40th Session UNHRC: Intervention by Ms. Yoana Barakova - Research Analyst EFSAS
11-03-2019, Geneva
Text and video of the Intervention by Ms. Yoana Barakova, Research Analyst European Foundation for South Asian Studies (EFSAS), on General Debate Item 3 (Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development) during the 40th Session of the UNHRC in Geneva.
Video of Ms. Yoana Barakova's Intervention on General Debate Item 3 during the 40th Session of the UNHRC
"Mr. President,
Terrorism is the most deplorable violation of human rights.
Intrinsically, State patronage of terrorism and institutionalized utilisation of terrorists to defray asymmetric wars, is - to say the least- abhorring.
Yet, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan continues to use terrorist outfits to engage in proxy warfare against its neighbours.
The UN Security Council’s consolidated list of terrorist individuals and entities includes 139 entries from Pakistan. Jaish-e-Mohammed, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Haqqani Network and Jamaat-ud-Dawa – are all based in Pakistan and believed to be receiving State protection.
In the wake of the recent terrorist attack in Pulwama in Indian Administered Jammu & Kashmir perpetrated by Jaish-e-Mohammed, Pakistan’s subsequent air strikes unveil an ugly truth: The country is willing to bring the world to the brink of war and threaten to use its nuclear arsenal, just in order to defend its terrorists.
The sheer thought of such utterly reckless behaviour, should horrify all of us.
In a recent interview with BBC, the Pakistani Foreign Minister himself, accepted that the Government of Pakistan is in contact with Jaish-e-Mohammed, exposing the country’s duplicitous rhetoric vis-à-vis terrorism.
Mr. President,
While Pakistan continues to unscrupulously export terrorism and is the only country in this world which is willing to use nuclear weapons in order to protect its terrorists, it also remains a Member State of this Council.
Surely, a matter that warrants contemplation.
Thank you".
