Pak highlights women's plight in Palestine, Kashmir

Seeks protection, accountability under international law

UNITED NATIONS:

Highlighting in the UN Security Council the suffering of women under foreign occupation, especially in Palestine and Kashmir, Pakistan has called for guaranteeing the protection of women under international law and ensuring accountability.

The 15-member Council met on Monday for their annual open debate on the women, peace and security agenda just ahead of the 25th anniversary of its landmark resolution 1325 (2000) on the issue.

"The plight of Palestinian women is one of the gravest tragedies of our times," Pakistani delegate Saima Saleem said, while also expressing regret that the Secretary-General's report makes no reference to the plight of Kashmiri women "who, for decades of occupation, have endured sexual violence deployed as a weapon of war".

Spotlighting the bombing of homes, schools and maternity wards in Gaza, along with the tens of thousands displaced and hundreds of thousands now facing famine, Saleem, a counsellor at the Pakistan Mission to the UN, underscored: "These are not collateral tragedies, but deliberate crimes that demand accountability."

About the plight of Kashmiri women, she pointed out that UN human rights mechanisms, including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and Special Procedures along with organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Medecins Sans Frontières, have documented violations of their rights, harassment of women human rights defenders and journalists, reprisals against female family members of the disappeared, torture and arbitrary detentions, and widespread trauma of sexual violence and abuse.

"To exclude Kashmiri women from the Women, Peace and Security agenda erases its legitimacy and undermines its universality," the Pakistani delegate said, adding, "The Jammu and Kashmir dispute is on this Council's agenda and therefore, future reports must reflect their plight accordingly." APP