SRINAGAR, 21 February 2021, (TON): On a two-day visit, a delegation of 24 ambassadors from the European Union including European Union, Latin America and Africa arrived at Srinagar to assess the situation following the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019. They also visited Hazratbal Shrine, Srinagar on 17 February 2021 and were allowed controlled access to certain selected individuals. 

Meanwhile, the visiting EU delegation as well as Special Rapporteur  including Fernand de Varennes, Special Rapporteur on minority issues and Ahmed Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief issued statement that made the world know the true face of India with regarding to grave human rights violations occupied Jammu and Kashmir. The statement termed the situation deplorable. New Delhi is highly critical what the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said, “unethical” behavior of EU delegation. The MEA official said, “The delegation did not even wait for our response and instead chose to release their inaccurate statement based on purely assumptions.”   

UN human rights experts issued statement on the conclusion of restricted visit;  “The loss of autonomy and the imposition of direct rule by the Government in New Delhi suggests the people of Jammu and Kashmir no longer have their own government and have lost power to legislate or amend laws in the region to ensure the protection of their rights as minorities,”  The statement said, “concerned about India’s decision to end Jammu and Kashmir’s autonomy and enact new laws could curtail the previous level of political participation of Muslim and other minorities in the country, as well as potentially discriminate against them in important matters including employment and land ownership”.

The statement continued, “The number of successful applicants for domicile certificates that appear to be from outside Jammu and Kashmir raises concerns that demographic change on a linguistic, religious and ethnic basis is already underway,” It also said, “These legislative changes may have the potential to pave the way for people from outside the former state of Jammu and Kashmir to settle in the region, alter the demographics of the region and undermine the minorities’ ability to exercise effectively their human rights.”