[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 724 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 724

   Condemning the human rights violations taking place in Jammu and 
          Kashmir and supporting Kashmiri self-determination.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 21, 2019

Ms. Tlaib submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                      Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
   Condemning the human rights violations taking place in Jammu and 
          Kashmir and supporting Kashmiri self-determination.

Whereas the United States Government seeks friendly relations and has long 
        shared an important relationship with the Republic of India;
Whereas the United States Government seeks to preserve peace and security in 
        Jammu and Kashmir;
Whereas the United States Government seeks to promote the human rights and 
        liberties of all people, including the freedom to practice, worship, or 
        observe one's own religion;
Whereas the Government of India has unilaterally changed the status of Jammu and 
        Kashmir without a direct consultation or the consent of the Kashmiri 
        people;
Whereas the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has 
        reported gross human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir;
Whereas the Government of India has enforced a strict curfew in Jammu and 
        Kashmir that has restricted freedom of expression, assembly, and 
        movement;
Whereas, on August 5, 2019, the Government of India enacted a communications 
        blockade in Jammu and Kashmir that includes the suspension of landlines 
        and shutdown of mobile phone networks and internet access, and service 
        has only been partially restored as of October 14, 2019;
Whereas Kashmiri Americans and Kashmiris around the world have had difficulty or 
        been unable to contact their family members since the imposition of the 
        communications blockade on August 5, 2019;
Whereas press accounts and human rights observers have documented that the 
        actions of the Government of India in imposing a communications blockade 
        have inhibited access to life-saving medical care;
Whereas international human rights observers have documented the security 
        services of the Government of India's excessive use of force against 
        civilians in Jammu and Kashmir, including the use of pellet shotguns, 
        tear gas, and rubber bullets against protestors, as reported by the 
        United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights;
Whereas the Government of India has used the arrest and indefinite detention of 
        thousands of people to control civilians of all ages, including minors 
        as young as nine, in Jammu and Kashmir using the Public Safety Act, 
        which violates article 9(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and 
        Political Rights;
Whereas the Government of India has detained Kashmiri civil society leaders of 
        all political perspectives without charge or trial and, as of September 
        25, 2019, prominent political and business leaders remain in detention;
Whereas detentions and harassment of journalists in Jammu and Kashmir has been 
        reported by independent observers and journalistic organizations;
Whereas the right to religious expression has been severely curtailed, including 
        the closures of mosques and religious buildings;
Whereas the Government of India has barred senior United States Government 
        officials and foreign journalists from traveling to Jammu and Kashmir 
        since August 5;
Whereas the actions of the Government of India are not reflective of the shared 
        democratic norms and values between the United States and India;
Whereas the actions of the Government of India constitute violations of the 
        United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
Whereas the Government of India has failed to hold its military accountable and 
        perpetuated a state of impunity for members of the Indian Armed Forces 
        and related security services, in part through the Armed Forces Special 
        Powers Act;
Whereas the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 
        issued reports in 2018 and 2019 calling for the Governments of India and 
        Pakistan to implement policy recommendations to safeguard human rights; 
        and
Whereas, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 
        ``Update on the Situation of Human Rights in Indian-Administered Kashmir 
        and Pakistan-Administered Kashmir from May 2018 to April 2019'', the 
        militant groups Lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Hizbul Mujahideen, 
        and Harakat Ul-Mujahidin have contributed to the harsh conditions and 
        dire human rights situation faced by civilians in Jammu and Kashmir: 
        Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) opposes any use of force against civilian populations 
        by governmental and nongovernmental actors alike;
            (2) opposes and condemns the use of pellet shotguns and 
        rubber bullets as a crowd-control method in any case;
            (3) affirms that any changes to the status of Jammu and 
        Kashmir must be made with the direct consultation of the 
        Kashmiri people, who must play a central role in the 
        determination of their future;
            (4) urges the Government of India to immediately lift all 
        remaining elements of the communications blockade imposed in 
        Jammu and Kashmir, including restoring phone and internet 
        access and refraining from any interference with the provision 
        of medical treatment;
            (5) urges the Department of State to facilitate contact 
        between Kashmiri Americans and their family members in Jammu 
        and Kashmir;
            (6) reaffirms its strongly held belief that freedom of 
        religion is a central and inalienable right of all people as 
        promulgated in the United Nations Universal Declaration of 
        Human Rights and urges the Government of India to ensure 
        compliance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 
        Jammu and Kashmir;
            (7) urges the Government of India to exercise restraint 
        when performing security and policing operations and denounces 
        the widespread use of threats and excessive force against 
        civilians, protestors, and detainees;
            (8) urges the Government of India to immediately release 
        unjustly and indefinitely detained people in Jammu and Kashmir 
        and to cease arbitrary and politically motivated detentions;
            (9) urges the Governments of India and Pakistan to engage 
        in dialogue to deescalate tensions and protect human rights;
            (10) urges the Governments of India and Pakistan to 
        renounce the use of force to settle the status of all disputed 
        territories between them;
            (11) urges the Governments of India and Pakistan to grant 
        representatives of the Office of the United Nations High 
        Commissioner for Human Rights full and unfettered access to 
        their respective sides of the Line of Control; and
            (12) urges the Governments of India and Pakistan to 
        implement the policy recommendations of the Office of the 
        United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights contained in 
        its 2018 and 2019 reports.
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