Geneva: The Baloch Human Rights Council (BHRC) on Wednesday held a seminar at the John Knox Centre in Geneva where it urged the United Nations to hold Pakistan accountable for committing crimes against humanity in Sindh and Baluchistan.

The seminar, titled "Human Rights Situation in Baluchistan and Sindh" was attended by members of different human rights advocacy organizations. The seminar was moderated by Qambar Malik of BHRC, while Samad Baloch of BHRC presided over the seminar.

Hidayat Bhutto of the World Sindhi Congress, Naseem Baloch of the Baloch National Movement, Jamil Maqsood of the United Kashmir People's National Party, Kavita Pajan of Global Human Rights Defence, Raghavir Singh Sodho, Jamshaid Amiri of the Baloch Human Rights Council, Hassan Hamdam of the Baloch Human Rights Council, Hafeezan Wadhio of the World Sindhi Congress, and Sami Ullah Baloch of the Baloch Human Rights Council spoke at the seminar.

In the seminar, speakers gave detailed presentations of the human rights situation in Baluchistan and Sindh, particularly the cases of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of socio-political and human rights defenders. The speakers unanimously held the Pakistani security forces accountable for violations of human rights in Sindh and Baluchistan.

The speakers expressed concern that security forces remain unaccountable despite their involvement in violations of human rights. They stated that in international law, many of the crimes committed by Pakistani security forces against the Sindhi and Baloch people constitute crimes against humanity, necessitating a meaningful response from the international community to ensure that no crime goes unnoticed.

On March 15, a delegation of the Baloch Human Rights Council submitted two separate petitions addressed to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk calling for the UN's intervention in the worsening human rights situation in Baluchistan.

Baloch Human Rights Council called for the formation of a UN investigation mission to investigate extrajudicial killings and mass enforced disappearances of Baloch political and social activists in Pakistan. In the memorandum, the Baloch Human Rights Council highlighted the human rights situation in Baluchistan.

"In the face of heinous crimes committed by the Pakistani security forces in Baluchistan, UN intervention is imperative. Establishing a UN investigative mission to probe extrajudicial killings and mass disappearances of the Baloch political and social activists would be a step forward," Baloch Human Rights Council said in the petition addressed to UN Chief.

It further said, "This action will pave the way for bringing to justice the culprits of heinous crimes against humanity in Baluchistan by initiating cases against them in the international court of justice in The Hague."

In the petition, the Baloch Human Rights Council said, "Enforced disappearances, unlawful custody, dumping of mutilated bodies and inhuman torture of the Baloch political activists are part of the strategy to crush the Baloch national aspirations."

According to Baloch Human Rights Council (BHRC), 367 persons went missing, and 79 bodies of extrajudicially killed missing persons were identified from January 2022 to December 2022. Furthermore, the recovered bodies of another 58 were unrecognizable