JKJAAC Welcomes Appeal by 71 UK Parliamentarians for Urgent UN Action on Human Rights Situation in Jammu and Kashmir
Letter led by APPG on Kashmir Chair Imran Hussain MP calls on the United Nations to help end bloodshed, restore communications, address arbitrary arrests and support renewed peaceful dialogue
8/21/20262 min read
The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JKJAAC) welcomes a major cross-party intervention by 71 British parliamentarians calling upon the United Nations to take sustained action over the continuing human rights and political crisis in Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir.
In a letter dated 21 August 2026, Imran Hussain MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Kashmir, together with 70 MPs and members of the House of Lords, expressed deep concern over the dangerous escalation in the region and urged UN Secretary-General António Guterres and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk to support urgent measures to protect lives, fundamental freedoms and the rights of the Kashmiri people.
The parliamentarians highlighted reports of deaths and injuries, restrictions on communications, arbitrary arrests, disruption to essential supplies and limitations on peaceful civic and political expression. They also drew attention to the deep anxiety among British Kashmiris regarding the safety and wellbeing of their relatives and loved ones in the region.
The letter welcomes recent statements by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Office of the UN Secretary-General concerning developments in the region, but stresses that the gravity of the situation now requires sustained international engagement to secure de-escalation, accountability and a peaceful way forward.
The parliamentarians called upon the United Nations, through its appropriate bodies and good offices, to support efforts to:
End the bloodshed and prevent any further loss of life;
Restore and protect access to communications;
Ensure that food, medicines and other essential supplies can move without restriction;
Bring an end to arbitrary arrests and guarantee due process and access to legal representation;
Facilitate appropriate access for independent human rights observers and those able to support peaceful mediation;
Encourage the immediate resumption of peaceful dialogue; and
Ensure full and impartial accountability for deaths, injuries and any excessive use of force.
They further emphasised that these measures must be accompanied by respect for freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and political participation.
The letter states that lasting stability cannot be achieved through restrictions or confrontation and that meaningful dialogue must ensure that the rights and legitimate concerns of the Kashmiri people are heard and respected.
The parliamentarians also reminded the UN Secretary-General that the wider Jammu and Kashmir dispute remains unresolved. Referring to the United Nations’ longstanding role, including Security Council Resolution 47 and subsequent resolutions, they asked what further steps the Security Council and the wider UN system are prepared to take to promote de-escalation, dialogue and renewed efforts towards a peaceful and lasting resolution in accordance with international law and relevant UN resolutions.
JKJAAC deeply appreciates Imran Hussain MP and every parliamentarian who supported this important intervention. Their collective appeal sends a powerful message that the loss of life, suppression of fundamental freedoms, arbitrary detention of peaceful activists and restrictions imposed upon the people of Pakistan-administered Jammu and Kashmir cannot be ignored by the international community.
JKJAAC reiterates that the people’s movement is peaceful and rooted in the pursuit of fundamental rights, accountable governance, dignity and justice. The Committee urges the United Nations to respond promptly to the parliamentarians’ appeal and to take practical steps to ensure the protection of civilians, the release of arbitrarily detained political and civil-rights activists, independent investigation of deaths and injuries, accountability for unlawful or excessive force, and the immediate restoration of all fundamental freedoms.
The people of Jammu and Kashmir deserve peace, dignity, justice and the full protection of their inalienable human rights. JKJAAC remains committed to peaceful democratic struggle and meaningful dialogue based upon respect for the will and rights of the people.
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