BRUSSELS/GENEVA, (Unib Rashid) — A Kashmiri delegation and members of the Kashmiri diaspora living in Europe staged a protest outside the United Nations Office in Geneva, calling for an immediate end to alleged human rights violations in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir and urging implementation of long-standing UN resolutions on the Kashmir dispute.

The protesters sought to draw international attention to what they described as the serious consequences of India’s presence in Jammu and Kashmir, calling for effective international monitoring of the human rights situation in the region and concrete measures to ensure accountability.

They described the right to self-determination of the people of Jammu and Kashmir as an inalienable right and urged the UN Security Council to take effective steps toward implementing its resolutions concerning the region, which, according to the protesters, recognize the people’s right to determine their political future.

Kashmiri delegation and European Kashmiris protest outside the UN office in Geneva pic.twitter.com/tnlm0KBh8W

— tarkeen-e -watan (@ETarkeen) September 18, 2026

The demonstrators also expressed concern over what they described as India’s “imperial ambitions” in the region. They alleged that policies pursued by the Indian government, including measures relating to land, religious affairs and demographic changes, were aimed at altering the demographic composition of Jammu and Kashmir.

The protesters further condemned the continued use of laws including the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) and the Public Safety Act (PSA). They alleged that these laws have repeatedly been used against civil society activists, human rights defenders and political leaders.

Expressing concern over what they described as the systematic suppression of political dissent, the protesters said political leaders, activists and human rights defenders in Jammu and Kashmir continue to face harassment, threats and prolonged detention.

They said restrictive laws and coercive measures had contributed to an atmosphere of fear and imposed serious restrictions on political activity, freedom of expression and the exercise of fundamental rights.

Referring to the prolonged detention of political leaders and cases involving Kashmiri leader Yasin Malik and other prisoners, the protesters alleged that legal and judicial mechanisms were being used to silence voices advocating the political rights of the Kashmiri people.

They called for an end to what they described as the misuse of judicial processes and urged the international community to closely monitor the cases of Kashmiri political prisoners, their detention conditions and their treatment.

The demonstrators also criticised the promotion of development initiatives by Indian authorities in the region, describing them as part of what they alleged was a broader settlement-oriented or colonial project.

They further expressed concern over prolonged militarisation in the region, including what they described as the militarisation of religious pilgrimage sites and routes, arguing that it was contributing to environmental degradation and increasing climate-related risks in the ecologically fragile Himalayan region.

The protest concluded with calls for greater international accountability, an end to alleged human rights violations and effective action by the United Nations to address the Kashmir dispute and the rights of its people.

Speakers at the demonstration included former Azad Jammu and Kashmir minister Chaudhry Parvez Ashraf, Chairman of the Kashmir Institute of International Relations (KIIR) Altaf Hussain Wani, President of the Kashmir Peace Forum International Zahid Hashmi, All Parties Hurriyat Conference leader Advocate Parvez Ahmad Shah, Dr Raja Sajjad Latif, Shamim Shawl, Dr Shagufta Ashraf and other Kashmiri representatives.