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Geneva Convention Commissions Mass
Graves In Occupied Kashmir |
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September 18, 2008 The two non-governmental
organisations International Human Rights
Association of American Minorities (IHRAAM)
and the International Council for Human Rights
(ICHR) held a Convention on Disappearances:
Unmarked and Mass Graves and the Relevance of
International Law.
Concurrent to the 9th session of the UN Human
Rights Council, the one-day conference was
convened at the UN Palais des Nations in
Geneva/ Switzerland. It brought together
academics and scholars, international lawyers,
representatives of civil society, members of
the police, as well as forensic archaeologists
and forensic anthropologists, who all
contributed to a fruitful debate on how to
address the discovery of mass graves in
different historical, cultural and legal
contexts.
In the opening plenary, Barrister Majid
Tramboo, Chairman of the ICHR Kashmir Centre
EU, who shared the panel with Dr. Y.N. Kly,
Chairman of the IHRAAM and Dr. Andreas Kleiser,
Policy Director of the International
Commission on Missing People, outlined the
overarching objectives of the convention that
were
• first, to define the necessary procedures
necessary in addressing potentially atrocious
crimes, including holding of impartial and
independent investigations of nameless and
mass graves; and,
• second, in absence of international
community taking steps to prosecute and punish
the perpetrators of atrocious crimes, how
international law could be applicable to bring
such perpetrators to the book.
He stated that, “among others, the Indian
occupied Kashmir region can be taken as one of
the many existing case studies, where the
state is not interested in identifying bodies,
investigating crimes and prosecuting
perpetrators.” He further commented that the
relevance of international law addressing the
Kashmir context has most recently been
processed by the European Parliament’s urgency
resolution on mass graves in Kashmir that
expressly strongly condemns the unlawful
killings, enforced disappearances, torture,
rape and other human rights abuses which have
occurred in Jammu and Kashmir since the
beginning of the armed conflict in 1989.With
respect to missing or disappeared individuals,
the Policy Director of the International
Commission on Missing Persons, Dr. Andreas
Kleiser stressed the need for a systematic and
holistic approach that includes “the rule of
law and a transition agenda following
conflict, but also justice processes and
accountability of the perpetrators.” Other
important factors are, in his view, the
“treatment of traumatised victims and
information sharing with the family members
that are left behind.”
Chairing the first theme (Orientation and
understanding of international human rights
law as it relates to the discovery of mass
graves, a possible evidence of genocide or
ethnocide) of the convention, Dr. Y.N. Kly
emphasised the importance of the involvement
of citizens of the local villages who are, in
most instances, not only the ones to discover
and report mass grave sites, but also
essential for cooperation in unfamiliar areas
and structures. Such a set of tasks that
states as well as the international community
are called to take into account, are
applicable to all conflict situations, whether
they appear in numerous occasions in Kashmir
or, for example and as reported by Mr. Midhi
Perincek from the Turkish Human Rights
Association, in Turkey. Mr. Farooq Siddiqi
added affirmatively that “the occurrence of
mass graves is, indeed, not only limited to
countries where tyrants and dictators are
ruling – history and presence shows us
different!” According to him, only in Kashmir
approximately 940 mass graves have been found.
In the second theme (Rapidly growing use of
forensic anthropology and archaeology in
relation to persons missing as a result of
armed conflict, violation of human rights and
natural disasters), Prof. Margaret Cox, Chief
Executive of the Inforce Foundation, UK,
highlighted however that “unless there is
political will, forensics cannot do much.” An
important point raised by John R. Hunter,
Professor at the University of Birmingham for
Ancient History and Archaeology, is that
“there are not only forensic reasons for the
recovery of remains of bodies, but primarily
humanitarian aspects, which are no less
important.” Dr. Marie Louise Jorkov, Lecturer
of Forensic Anthropology at the Bournemouth
University, added that there is an “immense
potential of modern technologies” that enable
scientists not only to precisely scrutinise
sites of alleged mass graves and locate bodies
but also to undertake DNA- and dental
examination.” All scientists agreed on her
statement that “it is highly necessary that
trained personnel undertake excavation, since
untrained actions may destroy necessary
evidence.”
It is therefore essential that “not only the
legal community should discuss this issue but
all related academic circles, including
experts from different fields,” said Aslihan
Tekin, KAGIDER, Representative of the Women
Entrepreneurs Association of Turkey and Law
Candidate at the Ghent University, during the
third theme of the convention (Definition of
each possible violation under human rights law
and their legal consequences). As civil
society and the parents of the disappeared
carry most often the burden to publish and
report crimes, support of these groups of
society is a highly necessary element to fight
injustice,” said Ersen Sansal, Head of the
Human Rights Department of the Ankara Bar
Association.In order to achieve positive
developments in the Kashmir region Prof. Peter
van Krieken, proposed a range of advocacy
steps addressing international bodies and
those governments involved in the conflict,
which “could help us building a legal
framework that could, in turn, help bring
justice to victims.”
Moreover, convention participants agreed with
Prof. Nazir Shawl, Executive Director, Justice
Foundation Kashmir Centre London that with
respect to the Indian held Kashmir “mass
graves, torture and the right of life must be
put into context.” He further commented that
“justice is, however, not the only issue that
requires further discussion, but also and
mainly prevention, since atrocious crimes
continue to be committed in Kashmir.”
In the closing plenary, the Convention
concluded successfully with Barrister Majid
Tramboo’s proposal to set-up a specialised
working group consisting of experts with
different educational backgrounds that would
particularly look into one of the most current
and shocking the discovery of mass graves,
namely the ones in the Indian held Kashmir
region. The delegates unanimously agreed to
put this proposal into practice. A three
member working group was formed to launch The
Commission on Mass Graves in Kashmir (COMGIK).
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