Inshal Rao
LATIN American Federation of Association of Relatives of the Disappeared
in 1981, initiated to commemorate their loved ones who had gone missing. Over through increasing numbers of missing persons across the world, UN General Assembly expressed deep concern its resolution 65/209 on 21 December 2010 and adopted International Convention for the protection of all persons from enforced disappearance, declared 30 August to be observed as International Day of Disappeared. Article 1 of the Convention “no one shall be subjected to enforced disappearance & no exceptional circumstances whatsoever whether war or threat of war, political instability or public emergency may be invoked as justification”, since three decades Families of missing persons of Kashmir have been wandering here & there who lost their love ones by Indian forces & state sponsored militia Tha Ikhwanis.
On Human Rights Day under the banner of Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), a group of villagers submitted 132 cases from a single area of Banihal village to J&K State Human Rights Commission, how worst situation is there that 132 cases of missing persons in one area of one district, the ADPD & Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society claims more then 8000 cases of missing persons, A report published in 2009 by International People’s Tribunal for Human Rights & Justice in Kashmir that documented 2700 unmarked, unknown and mass graves which contain thousands of bullet riddled bodies across 55 villages of northern Kashmir, it is the buried evidence of Indian forces’ crime against humanity, which is endorsed by State Human Rights Commission in 2011, to which Indian Govt refused to forensic examination of bodies.
According to Article 5 of The Convention “the widespread and systematic practice of enforced disappearance of persons constitutes a crime against humanity”, in view of this in Kashmir there is open and widespread violation of international norms and standards by Indian Govt, Black laws like Public Safety Act which allow Indian forces to detain anyone at will and can keep in custody for two years without any trial, another black law Armed Forces Special Power Act AFPSA gives impunity to forces for all kinds of offence therefore Indian forces’ involvement in massive offences includes enforced disappearance of persons, brutal torture, molestation of women and girls, extra judicial killings.
The international human rights organisations widely criticized and demanded to revoke such black laws but Indian Govt never responded positively and it is widely heard that Indian Army claims if they are not allowed to operate without impunity then Kashmir will go out of hand, what a pity on humanity is this that they ask for licence to kill innocent people. Fact Finding Committee of Social Activists recently came back from Kashmir which was not allowed to show video & photographs by Delhi Press Club, Kavita Karishnan & Maimoona both activists had shown deep concern over worst situation of Kashmir, more then 4000 lifted by security force under PSA, even young children were detained and kept at unknown places.
Indeed, it is really deep concern that growing number of missing persons in Kashmir by impunitised Indian Army and State sponsored militia ikhwanis. Right to life is everyone’s right, right to security, right to truth to families of missing persons, prohibition of torture, prohibition of extra judicial killings, right to recognize before law & right of freedom & liberty are guaranteed by International Covenant on Civil & Political Rights (ICCPR) to which India is signatory. Also the Rome statute of International Criminal Court described enforced disappearance is crime against humanity. On widespread human rights abuses on Indian side, it is the core responsibility of civilized nations to bar India’s crime against humanity instead of appeal, to which she never pays heed.
