination and continues to call for the protection and promotion of all basic human rights and freedoms of the Kashmiri people against India’s state terrorism. The Organization is a staunch advocate of expeditious and peaceful settlement of disputes following the UN Charter, relevant UNSC and OIC resolutions, and international law. The OIC has been regularly adopting RESOLUTIONS ON THE JAMMU & KASHMIR DISPUTE at its Summit and Ministerial meetings.
The (47th) session of the Council of Foreign Ministers, which was held in Niamey from 27-28 November 2020, also adopted a comprehensive RESOLUTION (no. 10/47-POL) on Kashmir, which reaffirmed OIC’s principled position on the dispute and firmly rejected India’s illegal and unilateral actions being taken since 05th August 2019 to effect change in the demographic structure of the occupied territory, in contravention of the UN Charter, relevant UNSC resolutions and international law, especially 4th Geneva Convention.
- 19th Conference of the Foreign Ministers
- 20th Conference of the Foreign Ministers
- 21st Conference of the Foreign Ministers
- 22nd Conference of the Foreign Ministers
- 23rd Conference of the Foreign Ministers
- 24th Conference of the Foreign Ministers
- 25th Conference of the Foreign Ministers
- 26th Conference of the Foreign Ministers
- 27th Conference of the Foreign Ministers
- 28th Conference of the Foreign Ministers
- 29th Conference of the Foreign Ministers
- 31st Conference of the Foreign Ministers
- 32nd Conference of the Foreign Ministers
- 33rd Conference of the Foreign Ministers
- 34th Conference of the Foreign Ministers
- 35th Conference of the Foreign Ministers
- 36th Conference of the Foreign Ministers
- 37th Conference of the Foreign Ministers
- 38th Conference of the Foreign Ministers
- 39th Conference of the Foreign Ministers
- 40th Conference of the Foreign Ministers
- 41st Conference of the Foreign Ministers
- 42nd Conference of the Foreign Ministers
- 43rd Conference of the Foreign Ministers
- 44th Conference of the Foreign Ministers
- 45th Conference of the Foreign Ministers
- 46th Conference of the Foreign Ministers