UN-appointed independent human rights experts have called for
urgent action in India’s Jammu and Kashmir, amid concerns of
ongoing abuses against civilians there.
The appeal comes a year after the Indian Parliament revoked the
special status of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, which
provided partial autonomy and specific protections to its
mainly-Muslim citizens.
In a statement, the group
of 17 experts said that the human rights situation in Jammu and
Kashmir has been in “free fall”.
International community urged to ‘step up’
“Urgent action is needed”, they said. “If India will not take any
genuine and immediate steps to resolve the situation, meet their
obligations to investigate historic and recent cases of human
rights violations and prevent future violations, then the
international community should step up.”
Twelve months ago, they wrote to the Indian authorities to end
what they called “the
crackdown” on freedom of expression, access to information and
peaceful protests over the decision to end the state’s special
status.
The experts also expressed concern about alleged arbitrary
detention, torture and ill-treatment, to which the Government
recently replied, as well as the criminalization of
journalists covering the situation and the detention and
deteriorating health, of a high-profile human rights lawyer.
“We have yet to receive any reply to three of the four letters,”
the experts said.
COVID compounding detentions, restrictions
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the
experts also said it was concerning that “many” protesters are
still in detention, and that internet restrictions remain.
They added that the closure of the Jammu and Kashmir State Human
Rights Commission last October, was equally disturbing, as it
removed one of the few ways that victims of rights violations
could seek remedy.
No information had been provided about what would happen to the
ongoing cases the commission had been investigating.
These include hundreds of suspected enforced disappearances
dating from as far back as 1989, they said, while allegations
regarding thousands of unmarked and some mass graves sites, have
also not been properly investigated.
Pending visits
In 2011, India also extended an open invitation to Special
Rapporteurs to visit, but has several requests pending. “We call
on India to schedule pending visits as a matter of urgency,
particularly of the experts dealing with torture and
disappearances,” they said.
The Special Rapporteurs and Working Groups are part of what is
known as the Special Procedures of
the Human Rights
Council. The experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not
UN staff and do not receive a salary. They are independent from
any government or organization and serve in their individual
capacity.
