Sustainable Development Goals in Occupied Territories
March 21, 2023 at 1218 Grand Saconnex, Geneva by IASPD
Report
On March 21, 2023, a seminar on the Sustainable Development Goals in Occupied Territories was held at the Grand Saconnex on the sidelines of 52nd session of UNHRC. The seminar was organized by the International Association of Peace and Sustainable Development (IAPSD). The event aimed to discuss the international agenda to ensure sustainable development goals in occupied territories, with a focus on the Indian occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Sardar Amjad Yousaf Khan discussed the significance of sustainable development in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and emphasized that peace and stability are essential to achieve it. The people of the region must be granted their basic rights as per the UN Charter to achieve stability. He added that the human rights violations are the foremost and urgent issue, with students and traders being oppressed. The stability of the region impacts over a billion individuals, and continuous aid programs and charitable work become necessary.
Zaffar Qureshi highlighted that sustainable development in Kashmir is unattainable until Indian oppression and subjugation end. India aims to destroy and erase Kashmir and its people, backed by 75 years of evidence.
Naeem Khan prioritized the implementation of UN Security Council resolutions to grant the people of Indian Occupied Kashmir the right to self-determination. India aims to destroy the people and terrain of the region for the purpose of settler colonialism.
Mirza Asif discussed the international dimension of the Kashmir dispute, emphasizing that the right to development cannot flourish until the subjugated people demanding the right to self-determination are granted.
Altaf Hussain Wani condemned the human rights violations in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, drawing parallels with Western Sahara. He claimed that the conflict and development cannot coexist, and people’s involvement is a prerequisite for sustainable development. The Jammu and Kashmir is a disputed territory under UN resolution, and people have been struggling for their rights for over seven decades. The involvement of the people in development is impossible with the worst human rights violations committed by the 100,000 Indian army to discourage dissent.
Muzzammil Thakkur revealed that India is exploiting the natural resources of Kashmir and transmitting the electricity produced to the northern grid of India. He also stressed the importance of the right to education for sustainable development, and parents fear sending their children to schools due to past use of pellets on innocent children. The speaker appealed to the international community to play its role in maintaining peace in South Asia and stopping Indian designs of demographic change compromising the people’s right to self-determination
