Experts term safeguarding environmental rights in Kashmir-like conflict-hit regions, a huge challenge

MIRPUR (AJK), Mar 05 :Highlighting the challenges being faced in safeguarding environmental rights in war-torn regions like Kashmir, the panelists, while speaking at a side event held in Geneva, have said that a healthy environment was essential for enjoyment of other human rights.
The event, hosted jointly by IASPD and KIIR on the sidelines of the 58th session of the UNHCR, was attended and addressed by international experts, environmental activists and representatives of human rights bodies hailing from different parts of the world including Ms. Mary Scully the human rights activist from USA, Raja Asim Zeb, Talha Tufail Bhatti and Catherine Cantinstine, Leon sue and Altaf Hussain Wani. Whereas the event was moderated by President IASPD and Executive Director KIIR Sardar Amjad Yousuf Khan, said a message released to the media here on Wednesday.

In his initial remarks, Yousuf Khan highlighted the significance of the UNHCR’s landmark resolution, which acknowledged the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment. “A healthy environment is essential for the realization of other human rights”, Khan said.
“The right to a healthy environment in conflict-hit areas is an essential aspect of international human rights and humanitarian law that is frequently neglected”, he said.
Citing the devastating impacts of armed conflicts on the environment, the panelists said that armed conflicts not only lead to bloodshed and violence but they also exacerbate environmental damage by contaminating water supplies, dismantling ecosystems, and subjecting civilians to hazardous toxins, which infringe upon their essential rights to health, livelihood, and dignity.
Referring to the continued conflict in Kashmir, they said, the ongoing Kashmir conflict had significantly contributed to an environmental crisis in the region, primarily due to the neglect of environmental concerns amidst political tensions.
Citing massive troops’ concentration in the eco fragile region of Kashmir, they said that the troops’ deployment in the eco-sensitive areas along the LoC and use of heavy weapons had led to issues like rapid glacier melting, deforestation, water scarcity, and degradation of fragile ecosystems.
Kashmir, they said, was one of the areas vulnerable to climate change, adding “The presence of large military forces in the restive region contributes to environmental pollution through waste disposal and fuel emissions”.
“Despite existing legal frameworks, including international humanitarian law and human rights treaties, enforcement remains weak and accountability mechanisms are limited”, they said.
They said that international institutions played a crucial role in setting legal frameworks and standards in addressing environmental harm as a human rights violation.
The panelists stated that it was prime responsibility of governments to enact and enforce environmental laws that protected human rights within their territories, including access to clean water, air, and a healthy environment; however, non-state actors like NGOs and corporations could equally contribute by influencing policy making, monitoring violations, and advocating for change through public pressure and legal mechanisms.