Nation for PeaceWorld for Peace

United Nations and the Victims of Terrorism in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir

“Truth opens the path to justice, reparation and healing. It helps us overcome prejudice, divisive narratives and extreme polarization. It also helps address the root causes of conflict and prevent its recurrence.”

WordForPeace.com

At the very outset, it is important to emphasise the UN Secretary-General’s Message which he delivered on The International Day for the Right to the Truth He said:

Truth opens the path to justice, reparation and healing. It helps us overcome prejudice, divisive narratives and extreme polarization. It also helps address the root causes of conflict and prevent its recurrence.”

Therefore, the United Nations must ensure that those who have suffered the negative effects of terrorism in the enjoyment of human rights are heeded and given the attention they deserve.

Since 1989, Cross-border terrorism in the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir has adversely impacted the enjoyment of freedoms and human rights in the valley. The terror activities of the cross-border agencies and extremist tanzeems (organisations) have affected all important sources of livelihood of local populace such as agriculture, horticulture, tourism and handicraft industry, with many traders having to shift their trading centres from the Valley to other parts of the country and few others forced to look for an alternative source of income. With the increasing deadly pandemic of COVID-19, the perpetrators of violent extremism and proxy warfare in the valley have aggravated the sense of fear, instability and disarray in the valley which has been readily exploited by violent extremist ideologies. My organization wishes this august body to remind international human rights organisations to pay proper attention to this grim situation and play a pivotal role in protecting human rights of the Kashmiri people from the adverse impact of cross-border terrorism with a sense of shared responsibility.

Given the preponderance of fake news today both in print, visual and social media which are aggressively spreading the contrived and concocted stories, it becomes even more important to sift fact from fiction, and truth from falsehood. It becomes most important for the United Nations to protect and safeguard the right to the truth, especially the truth about who are the real victims of terrorism.

But actually, the real tragic losses and sad stories of the victims of terrorism, are being lost in all this. Therefore, it becomes imperative that the United Nations bodies and mechanisms including the UN Human Rights Commission take complete cognizance of stark ground realities.

UN mechanisms and human rights bodies should form an opinion or write a report on the basis of credible information and ground situation, so that the credibility of UN Human Rights Commission is not undermined and the UN peace and counter-terrorism agenda is not affected.

The Right to the Truth about gross Human Rights Violations also enjoins us to protect those who seek truth about the real victims of terrorism, and provide victims with effective remedies and restore their dignity. Their efforts to unearth the truth about perpetrators of terrorism, violent extremism, radicalisation and terror ideologies and the circumstances in which they were victimised is an inspiration to us all.

In this context, we need to honour the bravery and determination of terror victims around the world who relentlessly strive for a better future, guided by the compass of human dignity.

United Nations and the Victims of Terrorism in the Union Territory of Jammu & KashmirIn India, according to several UN findings the majority of victims of terrorism are those who are adversely impacted by cross-border terrorism which mostly occurs in the erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir…….

The OHCHR has relayed in its report titled “Negative Effects of Terrorism on the Enjoyment of Human Rights” that violent terrorist attacks perpetuated by the terrorist organisations try to instil intimidation amongst the citizens of India and that the worst-hit parts of India seriously impacted by terrorism include Jammu and Kashmir.

During the last few years, the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir has suffered several terror attacks including the Pulwama attack in February 2019, Sunjuwan attack in 2018, Amarnath Yatra attack in 2017, Uri Attack in 2016 and other terror incidents orchestrated by Jaish-e-Muhammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizbul Mujahidin and several other terror organisations and agencies based in Pakistan. Prior to August 5, 2019 when the state of Jammu & Kashmir was bifurcated into two Union Territories, these were the major terror attacks targeting civilians and the security personnel. Only Pulwama terror attack resulted in death of 40 security forces. The number of other casualties can be gauged by this instance.

Although total terrorism-related incidents came down after August 5, 2019, but the incidents of terror explosion continue to wreak havoc in the valley with a damaging impact on the life, property, civilian liberties and human rights of the people in Jammu & Kashmir. Global terrorist formations such as the Islamic State-Jammu and Kashmir (ISJK) and the al Qaeda-linked Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGH) based on a toxic religious doctrine of a permanent ‘holy’ war against India, have posed serious threats to the life and security of common peace-loving and law-abiding citizens of the state.

Since 1989, Cross-border terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir has adversely impacted the enjoyment of freedoms and human rights in the valley. The terror activities of the cross-border agencies and extremist tanzeems (organisations) have affected all important sources of livelihood of local populace such as agriculture, horticulture, tourism and handicraft industry, with many traders having to shift their trading centres from the Valley to other parts of the country and few others forced to look for an alternative source of income.

As the OHCHR has rightly pointed out, India has time and again formulated laws like the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) to deal with terrorism. But the cross-border terrorism occurs in different disguises and completely unpredictable circumstances and hence it often becomes too difficult to engage with it. In an environment fraught with instability and social upheaval like in Jammu & Kashmir, the cross-border terror masterminds exploit local grievances to run their aggressive propaganda and recruitment campaigns among the vulnerable youth. This is precisely how the proxy terror organisations, insurgent groups and radical Islamist outfits find favourable conditions in Jammu & Kashmir to further their nefarious designs.

With the increasing deadly pandemic of COVID-19, the perpetrators of violent extremism and proxy warfare in the valley have aggravated the sense of fear, instability and disarray in the valley which has been readily exploited by violent extremist ideologies. My organization wishes this august body to remind international human rights organisations to pay proper attention to this grim situation and play a pivotal role in protecting human rights of the Kashmiri people from the adverse impact of cross-border terrorism with a sense of shared responsibility.

In conclusion, it’s pertinent to recall the UN Secretary-General’s commemoration of all victims of terrorism in which he stated:

“Remembering the victims of terrorism and doing more to support them is essential to help them rebuild their lives and heal”.

Show More

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CAPTCHA ImageChange Image

Back to top button
Translate »