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Member Organizations of JKCCS

Public Commission on Human Rights (PCHR)

PCHR is independent human rights organisation founded in 2002 by Parvez Imroz, a Lawyer and civil rights activist. PCHR is a reconstituted outfit of a human rights organization called Kashmir Monitor, which has been working in Kashmir since 1994. PCHR has been documenting human rights violations and disseminating the information through its monthly newsletter “The Informative Missive.” Most of the information published in the newsletter is first hand, collected by the various fact finding teams constituted by PCHR The PCHR has published a comprehensive report on Human Rights situation in Kashmir, which includes the time period of last 16 years. Besides documentation, the commission is providing free legal assistance to the victims of human rights violations. Thousands of victims have received free legal assistance from the PCHR legal cell. In the year 2003, the PCHR team in the various courts in Jammu and Kashmir has filed 700 cases.

Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP):

The APDP was founded in 1994 in response to the large volume of parents at the Jammu and Kashmir High court who were filing or pursuing habeas corpus petitions. The unorganized individual eforts were unified by the JKCCS patron, Parvez Imroz, and the APDP charirperson Parveena Ahanger - the mother of a disappeared person. The APDP is not a human rights group but an association of those sufferers who have been wronged by the functionaries of the state and are campaigning for knowing the whereabouts of their missing relatives. Any person related to a victim of the disappearances could be a member of the association. The association has no political affiliations or political positions; it is an independent group seeking justice and information from the state. The APDP is the founding member of the Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) which is a federation of organizations concerned with the issue of disappearances in Asia. The main objectives of the APDP are: 1) the cessation of enforced disappearances in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, 2) accurate documentation of cases involving disappearances, 3) exerting pressure towards the release of victims of disappearances, 4) acquiring information regarding the whereabouts and status of the disappeared, 5) achieving justice for the families by opposing impunity for the perpetrators, 6) providing reparations and redress for the families of victims, and 7) celebrating the memory of the victims. For more information about the campaigns click here

Women's Initiative for Peace and Disarmament (WIPD)
Women in Kashmir have suffered a lot during the past 13 years of conflict. They have been molested, humiliated and subjected to trauma. Besides, scores of women have been raped. According to doctors at Government Psychiatry Diseases Hospital, women constitute 62 per cent of the patients visiting the hospital. There are however hundreds of women who have no idea of medical counseling and hence continue to suffer.

Barring few exceptions, most of the women watched the situation helplessly.

In 2000, a group of students from the Kashmir University finally broke the ice when they launched the Kashmiri Women’s Initiative for Peace and Disarmament (KWIPD). It was aimed at organising the women for the major issues confronting the society.

The KWIPD members represent a wide range of women from teachers, doctors, academicians, journalists and psychologists to students and housewives.

The KWIPD has no lofty ideals. It has no political agenda either. It believes the rights of women cannot be enforced unless there is total peace and for restoration of peace women have to play a vital role. KWIPD believes that Kashmir dispute has the potential to disturb global peace particularly in the South Asian region. Both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers and a nuclear confrontation may take place if the issue is not addressed in its totality.

To provide voice to the voiceless women of Kashmir, the KWIPD launched its quarterly newsletter “Voices Unheard.” The newsletter, which received an overwhelming response at local, national and international level, is in fact first of its kind ever published by the women in Kashmir.

The women’s initiative has been to conduct workshops, seminars on the importance of nuclear disarmament, etc. The KWIPD intends to hold similar seminars in India and Pakistan to strive for a nuclear-free zone, resolution of the Kashmir dispute, and protection and enforcement of the rights of women, and build alliances with the women’s groups in Europe.

The organization believes it has still a long way to go.

Committee for Judicial Accountability (CJA):
The CJA is committee comprised of lawyers in Jammu and Kashmir. The committee stands for independence of the judiciary, plagued by attempts by the executive to encroach upon its jurisdiction, and against the corruption in the higher judiciary. It was formed in 1997 by few lawyers who believed that greatest threat to judiciary is not only from the executive or legislature but from within; since then they have actively campaigned for the structural and procedural independence of the judiciary.

The CJA is monitoring the conduct of judges and lawyers in an attempt to uphold the independence of judiciary, without which the civil liberties of the people will be vulnerable. The CJA is attempting to mobilize the public opinion towards pressuring the judiciary to uphold the civil liberties and fundamental rights in lieu of the de facto police state and presumed impunity of government forces in Jammu and Kashmir.

Doda Peace Forum:
The Doda Peace Forum is a human rights organization working in the Doda district of Jammu. It was founded by a journalist, Naseer Ahmad Khora, in 1997. The majority of its members are social workers and doctors. Since the district of Doda is in a remote area of the state along the border, it is insulated from the media and from the human rights groups working in Jammu and Kashmir. Due to this isolation many human rights violations are being committed in the region, and unfortunately, have gone unreported. The Doda Peace Forum is attempting to highlight the atrocities being committed in Doda by documenting cases of human rights violations and the dissemination of this work to other national and international human rights organizations.

Jammu and Kashmir Tourist and Hotel Association (JKTHA):
Since the outbreak of the armed Kashmiri militancy 1989, the tourist industry has suffered immensely. During the 1980s the Kashmir Valley used to get over a million tourists during the peak season. After the conflict this number dropped considerably and the tourism-centric economy was left in shambles; many of the businesses in the valley went bankrupt or suffered with little business for nearly a decade. According to estimates nearly 1.5 million people have suffered economically due to the conflict. Despite lofty rhetoric, the government has failed to address their grievances or provide redress; as a result, a large section of the tourist industry has been forced to find another occupation. Many of the hoteliers are unable to pay the loans they had taken from government financial institutions and are now appealing to the government to wave the loans and recoveries. In 1995 the already depleted tourist industry was struck a near fatal blow as a small militant group named Al Faran kidnapped and killed four foreigners; most foreign embassies cautioned against visiting the region and tourism came to a complete standstill.

Some young hoteliers founded JKTHA in 1993 with the aim to work for the restoration of the peace in the valley by promoting the tourist industry. JKTHA attempts to highlight the plight of those in the tourism industry and attempts to solicit government funding to redress the economic harm the Kashmiri tourism industry has undergone.


Environmental Watch:
The state of Jammu and Kashmir faces tremendous environmental problems, yet there is little social awareness of the problem. The renowned Dal Lake along with other lakes in Kashmir like Anchaar and Wular, which have served as the main attraction for tourists, are now dying lakes. Though the World Bank had approved some projects for maintaining the lakes, the funding has seen extreme mismanagement by bureaucrats; the press has repeatedly highlighted this issue but to no avail. In addition, the forests, which once covered a third of the land, are now severely depleted; this ecological imbalance has threatened the irrigation of crops. The protection of environment cannot be left to the government - the initiative of the people is needed. Therefore in 1998 a group of environmentally conscious citizens attempted to unite their actions and formed Environmental Watch. The main objectives of the organization are to 1) protect the environment by preserving forests, lakes and rivers, 2) educate the public on the importance of a healthy environment, 3) organize seminars, debates, rallies and symposia, 4) taking legal action against those harming the environment, 5) lobbying and networking with international organizations to further the cause of the environment.


Students Helpline
The Kashmir stands sandwiched between the guns of the so-called security forces and the Muslim militants. And, in this situation, the most vulnerable community obviously is the youth.

The problems faced by the Kashmiri youth are manifold. It is the youth who has suffered the most due to this dragging conflict. The Kashmiri youth like other youth of the conflict zones are suffering immensely. Their career has got adversely affected besides their lives and liberties are also jeopardized. The youth from all peaceful countries are leading from the front for the advancement of their society and hence opening up new horizons in the fields of science, technology, commerce and what not? But the youth of Kashmir like their counterparts in other conflict areas has to struggle even for their existence, because of the uncertainty that has been looming large on this part of the world. This has virtually closed down the avenues for them. This is the first and the foremost cause of the frustration and the unrest, which is being observed here.

According to the research studies carried out by several local and international NGOs, the youths of Kashmir are today finding solace in drugs. Scores of cases of suicide by the Kashmiri youths because of the uncertain future have been reported, particularly during the last decade.

From the financial aspect Kashmir is a bankrupt state. Economic growth has been inhibited. Unemployment has reached its heights in the state. The conflict has also affected business, and with the result leaving very few chances of employment in the state. According to rough estimates more than 200,000 people are unemployed in the state.

More than 25,000 children have been orphaned in this decade long turmoil. They are facing innumerable problems and they are looking desperately for moral and material support. There are many more youngsters whose families have been affected during the ongoing turmoil and they are not able to continue their studies. Many minors who should have been in schools are forced by circumstances to work in order to feed themselves as well as their families. According to an estimate there is 15 to 20 percent drop out rate from schools in Kashmir Valley.

Girl students have to face another form of abuse and that is molestation and rapes from the security forces and the counterinsurgents. In villages this threat results in discontinuation of the higher education of girls.

Due to the ongoing decade long turmoil it has become necessary that some people come forward voluntarily and take the responsibility of catering to the needs of these children and youth. Realizing the need of the hour some students of the Valley came up with the idea of establishing an institution, which could be helpful to the youth of Kashmir in many ways. In April 1999 an institution was launched by some student activists and was named STUDENTS’ HELPLINE.

Students’ Helpline is a voluntary organization established by a group of students with the sole aim of working for the upliftment and welfare of students’ fraternity and the society, at large. It works for creating awareness among the students about their rights and duties, opportunities they could avail, the role they could play, in short we try to facilitate them to become healthy citizens and to create a healthy society.

Students’ Helpline, right from its inception, has been striving for the welfare of the student community, especially the downtrodden and the victims of the ongoing conflict. Present turmoil in the state has added new dimensions to the problems; there are thousands of orphans, who do not find good food and clothes and medical facilities, not to speak of education, which is only a dream for them and their helpless mothers. Helpline after realizing the tough situation these orphans are facing has taken upon itself the duty of catering to their needs as far as possible.

GLOBAL WITNESS

The media persons associated with the Coalition of Civil Society had been longing for its own media house to bring its own publications, documentaries, research works, etc. But the lack of resources and exposure delayed the project for many years. The efforts of the CCS members finally bore fruit in 2002 autumn when a media group “Global Witness” came into existence.

Without wasting any time, the Global Witness, with some financial support from the CCS, produced a 55-minute documentary film on the enforced disappearance in Kashmir. The film was named Chandaw (The Search).

The documentary was released before an august audience comprising the relatives of the disappeared men, journalists, lawyers, social activists, students, etc, on May 14, 2003.

Meeting the professional standards, the Chandaw evoked tremendous response at the regional and international level. The documentary was first of its type produced in Kashmir and by indigenous efforts. The Global Witness is currently working on two different documentary films.

On 27th November 2004 Global Witness produced a film on Aasia Jeelani, a woman human rights activist who was killed on 20th April 2000 in Lolab Kupwara while monitoring the parliamentary elections in Kashmir; the film "Aasia - A Quest for Justice", is an effort to highlight the life and contributions of Aasia Jeelani. The film is the tribute to Aasia Jeelani, the Martyr of Peace, who laid her life for peace and democracy in Kashmir.

The film is a self sponsored activity of Global Witness.

You can contribute by purchasing the CD of this film and the money will go to Aasia Memorial Foundation.

The CD can be purchased from the Coalition of Civil Society office or can be ordered on this email: -

khurramparvez@yahoo.com