41st Session UNHRC: Intervention by Ms. Yoana Barakova - Research Analyst EFSAS
01-07-2019, Geneva
Text and video of the Intervention by Ms. Yoana Barakova, Research Analyst European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS), on General Debate Item 3 (Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development) during the 41st Session of the UNHRC in Geneva.
Video of Ms. Yoana Barakova's Intervention on General Debate Item 3 during the 41st Session of the UNHRC
"Madam Vice President,
In its first ever Report on the situation in Jammu & Kashmir, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights states that, ‘Restrictions on the freedoms of expression, opinion, peaceful assembly and association in Pakistan Administered Kashmir have limited the ability of the High Commissioner to assess the human rights situation there’.
The said report, yet, completely disregards the invaluable insights shared at this august platform by numerous human rights activists, including those from the area itself, into the deplorable human rights situation there and atrocities committed by the Pakistani State in Pakistan Administered Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan. As a result, their expectations of redressal by this Council have been shattered by the plea of lack of adequate information taken by the Office of the High Commissioner.
In addition, the Report glosses over cross-border terrorism perpetrated by Pakistan’s security agencies, while it labels UN-designated terrorist organisations, such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizbul Mujahideen and Jaish-e-Mohammed as armed groups, negating UN parlance and contradicting the terminology of the UN Security Council’s consolidated list of terrorist individuals and entities.
The Report also fails to make any recommendations imperative to the dismantling of the operation of these terrorist groups and their terrorist infrastructure.
Madam Vice President,
The failure of the Office of the High Commissioner, to address said issues, not only renders the correctness and neutrality of this Report highly dubious, but further betrays the faith of that the human rights activists have placed before this body, which is entrusted with the responsibility of protecting their fundamental human rights.
Thank you".
