Kashmir lockdown: Amnesty International urges India to respect human rights laws

Secretary General of Amnesty International Kumi Naidoo reiterated his call to the Indian government to act in accordance with international human rights law and standards towards the people living in occupied Kashmir.

“For the first time in decades the United Nations Security Council is taking up the issue of Jammu and Kashmir. Members of the council need to remember that their mandate is to protect international peace and security — and they should seek to resolve the situation in a way that puts the human rights of the people in this troubled region at its centre,” Naidoo said in a statement.

He added, “We reiterate our calls to the Indian government to act in accordance with international human rights law and standards towards people living in Jammu and Kashmir, including in relation to arrests and detentions of political opponents, and the rights to liberty and freedom of movement.”

Naidoo added, the actions of the Indian government have thrown ordinary people’s lives into turmoil, subjecting them to unnecessary pain and distress on top of the years of human rights violations they have already endured.

“The people of Jammu and Kashmir should not be treated as pawns in a political crisis, and the international community must come together to call for their human rights to be respected,” he added.