January 5, 2025, Right of Self-Determination Day underscores the unfulfilled promise of freedom for the people of Jammu and Kashmir. Despite global recognition of their rights, Kashmir remains under illegal occupation, demanding urgent international action for a just resolution.
The commemoration of January 5, 2025, the Right of Self-Determination Day, is a somber reminder that the promise of self-determination to the people of Jammu and Kashmir remains unfulfilled.
The UN Charter established the current world order. It seeks to develop “friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principles of equal rights and self-determination of peoples”. The right of peoples to self-determination was affirmed in common Article II of the Covenants on Civil and Political and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in the Declaration on Decolonization, and in the Declaration on Friendly Relations among States. It is an erga omnes right under international law.
The application of the right to self-determination since 1945 led to the process of decolonization in which over 100 nations emerged as independent States. Among the first of these were Pakistan and India.
The application of the right to self-determination since 1945 led to the process of decolonization in which over 100 nations emerged as independent States. Among the first of these were Pakistan and India.
However, the process of decolonization of British India remains incomplete due to the denial of the right of self-determination to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. India sought to absorb Jammu and Kashmir on the basis of an unproven “accession” by the Hindu Maharaja ruling the Muslim majority population of the State of Jammu and Kashmir–in contravention of the principle of the partition whereby Hindu majority areas and states were to accede to India and Muslim majority areas and states to Pakistan. Faced by insurrection by the Kashmiris, India intervened militarily to occupy Jammu and Kashmir. It took the issue to the UN Security Council to secure its claim, even while its Prime Minister affirmed the intention to allow the Kashmiri people to determine their own future.
After due deliberation, the Security Council decided, in resolution 47 (1948), and several subsequent resolutions, that the “final disposition” of the State of Jammu and Kashmir will be made in accordance with the will of (its) people expressed through the democratic method of a free and impartial plebiscite conducted under the auspices of the United Nations”. The Security Council resolutions were accepted by both India and Pakistan.
However, soon after, India resorted to various tactics, including obfuscation regarding the proposed modalities for conduct of the plebiscite, to frustrate the implementation of the resolutions and enable the Kashmiri people to exercise their right of self-determination. Later, India took unilateral steps, such as setting up a “Constituent Assembly” followed by a “Legislative Assembly” in occupied Jammu and Kashmir to have them endorse its claim to the State. Taking cognizance of these moves, the Security Council declared, in resolution 91 (1950), that these unilateral measures “would not constitute a disposition of the State in accordance with the (above) principle” (of self-determination) and later, in resolution 122 (1953), the Council reaffirmed that the “final disposition (of the State) would be made through a UN-sponsored plebiscite.
Pakistan endeavored through multiple multilateral and bilateral avenues to secure implementation of the Security Council resolutions. And, the quest of the Kashmiri people for self-determination was largely pursued through peaceful political means until December 20, 1989. On that date, Indian forces killed over 100 innocent Kashmiris in Srinagar protesting peacefully against another fraudulent election organized by India. This massacre triggered the freedom struggle of the Kashmiri people. This was a legitimate liberation movement. The UN General Assembly in resolution 2649 (1970) has affirmed “the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples under colonial and alien domination recognized as being entitled to the right of self-determination to restore to themselves that right by any means at their disposal” and “to seek and receive all kinds of moral and material assistance.”
However, the process of decolonization of British India remains incomplete due to the denial of the right of self-determination to the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
India’s response was the brutal suppression of the Kashmiri people. Over the next decade, Indian occupation forces martyred over 100,000 Kashmiris, widowed 22,000 women, orphaned 120,000 children and raped 11,000 Kashmiri women.
Like the erstwhile colonial powers, India has sought to portray the Kashmiri freedom struggle as “terrorism”. As Nelson Mandela, when convicted of “terrorism” by South Africa’s apartheid regime, stated: “A freedom fighter learns the hard way that it is the oppressor who defines the nature of the struggle and the oppressed is often left no recourse but to use the methods that mirror those of the oppressor”.
The quest of the Kashmiri people for self-determination was largely pursued through peaceful political means until December 20, 1989. On that date, Indian forces killed over 100 innocent Kashmiris in Srinagar protesting peacefully against another fraudulent election organized by India.
The UN’s Declaration on Decolonization explicitly calls for a cessation of “all armed action or repressive measures of all kinds directed against dependent peoples…”. India’s repression is illegal and constitutes “State terrorism” against the Kashmiri people.
India’s massive violations of human rights in occupied Jammu and Kashmir have been amply recorded in the two Reports issued by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2018 and 2019. These Reports called for a UN Commission of Inquiry to investigate these human rights violations. India refused to accept this Inquiry Commission. It persisted in suppressing the Kashmiris. Its occupation forces enjoyed impunity for their crimes under India’s draconian “security” laws.
On August 5, 2019, India gave up all pretense of legality for its occupation. It took unilateral measures, violating its own laws to illegally change its Constitution and eliminate Jammu and Kashmir’s “special status”, separate Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh into two “Union Territories” and impose what Indian leaders have ominously called a “Final Solution” for Kashmir.
Anticipating the opposition of the Kashmiri people, India inducted an additional 180,000 troops into occupied Kashmir, raising the total occupation force to 900,000–one soldier for every 8 Kashmiri man, woman and child. It imposed a draconian curfew and communications blackout; incarcerated all Kashmiri political leaders; illegally detained 13,000 Kashmiri youth. Such repressive measures–extrajudicial killings; enforced disappearances; rape and intimidation of Kashmiri women; violent suppression of peaceful Kashmiri protests, demolition of entire neighborhoods and villages as a form of “collective punishment”–continue to this day.
In a classic settler-colonial project, India has initiated illegal measures to change the demographic composition of occupied Jammu and Kashmir from a Muslim majority into a Hindu majority territory and thus drown out the demand for freedom and self-determination. New “domicile rules” have been introduced and over 4 million fake domicile certificates have been issued to Hindus from all across India to settle in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). The land and properties of Kashmiris are also being confiscated for military and official use. Through an exercise of re-allocation of electoral seats in the IIOJK “legislature,” Muslim representation has been further reduced and the voices for freedom further silenced. These unilateral measures constitute gross violations of international law, especially the Fourth Geneva Convention. They may also constitute war crimes and violate the provisions of the Genocide Convention. Indeed, the organization, Genocide Watch, has warned of the possibility of genocide in IIOJK.
India’s unilateral and illegal measures undertaken since August 5, 2019 have removed the fig leaf of justification for India’s presence in IIOJK. Its claim to Jammu and Kashmir now rests on nothing but naked military force and occupation. India’s occupation violates not only the principle of self-determination, but also another cardinal principle of the UN Charter: the prohibition of the acquisition of territory by the use of force.
But India cannot resile from the obligation to implement the UN Security Council resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir. Security Council resolutions are immutable. They lapse only if they are implemented. They can be changed only by the Security Council itself. The obligations arising from the Council’s resolutions cannot be unilaterally annulled or renounced. Article 25 of the Charter requires all UN Member States “to implement” its decisions. The UN Secretary-General reaffirmed on August 8, 2019 that the Kashmir dispute would have to be resolved “on the basis of the UN Charter and UN resolutions”.
Nor can Pakistan step away from this obligation to implement the Security Council’s resolutions. In accordance with the principle of Partition of British India, Kashmir should be part of Pakistan. The people of Jammu and Kashmir are the kith and kin of the people of Pakistan. Despite India’s massive repression, the Kashmiri opposition to India’s rule has been manifest, consistent and resolute. The latest fraudulent elections organized by India in IIOJK have only served to demonstrate the opposition of all Kashmiris to India’s unilateral and illegal “Final Solution”.
Pakistan will maintain its steadfast support to the Kashmir people’s right to self-determination and continue to demand the implementation of the Security Council resolutions and a free and fair UN supervised plebiscite to determine the “final disposition” of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Jammu and Kashmir dispute has led to several conflicts between Pakistan and India. It is the central cause of the persistent tensions between the two countries. Another conflict would be disastrous for the peoples of the two countries and the entire region, if not the world. Pakistan has made sincere efforts to resolve the conflict through numerous rounds of negotiations. These efforts have been consistently frustrated by India’s obduracy and belligerence. The unilateral and illegal measures India has taken since August 5, 2019 have further narrowed the political space for a fair settlement. These unilateral measures must be rescinded to open the way for a dialogue and a just and equitable resolution of the dispute in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people.
Anticipating the opposition of the Kashmiri people, India inducted an additional 180,000 troops into occupied Kashmir, raising the total occupation force to 900,000–one soldier for every 8 Kashmiri man, woman and child.
India remains obdurate and aggressive. It has now asserted a claim to Azad Kashmir and territories administered by Pakistan. Its leaders have threatened to cross the “Line of Control” and “take over” these territories. It goes without saying that Pakistan will respond resolutely to any Indian aggression.
The international community cannot continue to ignore the threat posed by the Jammu and Kashmir dispute to international peace and security. Nor can the world ignore India’s egregious and continuing violations of the human rights of the people of IIOJK.
The UN General Assembly has unanimously adopted Pakistan's resolution on the "Universal Realization of the Right of Peoples to Self-Determination" each year, with broad sponsorship from UN Member States. This is an unequivocal manifestation of the world's demand for freedom for all peoples under foreign or alien subjugation or occupation, including the people of IIOJK.
The UN Security Council has considered the Kashmir dispute on three occasions since August 5, 2019. The Council should revive consideration of the situation in occupied Jammu and Kashmir to reassert the legitimacy of its resolutions on the dispute and to demand its peaceful resolution in accordance with these resolutions and the wishes of the people of IIOJK.
The UN Secretary-General can also exercise his considerable authority under the UN Charter to promote the implementation of the Security Council resolutions and end India’s oppression in IIOJK. Among other steps, the UN Secretary-General could insist on his offer of mediation to resolve the Kashmir dispute. He could also appoint a Special Envoy to monitor the situation and facilitate dialogue.
The UN’s human rights organs have a responsibility to seek an end to India’s egregious violations of human rights in IIOJK and hold India accountable for its crimes in Kashmir. These are a blight on the principles and values enshrined in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and international human rights laws. To this end, the Commission of Inquiry recommended in the 2018 and 2019 Reports of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights should be established. The Special Mechanisms of the Human Rights Council should reiterate their demand for early access to IIOJK. Similarly, global civil society must amplify the voice of the Kashmiris for justice and self-determination.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has extended consistent support to the just cause of the Kashmiri people. The OIC’s Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir has outlined a series of measures to promote the Kashmiris’ right to self-determination. The OIC’s collective support will be invaluable in securing this right.
The promise of self-determination to the Kashmiri people, enshrined in UNSC resolutions, remains a moral and legal imperative for the international community. India’s unilateral actions and human rights abuses have undermined this fundamental right. India’s actions require a robust international response. As the world grapples with pressing global challenges of development, climate change and security, the struggle of the Kashmiri people serves as a poignant reminder of the importance of upholding international commitments and human dignity. Keeping the promise alive for self-determination requires unwavering commitment, collective action, and recognition that the structures for peace and progress can only be constructed on the foundation of justice.
The author is the Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations in New York.
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