*SRINAGAR: *
The UN has again called on India to probe alleged cases of forceddisappearance and mass graves in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
In a letter this week addressed to the Indian government, at least nine UNrapporteurs also asked New Delhi to reconsider the closure of the StateHuman Rights Commission (SHRC) in the disputed region.
“We urge [India]…and local authorities in IIOJK to undertake prompt,thorough and impartial investigations into all alleged enforceddisappearances…and take measures to identify the remains in each of thethousands of unmarked graves,” said the letter, which was posted to thegovernment on July 1 but only made public two months later.
According to Kashmir-based Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons orAPDP — that looks after the families of forcibly disappeared people –there are at least 8,000 Kashmiris allegedly disappeared by Indian forces.
“These disappearances began in the 1990s even before the enactment andimplementation of the Jammu & Kashmir Armed Forces Special Powers Act[AFSPA] in September 1990, which provides impunity for India’s armedforces,” according to the APDP.
“We also urge [India] to reconsider the closure of the SHRC or to promptlyestablish an equivalent independent body or bodies that could assist andguide official investigations and help ensure that they are in fullcompliance with international human rights norms,” the UN experts demanded.
The SHRC, which probed alleged human rights abuses in the disputed region– was one of several commissions closed by India after rescinding thenominal semi-autonomous status of the region on Aug. 5 last year.
Read Top Stories
The latest letter by the UN is one of several such communications sent toIndia over Occupied Kashmir seeking the redressal of the rights issue inthe disputed region.
A team of the UN human rights body has also unsuccessfully tried to visitthe region.
Last month, the UN experts sought “urgent action” on Occupied Kashmir asthe region commemorated its first year of annexation by India.
“If India will not take any genuine and immediate steps to resolve thesituation, meet their obligations to investigate historic and recent casesof human rights violations and prevent future violations, then theinternational community should step up,” the experts said.
In another report on cases against Kashmiri journalists, the UN rapporteurshad said: “India’s bid to prosecute Kashmiri journalists suggests a patternof silencing independent reporting on the situation in IIOJK.”
In July, at least four UN special rapporteurs asked the Indian governmentto investigate the alleged torture and custodial killings of severalKashmiri Muslim men since January 2019. – Anadolu Agency