Geneva:
The UN Secretary-General was informed in writing by the Baloch Human Rights Council (BHRC) of the violations of socio-cultural, historical, and political rights of the Baloch people in Pakistan.
During the Fifty-fourth session (11 September–13 October 2023) of the UN Human Rights Council, BHRC submitted a written statement on Agenda Item 3, through the Centre for Gender Justice and Women Empowerment, a non-governmental organization with special consultative status in the UN. The statement outlined different aspects of the human rights violations being perpetrated by Pakistan in Balochistan.
According to the BHRC statement, “In Pakistan, since the forceful annexation of Balochistan in 1948, to maintain cultural, economic, and political supremacy, the ruling ethnic group (Punjabis) have made concerted efforts to disregard the socio-cultural, economic, historical, and political existence of the Baloch. The genuine leaders of the Baloch have been targeted and excluded from legislative bodies through manipulated elections and a controlled electoral process. The socio-cultural and political value systems of the Baloch have been destroyed and corrupted in a systematic and organised way with the imposition of alien language and cultural traditions and with the introduction of religious narrow-mindedness and fundamentalism. The history of the Baloch in the Pakistani school curriculum is distorted and ridiculed. Their national language is not taught in schools. The Baloch consider these state efforts as an attempt to replace their secular and democratic identity and a mortal threat to their national existence. The Baloch’s opposition to these suppressive policies and strategies and their call to exercise their right to self-determination have only been met with a brute military response by the Pakistani authorities. In the process, the rights of millions of Baloch have been compromised”.
The statement was received and acknowledged by the UN Secretary-General.
The full statement is provided below:
Baloch Human Rights Council 