India’s Permanent Mission in the UN criticised a statement by a UN expert on human rights violations in Kashmir, calling it “baseless” and “unwarranted.”
Regarding the expert’s comments on India hosting the G20 meeting in Kashmir, the Indian statement said it is New Delhi’s “prerogative” to host meetings under its presidency in “any part of the country.”
Accordingly, it called the UN expert’s statement an irresponsible attempt to “politicise” the issue, adding that the social media comments violated the code of conduct for UN special rapporteurs.
Overview
India’s rebuke comes in response to a statement released by Fernand De Varennes, a UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, who took to social media to discuss the Kashmir conflict.
In his statement, De Varennes noted that the human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir had “risen dramatically” since the region’s special status was abrogated in 2019.
G20 should on the contrary uphold “International human rights obligations & the #UN Declaration of Human Rights should be upheld... and the situation in Jammu and Kashmir should be decried and condemned, not pushed under the rug and ignored with the holding of this meeting”.
— UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues (@fernanddev) May 15, 2023
He further highlighted that the situation had worsened since 2021, when he and other UN independent experts raised concerns about the “loss of political autonomy.” At the time, the group of experts had warned that the “demographic composition” changes could cause “political disenfranchisement” and the dilution of the political participation and representation of Kashmiris and other minorities.
De Varennes also warned that there has also been a significant influx of Hindus from the rest of India moving into Jammu and Kashmir, which can “overwhelm native Kashmiris in their own land.”
On the G20 Meet in J&K
De Varennes’ statement comes just a week before the G20’s working group meeting on tourism, scheduled from 22 to 24 May in Srinagar. In this regard, the UN expert said the government is seeking to “normalise what some have described as a military occupation by instrumentalising a G20 meeting.”
We are aghast that @fernanddev has acted irresponsibly to politicize this issue, misused his position as SR to publicize on social media his presumptive and prejudiced conclusions in a gross violation of the Code of Conduct for SRs. (2/2)@UNHumanRights @volker_turk @MEAIndia
— India at UN, Geneva (@IndiaUNGeneva) May 16, 2023
In addition, by hosting the meeting in the region, he said that New Delhi aims to “portray an international ‘seal of approval’ to its actions in the area.
In this regard, the meeting being held in Srinagar will provide “a veneer of support to a façade of normalcy at a time when massive human rights violations, illegal and arbitrary arrests, political persecutions, restrictions and even suppression of free media and human rights defenders continue to escalate.”
As a result, it urged the G20 grouping to respect the UN rules and regulations and international human rights laws and refrain from ignoring the rights violations in regions like Jammu and Kashmir.