UN has come out in support of High Commissioner for Human Rights report on Kashmir. India has strongly objected to such remarks made by the UNSG. India continues to maintain that Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein did not have the mandate to prepare such report

by Geeta Mohan

United Nations has come out in support of High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Husseins recent and first ever OHCHR (Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights) report on Kashmir.

Advocating probe, United Nations Secretary General (UNSG) Antonio Guterres said that the High Commissioners action "represents the voice of the UN" on the issue.

"As you can imagine, all the action of the Human Rights High Commissioner is an action that represents the voice of the UN in relation to that issue, Guterres told reporters on Thursday at his press conference.

He was asked whether he supports an independent international probe into the human rights situation in Kashmir as recommended by High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein in his report on Kashmir last month.

India has strongly objected to such remarks made by the UNSG. During a press briefing on Friday, Defence Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman rejected the OHCHR report on Kashmir and said, It is not reflective of whats on the ground. Indian Army is working with restraint. I dont think they had anyone working on the ground reporting to them.

The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday reiterated Indias stand calling the report 'baseless' and 'fallacious', questioning the premise on which the information was collected and the report was written.

While, the OHCHR recommended an independent probe in Kashmir to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) days after the report was released, the proposal found no support there barring Pakistan.

Secretary General Guterres as head of the United Nations ought to support every wing of the world body but India continues to maintain that Zeid Raad Al Hussein did not have the mandate to prepare such a report.

Permanent Representative of India to the UN, Syed Akbaruddin said that the member states had not supported the recommendation made by the High Commissioner at the concerned forum so the matter ended there.

That the High Commissioner for Human Rights represents the UN Secretariat on the issue of human rights is a factual thing. But that his report was not followed up by anyone is also a reality that no one sees it as something they are ready to support. So referring to the report is like flogging a dead horse, he said.

During the same conference, the Secretary General also drew a line on third party intervention in resolving the outstanding issue of Kashmir between India and Pakistan. He recommended bilateral dialogue saying, it is clear to me that only political solutions can address political problems.