presentation on the Kashmir issue from the perspective of human rights violations.

Mr. Ammar Hayat, research assistant BIPP, on 8 October 2019, gave a presentation on the Kashmir issue from the perspective of human rights violations. The presenter, inter alia, dwelt on how India's action of 5 August 2019, in which it had stripped the state of Jammu and Kashmir from autonomy it enjoyed, has transformed the state into a virtual prison. He in particular elaborated on the violation of Security Council resolutions and the total negation of fundamental human rights notably:

Torture

Articles 5 of UN declaration of Human Rights: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibits torture under any circumstances Arbitrary arrests and detention, including of children
Article 9 of UN declaration of Human Rights: ?No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile?

Genocides

Article 1 of Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide: The Contracting Parties confirm that genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under international law which they undertake to prevent and to punish.
R2P (The Responsibility to Protect) refers to the obligation of states toward their populations and toward all populations at risk of genocide and other mass atrocity crimes. R2P stipulates three pillars of responsibility:
Pillar One: Every state has the Responsibility to Protect its populations from four mass atrocity crimes: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing.
Pillar Two: The wider international community has the responsibility to encourage and assist individual states in meeting that responsibility.
Pillar Three: If a state is manifestly failing to protect its populations, the international community must be prepared to take appropriate collective action, in a timely and decisive manner and in accordance with the UN Charter.

Enforced migration and disappearances

Articles 13 of International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families: Right to Free Movement in and out of a Country
Article 39 of the same Convention ?Migrant workers and members of their families shall have the right to liberty of movement in the territory of the State of employment and freedom to choose their residence there?.
Violations of the right to education
Article 26 of UN declaration of Human Rights: Everyone has the right to education

Religious Freedom

Article 18 of UN declaration of Human Rights: Freedom of belief and Religion

Restrictions on the right to freedom of expression

Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the right to freedom of opinion and expression has been protected in all of the relevant international human rights treaties.

Sexual violence

Article 1 of The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW): Discrimination against Women and Girls

Violations of the right to health

Article 25 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services

Articles 19 of UN declaration of Human Rights: Freedom of Opinion and Information

the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and the Additional Protocols of 8 June 1977, and in particular Article 79 of Additional Protocol I regarding the protection of journalists engaged in dangerous professional missions in areas of armed conflict, and emphasizing the obligations of parties to an armed conflict to discriminate civilians from legitimate military targets and to refrain from attacks intentionally directed against civilians or likely to result in excessive collateral damage.
Thousands of people have been arrested without any charge while countless have been reported as missing. The situation is so alarming that people are hesitant to go to hospitals after injuries in order to prevent arrest. In the presentation, the response of the Pakistan Government in highlighting the Kashmir issue was applauded especially the passionate and convincing speech of the Prime Minister in the General Assembly on 29 September 2019. However, it was observed that the government seemed to have failed in taking pre-emptive measures knowing fully that Modi had expressed a desire to scrap Article 370 and 35a from the Indian Constitution in his re-election manifesto. During the Q&A session, the following issues were discussed:
1.The plight of minorities in India e.g. possible deportation of 1.9 million 'undocumented' residents in the state of Assam who are mostly Muslims.
2.The possible options for Pakistan to present the case of Kashmir in international forums.
3.The dire consequences of the conflict between two nuclear powers due to international inaction regarding the gross human rights violations in Indian administered Kashmir