Joint Communique of OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir, having met on the sidelines of the 76th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday, 23 September 2021 under the Chairmanship of the Secretary General of the OIC;
Having heard the report from the Secretary General of the OIC and the IPHRC, the briefing from the Foreign Minister of Pakistan, the views of the Foreign Ministers of other member states of the Contact Group and the representatives of the Kashmiri people,
The Foreign Ministers:
Reaffirming the OIC’s position and resolutions on the Jammu & Kashmir dispute;
Further reaffirming the right to self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with the recognized OIC position and the Security Council resolutions;
Underscoring that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognized dispute that has been and continues to be on the agenda of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) since 1948 and reaffirmed by the relevant UNSC resolutions granting the Kashmiri people their inalienable right to self-determination;
Stressing that lasting peace in South Asia cannot be achieved without a just settlement of the core Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with UNSC resolutions;
Denouncing the unilateral and illegal Indian actions of 5 August 2019 and subsequent steps to alter the demographic structure of the IIOJK through the issuance of over 4.2 million domiciles to non-Kashmiri Indian citizens;
Affirming that Indian actions are inconsistent with international law, applicable UN Security Council resolutions and India’s own solemn commitments to implement UNSC resolutions;
Eulogizing the legitimate struggle of the Kashmiris for their right to self-determination, and condemning the crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Indian occupation forces in IIOJK since 1989, resulting in the extra-judicial killing of more than 96,000 Kashmiris, widowing of around 23,000 women, rape of over 11250 women and girls and further deploring that around 108,000 children have been orphaned, around 110,000 structures including schools and houses have been destroyed, and more than 8652 unidentified mass graves have been discovered;
Recalling UN General Assembly resolutions, in particular, resolution 2649 (1970) which “recognizes the right of peoples under colonial and alien domination in the legitimate exercise of their right to self-determination”;
Welcoming the meetings of the UN Security Council on 16 August 2019, 15 January 2020 and 5 August 2020 to discuss the grave situation in the IIOJK;
Recalling the statement of the UN Secretary General of 8 August 2019 clearly affirming that the UN position on Jammu and Kashmir was “governed by the Charter of the United Nations and applicable Security Council resolutions”;
Welcoming the meetings of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir on 25 September 2019 and 22 June 2020, noting in particular, that the Joint Communiques adopted by the Contact Group unequivocally rejected the unilateral Indian actions of 5 August 2019 as inconsistent with international law and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions;
Recalling the two reports issued by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in June 2018 and July 2019, comprehensively documenting the gross and systematic violations of human rights in IIOJK;
Recalling the concerns raised by the UN Special Procedure Mandate Holders on the grave human rights in IIOJK especially in the wake of the illegal Indian actions of 5 August;
Welcoming the visit of the OIC Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission to Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) from 5-9 August 2021;
Recalling the visit of the Secretary General’s Special Envoy on Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir in March 2020 and welcoming his comprehensive report presented to the 47th OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in Niamey in November 2020;
Welcoming the forthcoming visit of the Special Envoy on Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir;
Denouncing India’s continued refusal to allow the Special Envoy, the UN Special Mandate Holders and international civil society organizations to visit the IIOJK;
Welcoming the role played by world leaders, parliamentarians, human rights organizations and international media, in raising their voice against illegal Indian occupation and atrocities in IIOJK;
Expressing deep concern that the COVID-19 pandemic has further aggravated the grave humanitarian situation in the IIOJK, and noting with deep concern that the suffering of the Kashmiri people has been exacerbated by lack of access to hospitals, medicines including lifesaving drugs and food supplies;
Denouncing the deliberate Indian policy to deny and deprive the Kashmiris of essential medical supplies by shifting them to Indian states, and to exploit the pandemic to further perpetuate its oppressive reign in the IIOJK;
Welcoming the mandate given by the 47th session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in Niamey to the Humanitarian Department of the OIC Secretariat to examine and analyze the grave human rights and humanitarian situation in the IIOJK with particular reference to the COVID-19 pandemic, and extending full support to the visit of the Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs to the AJK, to fully assess the situation and to present concrete recommendations to the 48th OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in Islamabad. To this end, the Ministers particularly urged the Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs to assess the need for an immediate humanitarian call to support the people in the IIOJK;
Expressing deep condolences to the Kashmiri people over the sad demise of the revered Kashmiri leader, Syed Ali Geelani, and paying homage to his unflinching commitment to the Kashmir cause in the face of persistent persecution and tremendous personal hardship. It was noted that Kashmir’s natural accession to Pakistan was an element of faith for Syed Ali Geelani; he was a true voice and hero of the Kashmiris’ struggle for self-determination, who never lost his ideological mooring for a single moment;
Deploring the unconscionable act of snatching mortal remains of Syed Ali Geelani from his family by the Indian occupation forces and denying them the right to organize a funeral as well as to bury him as per his will;
Denouncing the gross human rights violations committed against Kashmiri leadership and human rights defenders in IIOJK, who are consistently being traumatized, tortured, subjected to cruel and inhumane treatment;
Condemning the use of pellet guns and live fire-arms by the Indian security forces, the use of the so-called ‘cordon-and-search operations’, imprisonment of Kashmiri political leaders, staged ‘fake encounters’, and a deliberate killing spree of Kashmiri youth as a punitive tool to punish entire communities;
Having reviewed the grave situation in the IIOJK,
The Foreign Ministers:
Reaffirmed their support for the legitimate struggle of the Kashmiri people for realization of their inalienable right to self-determination and freedom from Indian occupation;
Declared that the final settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions and a UN supervised plebiscite, is indispensable for durable peace and stability in South Asia;
Demanded India to:
• reverse all illegal and unilateral measures taken on or after 5 August 2019, stop the gross, systematic and widespread human rights abuses in the IIOJK, halt and reverse the illegal demographic changes in the occupied territory, allow unrestricted access to UN Special procedures, international media and independent observers to visit IIOJK, and take concrete and meaningful steps for the full implementation of UNSC resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir;
• conduct an independent investigation against well-documented cases of human rights violations including extra-judicial killings, sexual violence by the Indian occupation forces in the IIOJK;
• allow the family of Syed Ali Geelani and the Kashmiris to carry out his last rites in accordance with their wishes and Islamic traditions; and immediately release detained Kashmiri political leaders and youth in arbitrary detention in jails across India;
Requested the Office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue to monitor the situation of human rights in IIOJK with a view to continuing reporting on the matter;
Directed their respective Permanent Representatives in New York and Geneva to regularly brief the UN Secretary General, Presidents of the UN General Assembly and UN Security Council, President of the Human Rights Council and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the evolving developments in IIOJK;
Requested the OIC Secretary General and OIC member states to highlight the worsening situation in IIOJK at various international forums including the United Nations and call for immediate steps for amelioration of the human rights and humanitarian situation and peaceful resolution of the Jammu & Kashmir dispute;
As provided in several OIC resolutions, requested the OIC Secretary General to write a letter to the President of India seeking a visit by an OIC fact finding mission to visit IIOJK to conduct independent verification of the situation on the ground, and to take steps to ameliorate the situation;
Requested the Special Envoy of the OIC Secretary-General to engage UN Special Procedure Mandate Holders and international human rights organizations to draw global attention to the gross and systematic violations of human rights in the IIOJK;
Called upon the international community to hold India accountable for the heinous crimes being committed by the Indian occupation forces in the IIOJK;
Determined to take concrete actions on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute during the 48th OIC Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Islamabad in March 2022;
Decided to remain actively seized of the matter.
