Kashmir: Self-determination Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateRebecca Long Bailey
Main Page: Rebecca Long Bailey (Labour - Salford)Department Debates - View all Rebecca Long Bailey's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
(1 day, 22 hours ago)
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I thank my hon. Friend for that timely intervention. He is right, and I will come on to the substance of the point he makes shortly.
Kashmir remains one of the world’s most heavily militarised zones and longest unresolved international disputes. Today’s problems have their origins in the unfinished business of partition in 1947, and it is important to start there—a moment in history when Britain played a direct and undeniable role. In 1948, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 47, which mandated a free and fair referendum to allow the sons and daughters of Kashmir to determine their own future and their own destiny.
My hon. Friend speaks with great moral clarity. Does he agree that, given that the matter has been decided by the UN, lasting peace in the region cannot be achieved without dialogue that includes the voices and aspirations of the people of Kashmir themselves?