OHCHR reports on Kashmir

The "Report on the Situation of Human Rights in Kashmir: Developments in the Indian State of Jammu and Kashmir from June 2016 to April 2018, and General Human Rights Concerns in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan" was released on 14 June 2018.[1] The first report was released under Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein.[5] The report was compiled through information already available in the public domain as the United Nations team was not given access to the region by either India or Pakistan.[6]

Pakistan largely backed the report, especially the setting up of an international inquiry.[7] In official communication Pakistan denied any equivalence with what was happening on both sides of the LoC.[8] The Indian media also denied any similarity between what was happening on either side.[6] India officially rejected the report calling it a violation of its "sovereignty and territorial integrity" as well as being a "selective compilation of largely unverified information" that was published with bias and prejudice.[9][10][11] India's official spokesperson also claimed that entities such as "Azad Jammu and Kashmir" and "Gilgit-Baltistan" did not exist.[12]

The report noted the activities engaged in by the militants on both sides of the border; how pro-India advocates have been killed by militants on the Pakistan side, and how militants on the Indian side engage in violence and scare tactics.[13]

The "Update of the Situation of Human Rights in Indian-Administered Kashmir and Pakistan-Administered Kashmir from May 2018 to April 2019" was released on 8 July 2019.[2] The second report was released under UN human rights head Michelle Bachelet.[5]

The report questioned India's crowd control measures in the region, investigations into alleged extrajudicial killings and legal immunity for security forces. Similarities were drawn between the situation in IaK and PaK. The report mentioned that people in Gilgit-Baltistan were "deprived of a number of fundamental human rights", "members of nationalist and pro-independence political parties" as well as journalists faced political threats and harassment.[5] The report did note that journalists are able to collect information more freely on the Indian side.[14] Following the publication India called the report "a continuation of the earlier false and motivated narrative",[15] and declined communication with any United Nations special rapporteurs on the reports.[16]

China reacted to the two reports by saying that India and Pakistan should take no unilateral decision with relation to Kashmir; and that the human rights of Kashmiris should be respected.[17]