On a different plane, the report seeks perhaps to build an argument for all...

On a different plane, the report seeks perhaps to build an argument for allowing contact with non-State armed groups. This raises many serious questions, including that of the applicability of international humanitarian law to counter-terrorism. Certainly, no one would wish to advocate contact with or sympathy for Al-Qaida and hard-core criminal gangs. 10-64740 17 We are perplexed when we see that many countries across the world that are facing situations involving insurgencies, and where protection of civilians has been a concern, fail to rate even a passing reference in the report. It is also a matter of grave concern to us that the report omits any reference to the serious and systematic violations of human rights and humanitarian law in Indian-occupied Kashmir that have been widely reported by the international media and civil society. We hope that future reports on this agenda item will be balanced and more carefully drafted. It is important to address these issues objectively and to avoid politicizing questions relating to international humanitarian law.