Diary Talks
Balochistan crisis: Human rights council calls for international support-Diarytimes
- In Geneva, a group from the Baloch Human Rights Council presented two petitions to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, urging the UN to intervene in the deteriorating human rights situation in Balochistan. The council demanded the establishment of a UN investigative mission to look into the extrajudicial killings and large-scale enforced disappearances of Baloch political and social activists in Pakistan.
- The Baloch Human Rights Council delegation has presented two petitions to the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk. These petitions seek the UN’s intervention to address the deteriorating human rights situation in Balochistan.
- The Baloch Human Rights Council has stated in a petition addressed to the UN Chief that due to the severe crimes committed by Pakistani security forces in Balochistan, it is crucial for the UN to intervene. They suggest that establishing a UN investigative mission to look into the extrajudicial killings and mass disappearances of Baloch political and social activists would be a positive step forward.
- The Baloch Human Rights Council has emphasized in their memorandum that the establishment of a UN investigative mission would help bring justice to those responsible for committing heinous crimes against humanity in Balochistan. They suggest that this could be achieved by initiating cases against the culprits in the international court of justice in The Hague. The memorandum also highlights the human rights situation in Balochistan, including reports of security forces harassing family members of victims of enforced disappearance.
- The Baloch Human Rights Council has recently issued a resolution addressed to the UN Chief, bringing attention to the worsening human rights situation in Balochistan. The resolution cites reports from various human rights organizations and political groups that have highlighted the involvement of Pakistan’s military, police, secret agencies, auxiliary militias, and local collaborators (known as death squads) in committing widespread and systematic atrocities. The resolution also emphasizes the urgent need for UN intervention, including the establishment of a UN investigative mission to probe extrajudicial killings and mass disappearances of Baloch political and social activists. The Baloch Human Rights Council hopes that this action will pave the way for bringing the culprits of heinous crimes against humanity in Balochistan to justice by initiating cases against them in the international court of justice in The Hague. The resolution also highlights the harassment of family members of victims of enforced disappearance by security forces in Balochistan.
- The Baloch Human Rights Council has highlighted in their petition that enforced disappearances, unlawful custody, dumping of mutilated bodies, and inhuman torture of Baloch political activists are part of a strategy to crush the Baloch national aspirations. The petition emphasizes that these actions have become a daily occurrence since 2002. According to the Baloch Human Rights Council (BHRC), from January 2022 to December 2022, 367 persons went missing, and 79 bodies of extra-judicially killed missing persons were identified. These alarming statistics underscore the urgent need for UN intervention to address the human rights situation in Balochistan.
- Before submitting the petitions, the Baloch Human Rights Council (BHRC) organized a protest at the Broken Chair in front of the UN building in Geneva condemning the atrocities committed in Balochistan. The protesters called for UN intervention in Balochistan to save the Baloch people. The protest was held during the ongoing 52nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council.
- Human rights organizations’ representatives have drawn attention to the deteriorating human rights conditions in Balochistan. They have accused Pakistani security forces of engaging in enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings of Baloch socio-political activists. During the protest, demonstrators displayed banners that highlighted different aspects of human rights violations experienced by the Baloch people in Pakistan.
