GENEVA: (News Desk) – Permanent Representative of the World Muslim Congress (WMC) Altaf Hussain Wani has called for an independent international investigation into the alleged use of private military groups and advanced surveillance technologies by India in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).
Speaking during an interactive dialogue on Report A/HRC/63/31 at the 63rd session of the UN Human Rights Council on September 16, Wani welcomed the UN Working Group’s report on the use of mercenaries. He warned that the growing use of advanced technologies by private military and security companies was creating serious challenges for human rights protection and accountability.
Wani expressed concern over reports of private militias and mercenary groups being involved in coercive operations against civilians in IIOJK. He said the involvement of non-state actors in such activities could make it harder to establish accountability for alleged serious human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.
He also highlighted reports concerning the use of sophisticated surveillance systems in Kashmir, including artificial intelligence-based monitoring, biometric tracking and digital surveillance. According to Wani, the expansion of such technologies has enabled extensive monitoring of civilians and has allegedly been used to restrict political dissent and target human rights defenders.
The WMC representative said surveillance technologies deployed in Kashmir should not be considered only from a security perspective, arguing that their use against civilians raises concerns related to privacy, freedom of expression, freedom of movement and other fundamental rights.
Wani warned that the combination of militarisation, private coercive actors and advanced surveillance technology could further complicate the human rights situation in IIOJK. He said such tools could potentially be used to strengthen control, restrict dissent and weaken mechanisms of accountability.
He urged the UN Human Rights Council and relevant UN mechanisms to conduct an independent and impartial investigation into the alleged role of private militias and the use of advanced surveillance technologies in IIOJK.
Wani also called for international pressure on India to prevent private entities from being used in coercive operations and to ensure that surveillance technologies are not deployed in ways that violate civilians’ fundamental rights.
He further stressed that the people of Kashmir should not be deprived of their right to self-determination through militarisation, surveillance or other forms of coercive control, while calling for stronger international oversight of the human rights situation in the territory.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.