ashok321
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Kashmiris are paying close attention to Catalan referendum
Ever since President Woodrow Wilson of United States stated that “National aspirations must be respected; people may now be dominated and governed only by their own consent”, the concept of ‘self-determination’ has gone beyond being a mere slogan, it is an imperative principle of action. The concept has evolved and become one of the basic norms of contemporary international law. It was formally acknowledged as one of the fundamental principles of the UN and led to decolonization after the second World War.
Its use recently by people of Catalonia and Scotland has generated hope among various regions of the world aspiring for the same.
Catalonians, a population of mostly 7,448,332 Catholics, want freedom from Spain and demanded a referendum. Once refused, the state government conducted it on its own on Sunday, and the Spanish government launched a crackdown. A majority of the voters opted for independence, according to preliminary results, but about 770,000 votes were lost due to clashes.
Kashmir is a region where Catalonian developments are being watched with keen interest. The right of self-determination has been recognized for people of Jammu and Kashmir in scores of resolutions of the United Nations. However, exercise of this right remains a distant dream for people of the beleaguered conflict-ridden state.
It was the Indian state under the leadership of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru that referred Kashmir to the United Nations and proposed self-determination as the modus operandi for its resolution. But the Soviet Union used its veto to block any attempts by the world body towards implementation. The war on terror subsequently became a handy tool for Indian state to de-legitimise the demand for self-determination.
While the right eluded the people of Kashmir, it found place globally within the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) and the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966). Besides these instruments, importance of this right was asserted through various resolutions of UN General Assembly.
Among these the most important ones are 1514 of 14 Dec 1960, titled as “Declaration on Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries & Peoples”, resolution 2625 of 24th Oct 1970 relating to “Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation Among States”. In both these resolutions the right of self- determination was identified with people of colonized territories, whereas there was no such mention within the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
For a long time, there was a debate throughout the world about the applicability of this right. The Third World countries were vocal for the colonies and non-self governing territories. They were not ready to concede it to groups which wanted to fragment and secede from an existing state.
After the end of Cold War, the applicability of the right of self-determination has been practically extended to many areas and territories of the world, which were not colonies in the traditional sense of the term. Examples of such territories are Central Asian Republics, Ukraine, Baltic States, Czech and Slovakian republics, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia, and East Timor, Quebec Province of Canada, Montenegro, Kosovo, South Sudan and Scotland. People of these areas were allowed to exercise right of self-determination and given the choice to separate from existing sovereign states. South Sudan and Scotland, however, availed of it without being either disputed areas, or constituents of dissolved states.
Catalonia’s experiment is being talked about in Kashmir as an example of realisation of this right irrespective of its denial by the controlling state for a region, and without the involvement of an impotent world body.
Ever since President Woodrow Wilson of United States stated that “National aspirations must be respected; people may now be dominated and governed only by their own consent”, the concept of ‘self-determination’ has gone beyond being a mere slogan, it is an imperative principle of action. The concept has evolved and become one of the basic norms of contemporary international law. It was formally acknowledged as one of the fundamental principles of the UN and led to decolonization after the second World War.
Its use recently by people of Catalonia and Scotland has generated hope among various regions of the world aspiring for the same.
Catalonians, a population of mostly 7,448,332 Catholics, want freedom from Spain and demanded a referendum. Once refused, the state government conducted it on its own on Sunday, and the Spanish government launched a crackdown. A majority of the voters opted for independence, according to preliminary results, but about 770,000 votes were lost due to clashes.
Kashmir is a region where Catalonian developments are being watched with keen interest. The right of self-determination has been recognized for people of Jammu and Kashmir in scores of resolutions of the United Nations. However, exercise of this right remains a distant dream for people of the beleaguered conflict-ridden state.
It was the Indian state under the leadership of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru that referred Kashmir to the United Nations and proposed self-determination as the modus operandi for its resolution. But the Soviet Union used its veto to block any attempts by the world body towards implementation. The war on terror subsequently became a handy tool for Indian state to de-legitimise the demand for self-determination.
While the right eluded the people of Kashmir, it found place globally within the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) and the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966). Besides these instruments, importance of this right was asserted through various resolutions of UN General Assembly.
Among these the most important ones are 1514 of 14 Dec 1960, titled as “Declaration on Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries & Peoples”, resolution 2625 of 24th Oct 1970 relating to “Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation Among States”. In both these resolutions the right of self- determination was identified with people of colonized territories, whereas there was no such mention within the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
For a long time, there was a debate throughout the world about the applicability of this right. The Third World countries were vocal for the colonies and non-self governing territories. They were not ready to concede it to groups which wanted to fragment and secede from an existing state.
After the end of Cold War, the applicability of the right of self-determination has been practically extended to many areas and territories of the world, which were not colonies in the traditional sense of the term. Examples of such territories are Central Asian Republics, Ukraine, Baltic States, Czech and Slovakian republics, Croatia, Macedonia, Bosnia, and East Timor, Quebec Province of Canada, Montenegro, Kosovo, South Sudan and Scotland. People of these areas were allowed to exercise right of self-determination and given the choice to separate from existing sovereign states. South Sudan and Scotland, however, availed of it without being either disputed areas, or constituents of dissolved states.
Catalonia’s experiment is being talked about in Kashmir as an example of realisation of this right irrespective of its denial by the controlling state for a region, and without the involvement of an impotent world body.
