Situation in Indian Held Kashmir is deteriorating: UN Rights chief
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UNITED NATIONS: (APP) Voicing serious concern over the situation in Indian-held Kashmir, the top United Nations human rights official Tuesday reiterated his call for access to the disputed Kashmir region to make an impartial assessment of the human rights situation there.
"The High Commissioner for Human Rights is seriously concerned about the human rights situation in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir, as well as the rising tensions between India and Pakistan," his Spokesman Rupert Colville said in Geneva.
The High Commissioner urged India and Pakistan to engage in a dialogue and to de-escalate the situation, saying the inflammatory remarks on both sides only fuel the tensions and could result in a further deterioration of the human rights situation.
More than 100 Kashmiri civilians have been killed in Indian held Kashmir and thousands more wounded, with 150 blinded by the use of deadly gun pellets used by Indian security forces.
"We reiterate our call for unfettered and unconditional access to both Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-administered Kashmir to enable us to independently and impartially monitor the human rights situation," the spokesman said.
"We stand ready to support efforts to de-escalate the situation."
