The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, has expressed deep concern over the recent tensions in Pakistan-administered Kashmir and appealed to all parties to maintain peace and order.
During a media briefing in Geneva, UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Lawrence issued a special message from the High Commissioner.
Spokesperson Jeremy Lawrence said that a wave of unrest is ongoing in the region ahead of the legislative assembly elections to be held on July 27. According to reports, dozens of people have been killed during the recent protests and clashes since June, most of them protesters and law enforcement officials.
The High Commissioner, Volker Turk, has urged that all deaths, including those of protesters and security forces, be investigated promptly, comprehensively and impartially.
The spokesman said that the Joint Awami Action Committee (JAAC), a protest movement comprising traders, transporters, students, lawyers and civil society activists, has been banned under anti-terrorism laws on the pretext of alleged threats to public order and security, and several of the organization’s leaders have been arrested.
UN spokesman Jeremy Lawrence warned that criminalizing a civil society organization and imposing severe restrictions on peaceful assemblies is a serious violation of the fundamental human rights to freedom of expression, peaceful protest and association.
He demanded that the detained leaders of the Joint Awami Action Committee be given immediate access to their families and legal representation (lawyers), and that they be given full guarantees of their rights to a fair trial and a transparent legal process against them.
During a briefing in Geneva, the spokesperson expressed deep concern over the communications blackout in the region, saying that restrictions on the internet at this critical time of tension severely affect the right to obtain, impart and express information.
He urged the authorities to immediately and fully restore internet services throughout the region.
According to spokesperson Jeremy Lawrence, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has stressed the need to initiate meaningful, constructive and inclusive political dialogue to address the underlying issues in the region and the long-standing concerns of the local population, so that the situation can be resolved peacefully.
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