UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet slams India for inaction on rights violations report in Kashmir

UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet addressed the council on Monday and praised the Supreme Court for decriminalising same-sex relations between consenting adults. At the same time, she also slammed India for lack of any meaningful improvement on addressing issues regarding human rights violations in Kashmir.

In her opening remarks at the 39th session of the UN Human Rights Council, Bachelet said that the people of Kashmir had the same rights to justice and dignity as other people in the world. The Indian Express quoted her saying,”The people of Kashmir have exactly the same rights to justice and dignity as people all over the world and we urge authorities to respect them.”

Bachelet also reiterated the UNHRC’s request for unconditional access to Kashmir on either side of the Line of control. The daily quoted, “The Office of the HRC continues to request permission to visit both sides of the LoC, and in the meantime, will continue its monitoring and reporting.”

Bachelet’s predecessor Zeid Hussain, in his report to the UNHR council had sought “establishment of a commission of inquiry to conduct a comprehensive independent international investigation into allegations of human rights violations in Kashmir” and asked the governments of India and Pakistan to “fully respect the right of self-determination of the people of Kashmir as protected under international law”. However, the report was slammed by the Minstry of External Affairs which said, “The report violates India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. The entire state of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India. Pakistan is in illegal and forcible occupation of a part of the Indian state through aggression.”

The new UN High Commissioner urged Europe to create a dedicated search and rescue operation for migrants in the Mediterranean. Bachelet called on the Council to create “an independent international mechanism to collect, consolidate, preserve and analyse evidence of the most serious international crimes, in order to expedite fair and independent trials in national and international courts,” the daily quoted.

She added, “I urge the Council to pass a resolution, and refer the matter to the General Assembly for its endorsement so that such a mechanism can be established.”

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