At this august gathering of Hon’ble judges, jurists, parliamentarians and members of the civil society from different parts of the globe, it is my humble submission that the real Mother of Terrorism are those who have been manufacturing nuclear arsenals with a criminal intent to raise their revenues by selling these weapons to the Dark Forces to create anarchy in the world systems. We in Jammu & Kashmir, India, do not grow AK-47 or AK-56; we grow only apples and everybody relishes Kashmiri apples.

So from where have tonnes and tonnes of horrifying weapons reached the hands of the so-called militants and what is the purpose behind this? Who is the real mastermind behind this attempt to disturb human peace, dignity and tranquility in society? Who is threatening the human rights protected by legislation, rules and laws in every civilized and democratic society?

Human Rights are not merely as defined or scripted in our laws, legislations or codified rules. Human Rights are innate to every human being; everyone has the right to live in peace and dignity; the right to life and liberty. The 14th Amendment of the US Constitution guarantees the right to life and liberty under due process of law. The same human rights have been enshrined in the UK under common law combined with the principles of natural justice. The US courts have been very conservative in interpreting ‘due process,’ whereas in the UK the courts have been liberal and have widened the scope of grey areas within the meaning of the scope and extent of ‘natural justice’.

In India, Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees the right to life and liberty to every person, and none shall be deprived of life and liberty without procedure established by law. This right is enjoyed by a person living/residing in India irrespective of his country or nationality.

Article 21 is such a powerful weapon that as a Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India, I have been able to get freedom to more than 600 foreign prisoners languishing in Indian jails. Most of them had come to Kashmir with guns to kill our legislators, intellectuals, thinkers, to destroy peace, hurt democracy and create anarchy. Our Supreme Court, while interpreting ‘procedure established by law’ reshaped the interpretation of this clause, which has now gone beyond the scope of ‘due process’ of law. I am proud to place on record the effective intervention of the Indian judiciary to safeguard, protect and promote Human Rights, irrespective of religions, regions, nationalities or races.

The Indian Constitution is the only charter in the world, I believe, that has a comprehensive chapter (III) on Human Rights. Recently, our Supreme Court set at liberty hundreds of Pakistani prisoners who had been involved in terrorist activities in India, on the ground that they had undergone detention for more than the maximum sentence that would have been awarded by the Trial Courts if their cases had been disposed of in a timely manner.

Where is the threat to Human Rights in India; who is terrorizing and who is terrorized? I have witnessed hundreds of thousands of innocent children, women and old persons dying of starvation or the non-availability of medicines and medical care in Iraq. They were forced to die as Iraq was under the terror of economic sanctions imposed in the name of the United Nations. Economic sanctions were enforced by the USA & UK in utter violation of the UN Charter, causing the death of millions of children.

I have witnessed the grave violation of Human Rights in Iraq, Palestine, Yugoslavia, Rwanda and other countries, not by the domestic regimes, but by the Big Powers under the cover of the UN agencies. What happened in Yugoslavia in 1999? Thousands of civilians and innocent people were uprooted from their homes; the country suffered loss worth billions and billions of dollars. Ultimately the country lost its name and identity and Yugoslavia disappeared from the list of members of the United Nations. Who was responsible for this complete disappearance of a Nation? This action by NATO countries was a complete infringement of Human Rights. The so-called end of the Cold War demolished the USSR and instituted the monopoly of the Anglo-American Bloc.

What’s happening in Gaza and Palestine? Is it not a treachery against the human rights of one-third of a nation, Palestine, perpetrated by an organized State? Where are the messengers of human rights? I have seen people dying in the streets of Gaza for want of food. Some children die every day because there is no medicine. This is happening because a country which was created by the Big Powers is not satisfied with its length and breadth.

Palestine was divided in 1947 under UN Resolution 181. The splinter part, Israel, is a Member of the United Nations and the main body, Palestine, has not been accorded its right to exist. Millions of Palestinians are suffering as stateless persons all over the world without the right to statehood. Where are their human rights, in spite of the mandatory Resolutions of the United Nations, 338, 224 and dozens of other Resolutions? Israel did not care to implement them because two Big Powers support Israel. Who has betrayed the Statehood of Palestine after having signed a dozen agreements with Palestine President Yasir Arafat?

What happened to Iraq’s Baath leadership? Were they less democratic or less secular than the Sheikhdoms, Kingdoms and Sultanates in the same region? How many in this galaxy of jurists accept the trial and judicial murder of President Saddam Hussein? Once, I and Mr. Ramsey Clerk visited Slobodan Milosevic in the US-managed prison in The Hague. He told us he was being poisoned. We were not allowed to argue his case. The so-called UN criminal court in The Hague told us that it was its prerogative to appoint defence counsel for the accused persons! This was another message I received on human rights from an institution run in the name of the UN. I have seen Yasir Arafat locked on the third floor of his official house in Ramallah where he remained detained for two years till his death. Is this the jurisprudence of human rights of the United States and her friends?

What happened to human rights in Libya and what is happening now? Under what right did NATO attack Libya and assassinate its Head of the State? Who has violated the rule of law? I have been to Libya and can say with authority that it had better standards of social justice than most countries in the Arab world.

I visited Syria last month. The United Nations has passed a unanimous resolution asking to hold the ceasefire. With whom is this ceasefire to be held? Does the UN mean that a government must sign a ceasefire with terrorists? Who is the second party to the ceasefire?

Israel refused to accept the Syria’s offer of ‘Land for Peace’. The Golan Heights, Syrian territory, has been under the illegal occupation of Israel since 1967, as also the entire State of Palestine despite UN Resolutions. Since 1967, the human rights of millions of Palestinians and those living in the occupied areas of the Golan Heights have been infringed. Who is the terrorist and whose human rights have been violated? Is that violation of Art 2 of the UN Charter? What right does the UN have to interfere in the domestic matters of a state, be it Syria, Iran or any other?

I have not touched Rwanda, Afghanistan, and some other countries, as I do not want to mix politics with the sublime rights of human beings who are the creation of God and have an inalienable right to live with dignity and honour. Terrorism is born in the womb of nuclear-ridden nations. The spread of drug culture is no less dangerous than terrorism. Who are the drug lords and who is protecting them?

The so-called nuclear powers are the Mother of Terrorism and they have the responsibility to end manufacturing weapons of human destruction so that the planet may be saved from total annihilation. Democracy is the way to develop respect and honour for human rights. Let us all be human.

I learnt after travelling on a peace mission for five years (1967-1972) around the world on a motorcycle that the world is my country and India is my home. Humanity is my religion. Politicians of the world should give up their greed and make the world a place to live in peace and security.