Case for UN-OCHA in Kashmir

Thinking beyond the UNMOGIP, and its mandate

Arjimand Hussain Talib

A spokesperson for the United Nations (UN) Secretary General said last week that their office was getting regular updates about the on-going situation in Kashmir. When asked whether the UN would like to comment on the situation here, there was no answer.

The unrest and the civilian killings in Kashmir over the last one month are colossal
in scale. The state actions in containing demonstrations of unarmed civilians have been extraordinary. A strong crackdown on dissenting voices, withdrawal of mobile phone services, use of live ammunition on protesters, army deployment, media curbs, etc. signal to an extraordinary political and humanitarian situation. Although the unrest has received some degree of international media attention, yet the international community remains as oblivious to the happenings in Kashmir as ever before.

There are two main reasons why the international community is not so concerned about the current Kashmir situation. One reason is that there is almost negligible advocacy at international level for an international intervention. If at all there is some advocacy that is symbolic and ill guided. Another reason has something to do with 9/11. Kashmir has acquired an image of a place which is part of the larger problem of “international terrorism”. There is hardly any appreciation of the fact that whatever is happening in Kashmir is fundamentally driven by a peaceful people’s movement – seeking a change in political status quo and tight military control. So the days when Kashmir was seen as a genuine political nationalist struggle where the UN had a clear role to play are gone.

The current international indifference has also something to do with the failure of Kashmir’s civil society in looking beyond the UN’s political resolutions on Kashmir. It is a fact that the UN continues to portray Kashmir as a disputed region in all its maps. Its communications also recognize it as such. But there is a technical difference between depiction of a region as ‘disputed’ and ‘conflict affected’. The ‘disputed’ status, despite its own political significance, does not necessarily underline humanitarian urgency. Designation of Kashmir as a ‘conflict zone’ would do that.

The question here is why hasn’t such thing happened so far? Naturally, the governments in New Delhi and Srinagar would not do that. Those advocating for Kashmiri right to self determination and safeguarding of their human rights at home and abroad have missed an important point over the years: the role of UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Kashmir. And also the absence of the UN Cluster System in Kashmir

The United Nations’ Military Observers’ Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), based in Srinagar and Muzaffarabad, has a limited mandate. Their primary work is to report any violations or change in the status quo of the Line of Control (LoC).
OCHA's has a broader mission - to “mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action” to alleviate human suffering in emergencies, which includes conflict situations. Importantly, one of its missions is also to advocate for the rights of people in need.

OCHA is the arm of the UN Secretariat that is responsible for bringing together humanitarian actors to ensure coherent response to emergencies. It also ensures there is a framework within which each actor can contribute to the overall response effort.
Beyond humanitarian coordination, what is required in Kashmir today is underlining the urgency for some urgent political initiatives to ensure that the trouble in Kashmir does not spill over to the larger South Asian region. That, naturally, would happen if there are credible situation reports from a body like OCHA, which will be taken more seriously by the international community. What Kashmir needs today are situation reports by impartial international actors which depict the real humanitarian situation there.

Although the European Commission (EC) on Friday announced an emergency aid of 2 million euros ($2.5 million) for the victims of the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir, it was not a special initiative in response to the current situation. The EU’s low scale humanitarian aid for Kashmir has been pouring in for some eight years now, addressing the longer term impacts of the conflict.

The UN Resolution 46/182 which serves as the basis of the OCHA mandate is clear that the “responsibility for people affected by emergency lies – first and foremost - with their respective states”. But it also says that the “states in need are expected to facilitate the work of responding organizations.” Given the UN’s recognition of Kashmir as a disputed territory, the definition of the governing ‘State’ cannot be normal in meaning and scope.

There are people who argue that since there is no UN OCHA office in India, its ambit of work cannot be extended to Kashmir. That is not a convincing argument. UN OCHA has directly and indirectly responded to many emergency situations in India. One example is the Gujarat earthquake.

Then there is a full-fledged UN OCHA office in Pakistan, whose area of work includes Pakistan Administered Kashmir (PAK). UN OCHA has played, and continues to play, a key role in the coordination of the government and the international emergency response efforts in PAK.

The UN OCHA has a strong presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) as well. Humanitarian actors, donors, and diplomatic missions alike rely on OCHA for its wide range of information and analytical products in the OPT. These include bridging the gaps in humanitarian needs, weekly and monthly humanitarian updates, briefings and field tours. More importantly, OCHA provides leadership, guidance and support on coordination and policy issues, particularly the roll out of the cluster approach, and development of a principled and strategic approach to access. One of its key functions is the regular reporting on the overall humanitarian situation, and routine monitoring, reporting on, advocating for, and facilitating humanitarian access in the OPT.

Looking at the dire humanitarian situation in Kashmir today, especially the highly inadequate infrastructure to treat the casualties, UN OCHA has a strong case in Kashmir. Its case is also strong for the fact that people are dying for lack of timely medical aid and treatment. The death of two women last week just because their travel to hospital was hindered by troopers serves as a grim reminder.
There are many more instances which are not reported.