(Geneva, 30 March 2004) -- The written statement of the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) on 'Reunion of Kashmiri families' (E/CN.4/2004/NGO/28) was distributed today at the 60th Session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva.

The full text of the statement follows.

This year, ALRC submitted 30 written statements to the Commission, on topics as diverse as caste discrimination in Nepal, food scarcity in Myanmar, custodial deaths and torture in India, extrajudicial killings in Thailand, policing in Pakistan, the National Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, and impunity in Asia.

Asian Legal Resource Centre -- ALRC, Hong Kong

1. Article 10(1) of International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) states that the widest possible protection and assistance should be accorded to the family, which is the natural and fundamental group unit of society. Yet since the 1947 division of Kashmir, families living on either side of the border have been denied the right to reunite.

2. The situation of many Kashmiri families is as absurd as it is tragic. In Adisa village, Indian-administrated Kashmir, for instance, every resident has at least one family member on the other side of the Line of Control (LoC). Seventy-two-year-old Bibi Jaan married into Adisa before 1947; her maternal village is just two kilometers away, on the other side of the LoC. For the last 56 years, she has not seen her two brothers and their families. Her parents have since died. With tears, she says, "We are separated by two kilometers, but to reach my maternal village is my lifetime dream. I could not see my ailing parents before they died." She urges that the time has come to demolish this "line of hatred" and pass on a legacy of love to future generations.

3. The Asian Legal Resource Centre has brought the plight of Kashimiri families divided in Indian and Pakistani administrated parts of Kashmir by the LoC to the attention of the Commission of Human Rights in previous sessions. In a written statement submitted to the Commission in its fifty-ninth session (E/CN.4/2003/NGO/85), it urged the Commission to consider the, "right of [these] families to live together [as] a humanitarian issue that transcends regional conflict". In the same statement, it called for the right to freedom of movement of these families to be recognised, the building of family reunion centres along the LoC under international observation, and guarantees regarding the safety of civilians crossing the LoC. It also reminded the Commission of the resolution of the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan of January 5, 1949, which denied the Kashmiri people the right to remain an independent nation. This Commission acted in contravention of the Charter of the United Nations, and also the internationally recognised definition of self-determination in the ICESCR. Regrettably, none of these calls have to date been heeded.

4. The international community is obliged to work to reunite Kashmiri families as a matter cutting across all rights, be they economic, social cultural rights or civil and political rights. Article 12 (1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) guarantees rights to freedom of movement and residence " within the territory of a State". Given that the LoC divided Kashmiris only in 1947, for purposes of family reunion they should be treated as part of one territory and entitled to this right. Although crossing the LoC is technically a movement from one territory to the other at present, relaxing or removing restrictions or prolonged delays to obtain the necessary permits to cross it would be a magnificent humanitarian gesture by both sides that would bring great relief to thousands of persons. Indeed, the reopening of a direct bus service between Srinagar (Indian-administrated Kashmir) and Muzaffarabad (Pakistani-administrated Kashmir) in October 2003 has brightened the hopes of reunion for many Kashmiri families. However, much more remains to be done.

5. In light of the above and taking into account the recent family reunions of Koreans, the Asian Legal Resource Centre calls upon the Commission to:

a. Demand that the Governments of India and Pakistan initiate efforts to reunite all Kashmiri families at the nearest possible date, while minimising restrictions on rights of movement and residence. In this respect, in addition to the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad road, all possible routes, including the Poonch�Hajira and Jammu�Mirpur roads, should be opened without delay, and administrative requirements of travel should be eased.

b. Work within the United Nations system to secure the appointment of international observers along the LoC and building of family reunion centres on both sides.

c. Promote recognition of the right of the Kashmiri people to self-determination in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.