The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will discuss the Kashmir issue in a closed-door meeting as part of its Wednesday agenda, Radio Pakistan reported.
Article 1 (1) of the UN Charter says that it is the purpose of the UN to,”To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace…”.
The consistent violations of human rights by the Indian Army in Indian Occupied Kashmir and its use of pellet guns and tear gas against civilians since August 5 are, without a doubt, “acts of aggression” and “threats to peace” and yet the UN has failed to take action on the issue so far.
Moreover, it is pertinent to highlight here that in the origins of the Kashmir crisis, Jammu & Kashmir was assured in the ‘instrument of accession’ by the first Indian PM, Pundit Jawaharlal Nehru, that India will hold a free and fair plebiscite to determine the fate of Kashmir in a democratic manner.
India has, however, not only gone back on its word but has also resorted to draconian and fascist tactics to suppress the voice of the Kashmiri public and their right to self determination.
This policy of India is not only against Article 1 (2) of the UN Charter, which vows to uphold “the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples” but also in strict violation of International customs.
Furthermore, France’s asympathetic position on the matter has only added insult to the injury of the Kasmiri’s, who have been under curfew for more than 150 days and do not even have access to the basic necessities of life
“France’s position has not changed and is very clear: The Kashmir issue must be settled bilaterally — as we have stated on several occasions and will continue to reiterate it to our partners on the UNSC,” added the sources who spoke to the French outlet.
Several rights groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have repeatedly called on India to lift restrictions and release political detainees
The UNSC meeting has been called to discuss the situation in Mali, but China has made a request to discuss the Kashmir issue under the agenda of “Any Other Business Points”.
Unfortunately, last month, the U.S., U.K., France, and Russia prevented discussion on the crisis after China demanded to discuss the issue at a closed-door meeting. If the mighty ‘P-5’ keep up this act, the UN may have to face the same end as its predecessor, “The League of Nations”.
The council has last discussed the Kashmir dispute in August 2019.
China has long voiced concern over the situation in Indian-administered Kashmir, and said it supports “ally” Pakistan in its fight for the Kashmiris.
India and Pakistan both hold Kashmir in parts and claim it in full. China also controls part of the contested region, but it is India and Pakistan which have fought two wars over Kashmir.
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Long-fraught relations between the two South Asian nuclear rivals flared up further after India scrapped the special provisions of the state of Jammu and Kashmir and imposed a near-complete lockdown on Aug. 5.
Several rights groups including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have repeatedly called on India to lift restrictions and release political detainees.
The world waits in concern for the United Nations to fulfill its purpose and not let atrocities, genocides and miscarriages of justice go unnoticed like the ‘League of Nations’.
GVS News Desk (Rai Mustafa Bhatti) with additional input from Anadolu