UN urged to stop rights violations in Kashmir

The Jammu and Kashmir Socio-Economic Coordination Committee (JKSECC), an amalgam of several business organizations and civil society formations, on Thursday sought UN intervention to stop human rights violations in the Valley.

“We appeal to the UN Secretary-General, and the conscientious powers of the world, who uphold international law, to prevail upon India to desist from trampling down on human rights, demilitarise Kashmir, revoke the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and let people of Kashmir live a dignified peaceful life as guaranteed by international covenants and the constitution,” said Jammu and Kashmir Socio-Economic Coordination Committee convenor Siraj Ahmad during a press conference here.
The amalgam claimed that the cordon and search operations had been revived by the government “with a greater vengeance against the dissenting population of Kashmir not only to prevent them from raising their voice for their inalienable rights but to silence them forever”.

“First of all, no distinction is made between combatants and non-combatants. Militants as per the state discourse fall under the category of combatants. Upholding fundamental human rights demands that non-combatants’ rights are protected and not violated under no circumstances,” a statement said.

“According to their own legal procedure, combatants are not to be killed but arrested and then tried in the court of law. But here the young boys who become defiant after being repeatedly persecuted are brutally killed,” the statement added.