12 September 2019

Scott Ainslie, Green MEP for London, has coordinated a joint letter to the Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, urging him to use the UK’s influence to work across borders to achieve piece in Kashmir.

The letter, signed by the UK’s seven Green MEPs, follows a deterioration of human rights situation in the disputed region. A communications blockade has cut people off from the outside world, while thousands have been illegally detained, abused or intimated by the armed forces.

Read the full letter below, and download the letter received in response from the Minister of State for the Commonwealth, the UN and South Asia here.

Brussels, 12th September 2019

Dear Mr Raab,

The ongoing tensions in Kashmir continue to be of great concern to us and to many of our constituents. Since India unilaterally removed Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status last month, the human rights situation has deteriorated further, with thousands illegally detained and allegations of abuse and intimidation by the armed forces who have been deployed in the area.

Furthermore, hundreds of thousands of British citizens are of Kashmiri origin, and the communications blockade is a source of fear and distress as they are totally cut off from their loved ones in the region, receiving only news reports of arrests, violence and civilian deaths.
We are aware that the UN Security Council, after discussing Kashmir in its closed-door meeting on August 16th, chose not to release a statement or propose any further course of action. We also note that the Prime Minister, in conversation with Prime Minister Modi on August 20th, stated that the issue of Kashmir is for bilateral resolution between India and Pakistan.

In past decades, however, bilateral solutions have repeatedly failed to achieve an end to conflict in the region, and we believe that the international community, including the UK, must play a greater role. We urge you, mindful that both India and Pakistan are nuclear states, to present the situation in Kashmir to the UNSC as a serious threat to international peace which requires immediate attention.

Additionally, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2018 called for the establishment of a commission of inquiry to investigate the human rights abuse allegations in Kashmir on both sides of the Line of Control, but this has not been forthcoming. The UK must be a strong voice demanding that such an independent investigation take place.
The government’s vision for Global Britain includes championing rules-based international order and demonstrating that the UK is confident on the world stage: what better way to do this than by using our global influence and working across borders to achieve a lasting peace for the Kashmiri people.

Yours sincerely,

Scott Ainslie, Green MEP for London
Ellie Chowns, Green MEP for the West Midlands
Gina Dowding, Green MEP for North West England
Magid Magid, Green MEP for Yorkshire and the Humber
Alexandra Philips, Green MEP for South East England
Catherine Rowett, Green MEP for the East of England
Molly Scott Cato, Green MEP for South West England and Gibraltar