Genocide in Kashmir: Right of Self-Determination, UNSC Resolutions and Holding India To Account Under International Humanitarian Law

Abstract

Kashmir has been a flashpoint of conflict since independence from British rule in 1947 and the partition of India into two states. These two countries, India, and Pakistan, have both claimed the land on the northern most sector of the Subcontinent the focal point of which is the Valley of Kashmir. The conflict is not a domestic dispute or a regional issue between the two protagonists but engages international law because of the human rights violations and the atrocities committed that has engaged international humanitarian law.  The occupation by India of Kashmir was controversial from the start as it went against the aspirations of the population who had close affinity and kinship with Pakistan. The United Nations Security Council mandated a referendum to decide the future of the territory divided by a Line of Control, a military boundary, but India has refused to implement the resolutions. The Indian army has cracked down on the population under the Special Powers Act 1958 and various other opaque ordinances that oppress the population. The final act in this de facto occupation was transformed into de jure control by the Indian Parliament when it revoked Article 370 and Article 35 of the Constitution and annexed Kashmir. The Valley has been placed under lockdown and the population disfranchised with all political activity banned and demographic changes underway by a government appointed by India. The pogroms committed by the Security forces and the gross abuses of human rights have been catalogued in two UN Human Rights Council reports that implicate the Indian forces. The argument of this paper is that there should be rigorous application of international law and war crimes tribunals should be invested to prosecute the Indian officials for breaches of human rights established in the conduct of non-international conflicts (NIC).