Advocate Parvez Ahmed Shah, representing the Kashmir delegation, emphasized the importance of protecting and respecting the right for all to participate in UN mechanisms,highlighting that this right is fundamental, as it relates to basic freedoms and human rights.
Advocate Shah, a member of the Kashmir delegation at the United Nations Human Rights Council, emphasized in his speech the critical need to respect and protect the right for everyone to participate in United Nations mechanisms.
He highlighted that this right is fundamental, representing basic freedoms and human rights for all, as he passionately stated during his intervention at the council.
Nonetheless, within Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), there has been a noticeable rise in both the frequency and seriousness of retaliatory actions against journalists and organizations collaborating with the United Nations over the years.
Former UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, David Kaye,brought attention to this issue by specifically noting the targeted state repression and heavy-handed measures taken against local journalists, he said.
For more than ten years, international journalists have faced restrictions that prevent them from entering the disputed territory and reporting from there. Furthermore, there is a frequent disruption or significant reduction in internet and other communication services,depriving people of meaningful means of communication.
Draconian laws have criminalized political dissent, effectively forcing journalists and newspapers into a state of almost complete compliance,all the while maintaining an environment filled with fear.
Newspapers that tried to highlight state repression have been targeted through various crude ways to deter others from speaking.
The Kashmir Walla, a news site that covered the Kashmir conflict and its effects on people’s lives is one of the most recent victims of this repression.
The Kashmir Walla’s website and social media accounts were shut down by the authorities on August 19, 2023, on the grounds that they were“glorifying terrorism” and “spreading fake news”.
