UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has called for the rigorous application of international law to address the critical issue of missing persons in armed conflicts. At a U.N. Security Council Arria-Formula meeting, Pakistan’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Usman Jadoon, emphasized the need for the U.N. to focus on specific cases, such as the abduction of 13,000 boys following India’s August 2019 crackdown in occupied Kashmir.
Highlighting the importance of accountability, Jadoon stressed that it is crucial to take action against states and actors responsible for the phenomenon of missing persons. The Arria-Formula meeting, organized by Switzerland and The Global Alliance for the Missing, aimed to raise awareness and mobilize action on the issue of missing persons and separated families.
Pakistan believes that the most effective response to the issue of missing persons in armed conflict is the strict enforcement of international law and the establishment of accountability processes. Jadoon noted Pakistan’s repeated efforts to bring attention to the U.N. Security Council, General Assembly, and the Secretary-General regarding the concrete reality of the young Kashmiri boys abducted by Indian forces, many of whom have disappeared.
Jadoon also brought up the terrible issue of “half widows,” a term used to describe Kashmiri women who worry about what will become of their husbands, sons, and brothers, in light of the missing person cases in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK). These women are deprived of the basic right to know if their loved ones are alive or dead and are unable to mourn them properly.
Expressing frustration, Jadoon mentioned that there has been no response from any institution or personality regarding the specific complaint of thousands of people missing in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. He emphasized that the U.N.’s efforts should be directed towards specific cases rather than broad thematic discussions on missing persons, which he deemed unproductive.
Jadoon concluded that unless the United Nations, Human Rights Council, and other relevant bodies are willing and able to address concrete cases of missing persons in armed conflicts, the issue cannot be effectively addressed.
