ISLAMABAD: Senior Leader All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) Abdul Hameed Lone on Tuesday said that New Delhi should endorse the Safe Schools Declaration and the Vancouver Principles — an inter-governmental commitment to protect students, teachers, schools, and universities from the worst effects of an armed conflict.
In a statement issued here, Hameed Lone appreciated the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres who urged India to end the use of pellets against children in India Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) and stop associating children with the security forces in any way.
The UN chief had made these observations in his latest report on “Children and Armed Conflict” presented in the UN Security Council for an open debate. The report does not clarify how India has been associating children with the security forces, he added.
He added around 39 children in which 33 boys, six girls were affected by violence in the occupied territory last year. Of them, nine were killed and 30 were maimed.
At least 11 were wounded by pellet guns. The report includes incidents of torture by security forces and unidentified perpetrators, injuries resulting from explosives, crossfire between unidentified groups and Indian security forces, crossfire between unidentified groups, and grenade attacks and crossfire and shelling across the Line of Control.
Four children were detained by Indian security forces in IIOJK for alleged association with armed groups, he added.
He also said that the United Nations verified the use of seven schools by Indian security forces for four months last year.