[UNSC] Kashmir Conflict: Radical Solutions Draw Condemnation

Written by Hindustan Times

Russia and China’s proposed approaches towards resolving the Kashmir conflict have attracted scorn from other delegates for being too radical.

(source: UN Photo / Evan Schneider)

    As the United Nation Security Council (UNSC) met to discuss the Kashmir conflict between India and Pakistan, delegates no doubt worried about an inability to act. The conflict has persisted for over several decades, and did not seem likely to end soon. Few expected to have to listen to solutions which were too creative and radical, yet that was exactly what they got.

First, China’s suggestion that the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) should be given the power to take matters into its own hands and take care of minor disputes with armed forces. Second, Russia’s call for multilateral sanctions to penalise Pakistan for sponsoring terrorist organisations. Other delegates responded to both with varying degrees of skepticism and ridicule.

The UNMOGIP is an existing UN-sponsored organisation set up in the Kashmir region to monitor and investigate ceasefire complaints. Its primary function, as the name suggests, is to observe the situation  and report its findings to the UN Secretary-General. However, China has expressed dissatisfaction with its current role, with her delegate exclaiming that “we have spent too much time watching as atrocities are committed against the innocent … more direct action must be taken.” 

What, then, is China’s solution? End its status as an observer organisation, empower it to resolve “minor disputes” on its own, such as ceasefire infringements and illegal crossings of the Line of Control, and arm the organisation to lend weight to its words. 

The international response to this suggestion was lukewarm at best. The United Kingdom acknowledged that the UNMOGIP was not particularly effective in its current role, but suggested more moderate changes instead, such as enlisting the help of more translators to facilitate the fact-finding objective of the organisations. Tunisia suggested that the UNMOGIP help distribute humanitarian aid on top of its current duties. Other countries were not receptive to changes at all: Estonia argued that the organisation should remain strictly an observer. 

The most unimpressed, however, was the delegate of India. Lambasting China’s attempts to “take over the world” through her use of UN bodies, and bemoaning the undue influence of the Permanent 5 (US, UK, Russia, China, France) over UN bodies, the delegate of India categorically rejected any attempts to empower the UNMOGIP, and even suggested that it was already not recognised in its current form. Given India’s lack of support for China’s solution, it seems to be dead upon arrival - any attempts to implement it would severely violate India’s sovereignty. However, minor reforms are not entirely off the table, as Russia suggested more regular reports by the UNMOGIP, which India may find less objectionable.

Russia, however, had its own fair share of unusual solutions. Decrying the “state-sponsored terrorism” of the Pakistani government (which was not present at the Security Council meeting), she lobbied for multilateral sanctions on Pakistani state-owned companies. Once again, the response was skeptical, with the United Kingdom suggesting that such an approach was “too extreme”.

She later conceded that “less extreme” forms of deterrence existed, such as trade embargoes or unilateral sanctions by Russia, both of which she claimed were “the least extreme forms of sanctions”. Other delegates did not comment.

In any case, the necessity for decisive, but reasonable, action remains. Delegates in the UNSC should explore solutions which are more acceptable to the rest of the council, such as protecting human rights and encouraging bilateral dialogues. Until then, one can expect the Kashmir conflict to remain unresolved, as it has been for the past seventy years.