“India violates international law in Jammu and Kashmir” – Ahmad Shahidov speaks at OSCE Vienna conference:
Report:-Muhammad Amir Siddique Journalist Vienna Austria.
On June 3, a two-day conference on “tolerance and non-discrimination,” organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights and the Finnish chairmanship of the OSCE, continued in Vienna, the capital of Austria.
The event, attended by ambassadors, diplomats, and official representatives from 57 countries, discussed the protection of civil society in the OSCE area, the work of human rights defenders, ensuring freedom of peaceful assembly, and the current challenges in these fields.
Ahmad Shahidov, head of the Azerbaijan Institute for Democracy and Human Rights and a human rights defender, took part in the panel discussions and drew attention to severe human rights violations occurring in the South Asian region.
In his speech, Ahmad Shahidov stressed that the rising cases of intolerance and discrimination worldwide are not just the problem of a single country or region but a threat to global peace. He noted that religious and ethnic-based violence, discrimination, and human rights violations have forced millions of people to leave their native lands.
The human rights defender harshly criticized India, drawing attention to systematic human rights violations in the Jammu and Kashmir region of South Asia. He pointed out that the Indian government has, for years, implemented military pressure and a policy of ethnic and religious discrimination against the local Muslim population. Shahidov stated that since 1989, 96,000 people have been killed, 175,000 civilians imprisoned, and thousands of women subjected to violence.
He emphasized that India’s 2019 revocation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and its attempts to alter the demographic structure of the region represent a gross violation of international law, including United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Ahmad Shahidov further noted that India’s policies not only threaten regional peace and security but also seriously obstruct the development of interfaith and intercultural dialogue. According to him, international organizations and human rights institutions must promptly react to such incidents and work to strengthen interreligious and intercultural cooperation to prevent intolerance and discrimination.
He concluded by stating that the fight against intolerance and discrimination is a global issue, and no international platform should remain indifferent to these problems.
