Sarah speaking about the humanitarian situation in Kashmir (Barking and Dagenham Borough Liberal Democrats)

Barking and Dagenham Borough Liberal Democrats <barkinganddagenham@libdems4london.org.uk>

Sarah speaking about the humanitarian situation in Kashmir

July 10, 2008 12:30 PM
By Sarah Ludford (on behalf of the ALDE group) in European Parliament
Originally published by Sarah Ludford MEP

Mr President, I think we should be clear what this motion for a resolution is not: it is not a re-run of the rather controversial and contentious report that we had last year; it is not about how to get a political solution to the territorial dispute and conflict over Kashmir. It is nothing of the sort. It is a simple focus on humanitarian questions, with a call for an independent and impartial investigation and accountability for alleged disappearances.

It could have been handled in various ways. It is true that these discoveries of unidentified graves go back to 2006. But two things prompted the urgency request. One was the report going back to 29 March from the Association of the Parents of Disappeared Persons and the second was the attack on 30 June, with perpetrators unknown, on Pervez Imroz, the award-winning human rights lawyer and founder of that association. I think that justifies the urgency.

At least part of the purpose of this resolution is to urge some action by the European Union, not least in paragraph 2, which urges the Commission to offer financial and technical assistance to the Indian Government. It also calls for EU Member States to take up the issue in the dialogue on human rights with the Indian Government in the second half of this year. So the focus is on getting an independent investigation and not least to assign a civilian prosecutor to the task. I think it is justified and is something that has a particular and circumscribed focus and does not talk about the whole issue of Kashmir.