With the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) set to conduct a camp sitting and an open public hearing on grievances related to human rights violations in Jammu and Kashmir, Senior Advocate Ashok Bhan met NHRC chairperson Justice Arun Mishra on Thursday.
This is the first time the NHRC will address such issues in the region following the abolition of the State Human Rights Commission. Bhan, renowned for his expertise in international law, briefed the NHRC chairperson on the dire human rights situation in Jammu and Kashmir and submitted a note on it.
Bhan emphasized the need for a humanitarian approach towards the victims of the long-standing turbulence in the region, which has witnessed over 30 years of insurgency, leading to violence, displacement, and suffering.
In his two-hour meeting with the NHRC chairperson, Bhan discussed the pressing issues facing the region, including the rehabilitation of internally displaced native populations, addressing the drug menace, and ensuring economic stability for the youth.
Bhan highlighted the importance of winning the hearts and minds of the society and establishing a robust security ecosystem to build faith in the rule of law and democracy.
Human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir have ranged from mass killings, forced disappearances, torture, rape, abuses due to using pellet guns and suppression of freedom of speech to bans on religious gatherings, a situation akin to genocide and selective killings.
The NHRC camp sitting and open public hearing are scheduled to take place from February 7 to 9 in Srinagar, with the NHRC inviting individuals to submit complaints of rights violations.
The NHRC will review these complaints, including acts of terrorism that inhibit the enjoyment of human rights, and recommend appropriate remedial measures. They will also examine treaties and international instruments on human rights for effective implementation.
Bhan also reminded the NHRC chairman that the rights body came up when India was in a bind on Kashmir at the UNHRC in 1994. It was after realizing this and to keep international human rights bodies from interfering in domestic affairs that then Prime Minister Narasimha Rao conceived the idea of an internal mechanism to address human rights issues.
Bhan added that despite having its origin to address rights issues in Kashmir, the NHRC never sought any proactive role in the region.
He said it is better late than never that the NHRC has woken up to take up the issue of human rights in Kashmir and also to order ways to ameliorate them.
This development follows the aftermath of the inoperablity of Article 370 and the subsequent winding of the Jammu and Kashmir State Human Rights Commission. The Union Government empowered the NHRC to address human rights concerns in the Union Territory through the J&K Reorganisation Act.
The NHRC’s decision to hold an open public hearing on rights violations comes after call of its conscience and from the Supreme Court opinion to create mechanisms allowing people in Jammu and Kashmir to file complaints directly with the NHRC.
Bhan told NHRC about the brutal human rights situation faced by the Kashmiri Pandit community. Forced displacement, violence, and ongoing discrimination.That left them vulnerable and in need of urgent government and NHRC intervention.The rights to life, liberty, and security of the Kashmiri Pandits are being systematically violated, and their cultural heritage is at risk of being obliterated and erased. National Human Rights Commission is once again urged to investigate these atrocities, ensure accountability, and implement measures to safeguard the well-being and rights of the Kashmiri Pandits and their return to roots is a national demand that deserves serious recommendations.
It is hoped that he NHRC efforts are seen as a healing process and unifying factor for varied sections of the fractured society shattered by the turbulence of the last 35 years, Bhan said.