OIC Contact Group reaffirms support for Kashmiris’ struggle for right to self-determination

UNITED NATIONS (92 News) - The Ministers of Foreign Affairs and senior officials of the member states of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir met on the side-lines of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday.

The OIC Secretary General Hissein Brahim Taha chaired the meeting.

The Foreign Ministers:

• Reaffirmed their support for the legitimate struggle of the Kashmiri people for realization of their inalienable right to self-determination in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions;
• Declared that the final settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions is indispensable for durable peace and stability in South Asia;
• Rejected the illegal and unilateral actions taken by India on August 5, 2019 as well as the subsequent steps to undermine the internationally-recognized disputed status of the IIOJK and to alter its demographic structure and political landscape;
• Expressed serious concern over the statements by the Indian political leaders as well as senior military officers about their readiness to attack Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, calling such statements a serious threat to regional peace and stability, and noting that these statements are in violation of the principles and purposes of the UN Charter;

Demanded that India:

• Reverse all illegal and unilateral measures taken on or after 5 August 2019,
• Stop the gross, systematic and widespread human rights abuses in the IIOJK,
• Halt and reverses the illegal demographic changes in the occupied territory,
• Release all Kashmiri political prisoners and rescind the trumped-up and fallacious charges against the Kashmiri leadership,
• Repeal all restrictive and draconian laws such as Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Public Safety Act, and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act,
• Allow unrestricted access to UN Special Procedures, OIC and IPHRC fact-finding missions, international media and independent observers to visit IIOJK, and
• Implement the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions and enable the Kashmiri people to exercise their inalienable and recognized right to self-determination.