Zainab Qureshi
With a heavy heart, it pains me to pen this article down, starting with a heart-wrenching incident that just unfolded in Gaza October 17th, 2023: Israel has bombed a hospital, a sanctuary of healing amid the Israel vs Palestine conflict. The devastating blast struck Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza reducing parts of it to rubble and sending shockwaves through the already beleaguered Palestinian Muslims.
This grave crime against humanity paints a heart-wrenching picture of shattered Palestinian lives and a healthcare facility left in ruins. The event cites an imperative need for international humanitarian intervention in this embattled region, but the question is, where are the humanitarian bodies sleeping till now?
While there are international agreements and conventions that provide protection for hospitals and medical personnel during times of armed conflict, one of the most significant documents is the Geneva Conventions, specifically the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, which addresses the protection of civilians in times of war.
Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions, specifically Additional Protocol I and Additional Protocol II, provide further protections for medical facilities and personnel during international and non-international armed conflicts, respectively.
Israel, asserting its status as a powerful nation, has flagrantly disregarded the Geneva Convention by targeting a hospital, a move that starkly contradicts humanitarian values. Yet, no international body seems to have the capacity to hold it accountable.
For countries like Pakistan and Palestine, where facing conflicts can feel like an uphill battle these promises often to feel like they’re slipping through the cracks. While powerful nations like Israel and India navigate this legal landscape with relative ease, countries like Pakistan and Palestine find themselves trapped in the harsh realities of warfare.
Just like the Israel and Palestine conflict, the Kashmir conflict, rooted in the partition of British India in 1947, revolves around territorial disputes between India and Pakistan over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Narendra Modi’s past association with criminal activities during the Gujrat riots, the Samjhota Express massacre, his ongoing affiliation with the controversial RSS organisation and Mukti Bahni and the revocation of Article 370 and Section 35A of the Indian Constitution are viewed as clear attempts to alter the demographic composition of Kashmir, potentially diluting the Muslim majority as a part of an underlying agenda involving ethnic cleansing.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds a contentious past, having once been featured in the infamous ‘Top Ten Criminals’ list which even led to a decade-long ban in the United States, purportedly due to his direct involvement in the Gujrat riots, a tragic event that claimed the lives of hundreds of Muslims.
While the series of these continued gross human rights violations and abuses against Kashmiri Muslims by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) warrant careful consideration and examination by the International Human Rights Bodies, yet none of those conventions, pacts or Laws have ever come into play against India. Since India ascends as one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, a disconcerting pattern emerges. It appears that on the global stage, the spotlight on India’s human rights record, particularly concerning the atrocities and genocidal acts against Muslims, has dimmed. This raises pressing questions about the priorities of international statutes and their stance on justice and accountability as they seem to have turned a blind eye towards this rising power’s crimes against humanity.
The writer is a freelance columnist.
