IHRC asks campaigners to write to the Secretary General of the UN and ask to take effective measures against the Indian BJP government.
Contents
Background
Action Required
Model Template
Recipient Address
Background
On August 5, the Indian government withdrew Article 370 of India’s constitution, which gave the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir partial autonomy. The article, abrogated in a cloak-and-dagger manner by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, was followed by the imposition of a stringent curfew in the Himalayan region and the snapping of phone and internet connections. On Tuesday 11th Nov, the worst lockdown in more than 70 years of the occupation of Kashmir entered its 100th day.
India’s latest move also included bifurcating Jammu and Kashmir into two “union” territories, Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, to be administered by the federal government.
Since its occupation of part of Kashmir, India has had an atrocious human rights record in Kashmir, where forced disappearances, summary executions and rape are common practices. Kashmir is one of the most militarised places on earth. In the last few years, the Indian military has been accused of mass blindings with the use of pellet guns against civilians in the region.
Further background information is available on the IHRC Kashmir Campaign and Resources page.
Action required
IHRC continues to call for the occupation of Kashmir to end, for India to withdraw all troops and stand by the 1948 UN call for a plebiscite of the people of Kashmir to determine their own political future. Campaigners are requested to contact the Secretary General of the UN and ask to take effective measures against the Indian BJP government.
Model Template
[Your name]
[Your address]
[Date]
Dear Antonio Guterres,
Re: the current increase of violations in Indian occupied Kashmir
I am deeply devastated by the news coming out of Kashmir. There have been countless reports of human rights abuses and systematic terror. The actions of the BJP party cannot go unpunished. I request you to urgently contact the Indian government and demand they:
- immediately ends its curfew;
- withdraws all military presence (both its recent surge and its pre-existing military occupation);
- helps facilitate the UN plebiscite demanded since 1948, for the people of the region to decide their sovereignty.
I look forward to hearing back from you regarding this urgent matter.
Yours sincerely,
[Your signature]
[Your name]
Recipient Addresses
Please write the Secretary General and cc/ in the UN High commissioner for human rights:
Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the UN, sgcentral@un.org
UN High commissioner for human rights, Michelle Jeria
