India yet to ratify UN convention on torture

Webinar speakers lament that Delhi had failed to fulfill HR pledges

ISLAMABAD:

The Indian government has failed to address the key human rights concerns expressed during the third cycle of Universal Periodic Review (UPR) despite strong protests from human rights organizations, including the United Nations (UN) and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

This was stated by speakers at a webinar organized by the Kashmir Institute of International Relations (KIIR) in collaboration with the World Muslim Congress.

Prominent human rights activists, law experts, academics and diplomats hailing from different parts of the world including Dr. Imtiaz Khan and Marry Scully, participated in the webinar.

The event was moderated by Chairman Kashmir Institute of International Relations Altaf Hussain Wani.
“Given the scale of human rights challenges that Kashmiris face, it is extremely disappointing to see that India’s repressive regime led by Hindu supremacists has been brazenly flaunting the UPR recommendations and commitments regarding the improvement of the human rights situation in the

Indian-held territory of Jammu and Kashmir,” the speakers said. During the 3rd cycle of UPR in 2017, India was handed over 250 recommendations to improve its human rights record. India accepted 152. India has failed to uphold its commitments and make progress in any of the areas of concern.

Speakers said that the international community, in particular, the rights watchdogs should join hands to hold the Indian government accountable and ask the government to address key human rights issues that have been neglected for too long.

They called upon Indian government to reverse the August 5 2019 decision, which they said was against the spirit of the Geneva conventions and UNSC resolutions on Kashmir.

Voicing their concern over the continued bloodshed and violence in the disputed territory, they observed that the draconian laws enforced in the state were the main cause of human rights violations in the region.

“Colonial-era tactics such as criminalizing freedom of expression and opinion, reprisals against human rights defenders and civil society activists are being used as a tool to suppress the voices of dissent in Kashmir”, the speakers said, adding that misusing anti-terror laws by the authorities was yet another serious concern that merits urgent attention of the global community.

 “India is one of only a few countries that have yet to ratify the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment”, the speakers said, adding that India was deliberately running away from being party to such conventions because of the high rate of torture cases in Kashmir and other parts of India where religious minorities were persecuted ruthlessly and treated as second class citizens.

They were of the view that the Indian government had miserably failed to uphold these fundamental rights.

They demanded that the government of India must repeal all draconian laws, release political prisoners and human rights defenders Including Khurram Parveez and Ashan Untoo and give access to the UN special rapporteur and other mandate holders to Indian-occupied Kashmir to assess the situation on the ground.

They also urged the Indian government to allow UN fact-finding missions to Indian-occupied Kashmir to investigate ongoing and previous human rights violations.

The speakers thanked the international civil society for their timely concerns to the UPR working group.
It is worth mentioning here that more than two hundred civil society groups have raised concerns over the situation in occupied Kashmir and asked the Indian government what steps it had taken regarding the improvement of the human rights situation in Kashmir.Some of the countries including the UK, USA, Germany, Belgium, Spain and Portugal have submitted advance questions to India asking: what procedures it had put in place to promote the harmonization of national disability, legislation, with respect to the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), in particular, the National Trust Act and the Rehabilitation Council of India Act?

The government of India was asked about the measures it had taken to adopt in order to guarantee the right to equal pay for all women.

As many NGOs find it difficult to operate in India given the restrictions imposed by the application of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), it is being asked as what are the plans of the government of India to ensure that human rights organizations can operate in India.

Speakers called on the UN human rights council to take strong note of the Indian noncompliance and its arrogant attitude towards UN human rights machinery.