The UN Secretary-General received a written statement submitted by the Baloch Human Rights Council (BHRC), highlighting the increasing cases of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan in recent years.
During the Fifty-fifth session (26 February–05 April 2024) of the UN Human Rights Council, BHRC submitted a statement under Agenda Item 4 through the Centre for Gender Justice and Women Empowerment, a non-governmental organization with special consultative status at the UN. The statement focused on the escalating crisis of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan, citing the number of cases verified in the year 2023.
According to the BHRC statement, ‘In 2023, 506 individuals were subjected to enforced disappearances in Balochistan. Shockingly, Pakistani security forces extrajudicially killed 47 of the missing persons. The number of forcibly disappeared individuals from January 2022 to December 2022 was 367, indicating a significant increase in such cases last year.’
The statement expressed concern over the treatment of Baloch protesters in Islamabad. It emphasized that the recent public speeches by Pakistan’s caretaker prime minister, Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar, labelling victims of enforced disappearances as terrorists and threatening those sympathizing with the affected families, underscore Pakistan’s unwillingness to address the issue and its blatant disregard for human rights and international laws, without any fear of accountability.
In response, BHRC called on the UN to actively monitor and address human rights violations in the region, urging accountability for any transgressions. It reiterated that safeguarding the rights and dignity of the people is fundamental to achieving any lasting resolution.
In conclusion, the BHRC urged the United Nations to:
1. Urge Pakistan to reveal the fate and whereabouts of victims of enforced disappearances, engaging with the families and ensuring appropriate compensation.
2. Hold accountable all those involved or facilitating enforced disappearances in Balochistan and other regions of Pakistan.
3. Urge Pakistan to ratify the CED and to enact implementing legislation, integrating these treaties into the domestic law of Pakistan.
Baloch Human Rights Council 