UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres is arriving New Delhi on a four-day official visit to India. During his stay the UNSG Mr. Guterres is scheduled to meet President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj on October 3. Before flying to New Delhi the UN Secretary General in an email interview to Indian News Agency voiced his concern over the situation in Indian occupied territory of Jammu and Kashmir. He went on to say that positive dialogue was imperative to peacefully resolve disagreements. “I remain concerned by the situation in Jammu and Kashmir – I encourage positive dialogue for disagreements to be resolved peacefully,” he said. The UN chief’s visit to South Asia comes amidst of growing concerns over the worsening political and human rights situation in the held Kashmir and New Delhi’s belligerence and unprovoked aggression on the line of control (LoC). The UN Human Rights Office in its first ever report on the situation in Kashmir had called for international inquiry into multiple violations committed by Indian troops in the region. The report had suggested establishment of a commission of inquiry to conduct a comprehensive independent international investigation into human rights violations in Kashmir. Mr. Guterres, too, has voiced his full support to former UN human rights chief’s call for an independent international investigation into the human rights situation in Kashmir, saying that his action “represents the voice of the UN” on the issue.
The new UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet while endorsing the report had said that the commission’s earlier report on Kashmir has not been followed up with meaningful improvements. The people of Kashmir, she said, have exactly the same rights to justice and dignity as people all over the world. Bachelet stated that India should respect the Kashmiris’ right to justice and dignity.
Since the UN chief is well aware of the precarious situation in South Asia, one hopes that his visit will be instrumental in causing a thaw in deeply frozen relations between New Delhi and Islamabad. So far as the rights situation in Kashmir is concerned, it is expected that in light of the recently released UNHCR report Mr. Guterres will raise the issue with the Indian leadership so as to put an immediate end to rights abuses in the region. It goes without saying that the situation in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir will not change unless and until the government of India is held accountable for the crimes its forces have committed against the people in the troubled region. It is also imperative that the UN chief while engaging with the Indian leadership must ask New Delhi to allow UN fact finding mission to visit Kashmir to assess the situation on the ground in the restive region. Sine the government of Pakistan has vowed to welcome the Commission to Azad Jammu & Kashmir, the government of India too, must do the same to carry out an inquiry under the UN auspices so as to fix the responsibility.
