International Law and the Kashmir Dispute: A Critical Reflection

Abstract

This chapter discusses the international community's responsibilities toward Kashmir, with reference to the United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs) on the obligations to secure a ceasefire and administrate a free and fair plebiscite. While the international community has previously shown concern for the rights and well-being of Kashmiris living under oppression, it has failed to enforce this position despite the continued violations of Kashmiris’ human rights and India’s unilateral revocation of the autonomous status of the region. Kashmir has fallen victim to the indeterminate efforts of collective bodies and the foreign policies of individual states. In this chapter, I argue that these policies are in contradiction to nation-state’s publicly stated positions on the Kashmir conflict. Given this context, this chapter uses international legal jurisprudence and argues that members of the international community have a legal role in play toward the resolution of the Kashmir dispute which is established through their unilateral acts, the relevant UNSCRs, and their publicly-expressed intentions which are binding and cannot be abandoned without scrutiny. The international community has a fundamental responsibility to align its foreign policy with its recognized legal position to intervene in the precarious socio-political situation in Kashmir.