Srinagar, Mar 20: A delegation of Kashmiri leaders met with a number of representatives of United Nations Human Rights mechanisms at the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva.
Headed by Hurriyat (M) Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, the delegation included Barrister A. Majid Tramboo, Chairman of Kashmir Centre, and Prof. Nazir Ahmed Shawl, Chairman Kashmir Centre London, a Hurriyat (M) statement said.
Present at the meeting were representatives of The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, The Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers and The Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
Mirwaiz applauded the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention for pursuing the cases of detention and helping to raise awareness of arbitrary acts of detention upon individuals who have done nothing wrong. He further raised the issue of young men still incarcerated after the troubled summer of 2010 and discussed all available options to speed up their release by the government forces in Kashmir.
Mirwaiz discussed the upcoming visit of the Philip Alston, Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, to India and made the case for his visit to Srinagar. It is now confirmed that he will visit Srinagar, the statement said.
The delegation discussed a number of reports that have been submitted to various human rights mechanisms in the recent past. Particular mention was made to the report of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders and the Report of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances which were both very critical of the current human rights situation in Kashmir.
The delegation raised the all important issue of immunity that is enjoyed by government forces in Kashmir. Discussing the “Black Laws,” such as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and the J&K Public Safety Act, members of the delegation said that there could be no true pursuit of human rights and justice in Kashmir while these laws were still in place.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 20 Mar 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 20 Mar 2012 18:30:00 GMT
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