Dimapur, May 21 (MExN): A United Nations-supervised plebiscite in the lands of the Sikhs, Kashmiri and the Naga people is the clarion, as self-determination remains the only peaceful means of conflict resolution after decades of human misery, a conference in London has declared. A number of resolutions calling for United Nations-overseen plebiscites to self-determination marked the ‘Parliamentarians for National Self-Determination Conference’ in London May 12. The conference was held in the ‘Houses of Parliament’ Westminster in London.
The conference endorsed the right of the Sikh, Kashmiri and the Naga to self-determination in their homelands, as well as calls for UN criminal courts to punish those who have directed or carried out gross rights violations by the state in those conflict zones.
The resolutions stood on that principle expressed in Article 1, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 – “All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.”
The conference urged the United Nations to ‘supervise’ plebiscites in the lands of the Kashimiri, Sighs and the Nagas as exercise to their right to self-determination. “This gathering calls on the UN to supervise plebiscites in the national homelands of the Kashmiris, Sikhs, Nagas and others to demonstrate the authentic voice and aspirations of the people in those regions. Self-determination remains the only peaceful means of conflict resolution after decades of human misery,” the resolution stated. The conference cited the recent plebiscite in south Sudan as a clear example of ‘this approach.’
Likewise, the conference asked the United Nations to require India to comply with its basic duty under international law to respect the right of self-determination and to withdraw its formal Reservation to Article 1 of the 1966 Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. India’s position on this core human right is a direct cause of the tragic conflicts in Kashmir, Khalistan, Nagaland, Assam, and Manipur and elsewhere, the conference said.
“The UN’s own credibility stands challenged by India’s refusal to accept this right and UN sanctions are essential if India refuses.
There should be no question of any permanent seat on the UN Security Council for a state which blatantly breaches such a founding principle of the UN Charter.”
Another resolution the conference undertook was that the UN establish criminal tribunals to prosecute and punish those that have directed and carried out the genocide perpetrated by the Indian state in these conflicts. Even though respected human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have documented these abuses and described them as state policy aimed at crushing freedom movements, India has refused to acknowledge those atrocities, the resolution said.
“The rule of law is a pre-requisite to peace and it is now the UN’s responsibility to see that this serial violator of human rights is punished,” the conference added in its resolution.
The conference endorsed the right of the Sikh, Kashmiri and the Naga to self-determination in their homelands, as well as calls for UN criminal courts to punish those who have directed or carried out gross rights violations by the state in those conflict zones.
The resolutions stood on that principle expressed in Article 1, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 – “All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.”
The conference urged the United Nations to ‘supervise’ plebiscites in the lands of the Kashimiri, Sighs and the Nagas as exercise to their right to self-determination. “This gathering calls on the UN to supervise plebiscites in the national homelands of the Kashmiris, Sikhs, Nagas and others to demonstrate the authentic voice and aspirations of the people in those regions. Self-determination remains the only peaceful means of conflict resolution after decades of human misery,” the resolution stated. The conference cited the recent plebiscite in south Sudan as a clear example of ‘this approach.’
Likewise, the conference asked the United Nations to require India to comply with its basic duty under international law to respect the right of self-determination and to withdraw its formal Reservation to Article 1 of the 1966 Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. India’s position on this core human right is a direct cause of the tragic conflicts in Kashmir, Khalistan, Nagaland, Assam, and Manipur and elsewhere, the conference said.
“The UN’s own credibility stands challenged by India’s refusal to accept this right and UN sanctions are essential if India refuses.
There should be no question of any permanent seat on the UN Security Council for a state which blatantly breaches such a founding principle of the UN Charter.”
Another resolution the conference undertook was that the UN establish criminal tribunals to prosecute and punish those that have directed and carried out the genocide perpetrated by the Indian state in these conflicts. Even though respected human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have documented these abuses and described them as state policy aimed at crushing freedom movements, India has refused to acknowledge those atrocities, the resolution said.
“The rule of law is a pre-requisite to peace and it is now the UN’s responsibility to see that this serial violator of human rights is punished,” the conference added in its resolution.
