Report:Kashmir Centre European Union (KCEU) in association with International Human Rights Association of American Minorities (IHRAAM) hosted an Interactive Dialogue and Roundtable at the UN Office (Palais des Nations) in Geneva on 6th March. The participants of the event entitled 'Arbitrary Detention & Democracies' discussed practices of arbitrary detention in conflict where it leads to torture, execution and other human rights abuses.
The speakers included Barrister Abdul Majeed Tramboo, Chairman of KCEU and IHRAAM's permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, Professor Alfred de Zayas, Public and International Law professor at the Geneva School of Diplomacy & International Relations, Professor Joseph Wronka, professor of Social Work, Springfield College, Massachusetts and author of Human Rights and Social Justice, Professor Nazir Ahmed Shawl, Executive Director Kashmir Centre London, Ronald Barnes, Chair of Indigenous Peoples and Nations Coalition (IPNC) and Ismail Khan, Journalist.
Barrister Abdul Majeed Tramboo opened the Interactive Dialogue by outlining the history of the United Nations mechanisms that aimed to reduce the number of arbitrary detentions globally. Noting that the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention had recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, he pointed out that many states were still using arbitrary detention with no thought for the consequences.
About Indian Held Kashmir, Barrister Tramboo pointed out that there had been many thousands of incidences of arbitrary detention in just last few years and that these often lead to summary execution, torture, enforced disappearance, and all kinds of serious human rights abuses. Recalling the most recent report by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearance, which discussed in detail the recent discovery of thousands of mass graves in Indian Held Kashmir, he noted that such phenomena were all interlinked. “Often a victim would be arbitrarily arrested, tortured, executed, and then he would disappear - as evidence had shown time and again. The number of cases responded to by the Government of India, of which KCEU had submitted many hundreds, was approximately 2% and that these few responses often did not answer the question asked by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in the first place,” he said.
Barrister Tramboo called for repeal of the black laws as a first and immediate step to reduce human rights abuses in the occupied territory. The impunity enjoyed by Indian forces from prosecution due to the draconian laws such as Armed Forces Special Powers Act and Public Safety Act had drastically increased instances of human rights abuse in the occupied territory and were against legally binding international human rights treaties to which India was a signatory.
Professor Alfred de Zayas began by stating that the concept of human rights was not the flavour of the month. It is the noblest commitment of men and women of good will, who believe in peace and development and who want to make this a reality not just for elites also but for all human beings in all regions of the world, he stated.
“The problem with the United Nations - as with every human institution - is that member states work for their perceived interests, not for human rights or human dignity. Thus it is the task of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to persuade states that it is in their own interest to play by the rules. The principle of equality and non-selectivity is crucial for the credibility and good functioning of the system. The lack of equality and non-selectivity that is often employed only serves to erode trust and confidence as well as ensuring that human rights abuses are tolerated and continue,” he added.
Professor Nazir Ahmed Shawl discussed at length the mass graves in Indian occupied Kashmir. Making a direct link between mass graves and arbitrary detention, he called for repeal of black laws from the occupied territory stating that these laws facilitated gross human rights abuses by offering impunity to the perpetrators. He said that it was the responsibility of all states to abide by their human rights obligations and that the Government of India was picking which ones it would like to abide by and when. He highlighted the continued persecution of human rights defenders in the occupied territory and asked the audience to read the most recent report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders who visited occupied Kashmir in early 2011.
Professor Joseph Wronka discussed incidences of arbitrary detention since 200, which he said had increased dramatically under the guise of fighting terrorism. He outlined that all the states were bound by the treaties that they had signed and that it was their duty to follow them.
Ronald Barnes mentioned a number of cases in which the indigenous people of Alaska had been arbitrarily detained and denied their human rights over the years. Highlighting the case study as one of the great examples of arbitrary detention and the denial of self-determination, he said that the international community practiced hypocrisy in only pursuing human rights abuses when it was politically convenient.
Ismail Khan noted that South Asia had the potential to become an economic powerhouse and that decades had been lost due to tense relations between major players in the region. He said that while arbitrary detention continued, and laws like the Armed Forces Special Powers Act remained in force, no substantive progress could be made as such laws demonstrated a lack of trust and vision regarding the peace and reconciliation process.
Kashmiris' right to self-determination highlighted at Geneva seminar
Report
Kashmiris' right to self-determination highlighted at Geneva seminar
Speakers at a seminar held in Geneva on 16th March said that the Kashmiris should be given their right to self-determination. The seminar titled ‘Self-Determination & Democracy - A Kashmir Scenario’ was organized by the Kashmir Centre European Union (KCEU) in collaboration with International Human Rights Association of American Minorities (IHRAAM) at the Palais des Nations.
The speakers included Barrister Abdul Majeed Tramboo, Chairman KCEU and IHRAAM’s permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Chairman All Parties Hurriyet Conference, Professor Krishna Ahoojapatel, Permanent Representative for Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Ms Farzana Yaqoob, Azad Jammu and Kashmir Minister of Social Welfare, Professor Nazir Ahmed Shawl, Executive Director Kashmir Centre London, Frank Schwalba-Hoth, former member European Parliament and Sardar Ali Shanawaz Khan, Executive Director Kashmiri Scandinavian Council.
Barrister Abdul Majeed Tramboo outlined the issues facing the pursuit of self-determination and democracy for the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Highlighting the ongoing human rights abuses in occupied Kashmir, he said that the Government of India was willfully ignoring and negating its human rights obligations under treaties to which it was a consensual signatory. He commented that while the Government of India continued to use torture, arbitrary arrest and execution, rape and the persistent denial of freedom of expression as tools to quell internal disharmony and international condemnation, the rights record of India was clear.
Noting that the European Parliament’s recent resolution on the EU-India Free Trade Agreement - in paragraph 33 - stated that the FTA was at risk unless human rights were respected in Kashmir, he said that the actions of India were affecting its international standing and credibility.
Mirwaiz Umar Farooq started with a discussion of current struggles for self-determination around the world and underlined that, as was clear with recent struggles, Islam was in tandem with democracy and not at odds. He maintained that in the past 64 years bilateral approach to the Kashmir conflict had not worked and that only a tripartite solution, one in which the Kashmiris were equal stakeholders, would be successful and acceptable.
On the issue of international mediation, the APHC Chairman said that he believed that it would have a positive impact. However, he pointed out that in order for any negotiations to have the blessing, the Kashmiri people’s right to self-determination would need to be the cornerstone of any tripartite negotiations - internationally mediated or otherwise; this was a legal and a moral obligation of the concerned states.
Stating that there could be no peace in South Asia without justice, the APHC Chairman said that a fully prosperous South Asia could only be achieved once the people of Kashmir were granted their inalienable right to self-determination.
Professor Krishna Ahoojapatel discussed the nature of the language that was used in South-Asia when the conflict was discussed. She said that the language still used was that of a bygone era of colonialisation and that the people of South Asia should remember their roots from a time of peace and negotiating conflict. Professor Ahoojapatel had recently traveled to India and shared the hope and optimism of the people there that peace would soon be realised and that South Asia could become a more prosperous, fair, and democratic region.
Discussing the role of women in conflict, she said that women were more often the peacemakers and rarely the makers of conflict.
Professor Nazir Ahmed Shawl said that many resolutions had been passed at the United Nations in the past six decades, but sadly none of them had come to fruition - Kashmiris were yet to be allowed to exercise their right to self-determination. He questioned the will of the international community to resolve the Kashmir conflict, a conflict that had seen tens of thousands loosing their lives while the government of India had a blanket disregard for the human rights that the international community deems to be sacred.
He called for an open and frank debate among the three parties directly involved in the Kashmir dispute and suggested that modalities be formulated in the beginning so as to avoid negotiations going back to the square one. He said that the Kashmiri leadership, along with the Kashmiri Diaspora, would not rest until justice was done and the people of Kashmir were given their right to self-determination.
Ms Farzana Yaqoob asked what more was expected from the people of Kashmir before they were granted their right to self-determination. She noted the cultural uniqueness of the Kashmiri people could, over time, be diluted by the forced separation by the Line of Control. She stated that while the Kashmir conflict had been ongoing for over six decades, the social and cultural development of the region had progressed markedly; to the people of Kashmir the conflict had been ongoing for a lifetime.
Frank Schwalba-Hoth outlined the recent history of the Kashmir conflict from a European perspective. Discussing the actions of the European Union, he noted that a decade ago Kashmir was rarely mentioned in the corridors and meetings of the European Parliament and that it was now a well-known and recognised international issue that needed to be resolved.
Sardar Ali Shanawaz Khan highlighted the ongoing struggle for a just investigation into the mass graves in occupied Kashmir. Calling upon the international community to press for an impartial investigation, he made reference to the Urgency Resolution on Mass Graves in the occupied territory passed by the European Parliament in August 2008 as both a sign of hope and a sign of intransigence on the part of the Government of India.