This is communication from the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and the UN Special Rapporteurs on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, the situation of human rights defenders, the independence of judges and lawyers, minority issues, freedom of religion or belief, the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism and the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, among other things, concerns the continued lack of identification and preservation of unmarked single and mass burial sites in
IAJK, including the failure to adequately protect such sites and to conduct forensic investigations, in accordance with international standards, to identify the remains of individuals buried in these graves and to establish the cause, manner and circumstances of their deaths, as required for the search processes of the forcibly disappeared.

Topics: unmarked graves, mass burial sites, failure to protect, failure to investigate, enforced and involuntary disappearances

Terms: 2019 closure of State Human Rights Commission, Indian impunity, Indian failure to reply, failure to conduct independent forensic investigations, grave sites in Bramulla, Bandipora, Kupwara, Rajouri and Poonch, Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA), Jammu and Kashmir Disturbed Areas Act, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), discrimination against Kashmiri Muslims, denial fothe right to mourn, denial of the right to seek redress, intimidation of human rights defenders, harrassment of human rights defenders, systemic restrictions of fundamental rights of Kashmiri Muslims

This report by a panel of international experts, Sonja Biserko (Serbia), Marzuki Darusman (Indonesia) and Stephen Rapp (USA), investigates allegations of serious human rights violations against Muslims in India since 2019 in order to determine whether there is sufficient credible information to require that an independent international investigation be mandated in order to fulfil the victims’ and survivors’ rights under international human rights law. The panel found that acts constituting war crimes and crimes against humanity appeared to have occurred in IAK since August 2019. The authors believe that the credible information we received justifies the initiation of formal investigations by a competent, independent and impartial body, mandated by the UN, which would conduct in-depth investigations into the allegations we uncovered in this report.

Topics: the historical context, findings on violations of international human rights law, findings on violations of international criminal law, the right to an effective remedy, recommendations, subjugation, exclusion and gross human rights violations against Kashmiri Muslims

Terms: arbitrary deprivation of life, arbitrary detentions, torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, gender based violence and discrimination, incitement to discrimination, hostility and violence, violations of prohibition of discrimination, violations of freedom of religion, violations of freedom of expression, association and assembly, violations of the right to a fair trial, discrimination in access to econmic, social and cultural rights, violations of the right to effective remedy, crimes against humanity, war crimes, direct and public incitement to genocide, failure of international accountability, habeas corpus, failure of Indian judiciary, failure of rule of law, abuse and death in custody, deaths during protests, use of pellet guns, communication shutdown, restrictionson civic space, abuse in detention, killings, lack of investigations and prosecutions, closure of state human rights commission, case lists

In this press release, Amnesty International India condemns the Government and the Army’s legal impunity in J&K, their relentless crackdown on independent voices and activists, failure to abide by international human rights law, failure to abide by the constitution of India, and their failure to protect minorities and the civilian population from human rights abuses. Amnesty International India calls for prompt, independent and impartial investigations into the recent killings by armed groups.

Topics: violence against religious minority, violence against Hindu minority in Kashmir, state impunity, collective punishment, mass human rights abuses, abrogation of Article 370, legal impunity, harassment of human rights defenders 

Terms: Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, collective punishment, state impunity, excessive use of force, harassment of human rights defenders, crackdown on civil rights activists, judicial failure, Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, custodial torture, custodial rape, custodial killings, violation of proportionality principle, violation of necessity principle, impunity, failure of accountability

India is “Not Free”, with a score of 27/100 (7/40 for Political Rights and 20/60 for Civil Liberties). Control of Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since 1948, andIndian-administered Kashmir long enjoyed substantial autonomy under India’s constitution. Civil liberties have also been curtailed to quell ongoing public opposition to the reorganisation. Indian security forces are frequently accused of human rights violations, but few are punished.

Topics: access to information and internet, freedom of assembly, minority rights, electoral freedom, political pluralism and participation, government functioning, freedom of expression and belief, associational and organisational rights, rule of law, personal autonomy and individual rights

Terms: internet shutdowns, right to freedom of assembly, right to free and fair elections, right to freedom of speech, right to political self-determination, right to dissent

Three journalists told CPJ on the condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisal, that reporting in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir has become so difficult that dozens of Kashmiri journalists have fled the valley in recent months, fearing they will be the government’s next targets.

Topics: fear of reprisal, targeting of journalists in Jammu and Kashmir, media censorship and lack of freedom of speech, Hindutva leadership, restrictions on mobility of journalists

Terms: arbitrary detention of Sajad Gul, Fahad Shah of the Kashmir Walla and Aasif Sultan from the Kashmir Narrator, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), Kashmir Narrator, Kashmir Walla, arrest of journalist Aakash Hasan, Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA)