ISTANBUL, 1 November 2019: The Third Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Members States Conference on Mediation, held at Istanbul on 1 November 2019, underscored the central role of international mediation in context of resolution of protracted and unresolved disputes.
The day-long conference devoted several thematic sessions on various aspects of mediation, conflict prevention and conflict resolution, during which long-standing international disputes, including the Jammu & Kashmir dispute, also came under discussion.
Speaking during the Conference, the Ambassador of Pakistan to Turkey, Ambassador M. Syrus Sajjad Qazi, called on the international community to play its role towards the resolution of the Jammu & Kashmir dispute. He expressed deep concern at the deteriorating human rights and humanitarian situation in the Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir (IOJ&K), as well as at the increasing incidents of Islamophobia and cow-vigilantism in India. He stated that India’s unilateral and illegal actions of 5 August 2019, and the subsequent repressive measures in IOJ&K had brought the region to the brink of another potential conflict. He underscored that immediate attention as well as decisive political and diplomatic intervention of the international community was, therefore, the need of the hour. He asked the conference, what tools could possibly be employed by the international community in order to exert pressure on an intransigent party to the dispute that was neither willing to accept any form of mediation despite the grave threats to peace and security nor taking steps to address the grave human rights and humanitarian situation.
The Conference, among others, was addressed by the High Representative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, Miguel Angel Moratinos, who also responded to several questions from the audience on the role of mediation for the resolution of protracted conflicts, including Jammu & Kashmir dispute.