Guterres defends his and Zeid's reports on Kashmir as 'voice of UN'
United Nations, July 12 : UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday mounted a strong defence of reports dealing with Kashmir issued recently by him and Human Rights High Commissioner Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, saying that they were covered by the "the general mandate of human rights instruments".
Guterres backed Zeid's call in his report for an investigation into the human rights situation in Kashmir, saying it represented the "voice of the UN."
India had objected to Guterres's report on children in armed conflict that referred to Kashmir, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand and to Zeid's report on human rights in Kashmir that called for the setting up of an international investigation into the situation there.
India said that Zeid had no mandate for his report that showed a "clear bias" and that Guterres had overstepped him Security Council when he referred to India in his report.
Asked at his news conference if he fully backed the Zeid report, Guterres said: "As you can imagine all the action of the Human Rights High Commissioner is an action that represents the voice of the UN in relation to that issue."
Answering a question about the reports running counter to India's long-standing assertion that Kashmir was a part of India and any problem concerning it was a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan, Guterres said there was a distinction between political matters and human rights.
He said: "One thing is the definition of mechanisms for a political solution of a situation in the country and the other thing is the general mandate of human rights instruments in relation to human rights everywhere."
"What the Human Rights Commissioner did it was the use of his own competencies and capacities as it allows him (in) all other parts of the world to report on what he considers to be relevant human rights violations," Guterres explained.
"It doesn't mean that there is in that a preference for any kind of methodology for a political solution," he added.
As for India's saying that the situation in the three Indian states mentioned in Guterres's report not meeting "a definition of armed conflict or of threat to maintenance of international peace and security," he said that the same principles applied to it also.
His "report is a report about the situation in which the rights of children have been put into question," he said.
In his report last month on children in armed conflict, Guterres accused Jaish-e-Mohammed and Hizbul Mujahideen in Kashmir and Maoists in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand of using children.
He also assigned blame to the Indian government saying, "children continued to be killed and injured in the context of operations of national security forces against armed groups."
His report added that "unverified reports" indicate national security forces use children as "informants and spies."
On Monday, India's Deputy Permanent Representative told the Security Council that Zeid's "so-called report" was "reflecting the clear bias of an official who was acting without any mandate whatsoever and relied on unverified sources of information."
As for Guterres's report, he said: "We are disappointed that the report of the Secretary General includes situations, which do not meet the definition of armed conflict or of threat to maintenance of international peace and security."
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Siddaramaiah backs TN CM's call for renewed discourse on Centre-State relations
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has written to his counterpart in Tamil Nadu, M K Stalin, expressing the state's strong support for a renewed national discourse on Centre–State relations.
Siddaramaiah said he will urge the union government to provide an institutional platform - such as a revitalised Inter-State Council - for all states to deliberate and restore balance in our federal structure.
Taking to social media platform 'X', the Karnataka CM said federalism is not a political demand - it is part of the basic structure of our Constitution.
"Over the years, increasing centralisation in fiscal and legislative matters has disturbed the delicate balance envisioned by our Constitution makers. States must have the authority and fiscal space to fulfil the responsibilities entrusted to them. India’s strength lies in cooperative federalism, constitutional trust, and respect for diversity," he said.
He assured that Karnataka stands ready to engage constructively in strengthening India’s democratic and federal framework.
Siddaramaiah has written to the TN CM in response to Stalin's letter dated February 20, 2026, forwarding Part 1 of the report of the high-level committee on Union-State relations.
In his letter dated March 2, Siddaramaiah acknowledged and appreciated the initiative taken by the Tamil Nadu government in initiating the report, which seeks "constitutional correction".
Noting that the questions raised in the report go to the heart of India's constitutional morality, the chief minister said federalism was not an act of administrative convenience but a structural guarantee against concentration of power.
"Over the decades, however, a phenomenon of incremental centralisation has altered the federal balance through expansive interpretations of the Concurrent List, conditional fiscal transfers, centrally designed schemes with diminishing State flexibility, and procedural bottlenecks in governor's assent," Siddaramaiah said in the letter.
He claimed that what was intended as cooperative federalism has increasingly resembled "coercive federalism".
In the letter, Siddaramaiah said Karnataka shares many of the concerns articulated in the committee's report.
"We have consistently emphasised that fiscal federalism must align authority with responsibility. Articles 268 to 281, read with the role of the Finance Commission under Article 280 and the GST framework under Article 279A, cannot operate in a manner that dilutes the fiscal sovereignty of States. The doctrine of subsidiarity, that governance should occur at the most immediate level consistent with efficiency, is not alien to our constitutional design; it is implicit within it," he added.
He stressed that Karnataka, like Tamil Nadu, has been vocal in asserting the legitimate constitutional space of states, whether in matters of language policy, education, public health, fiscal devolution, or legislative autonomy.
"These are not sectional claims; they are constitutional claims. They arise from a principled commitment to pluralism, diversity, and democratic accountability," the letter stated.
At this juncture, Siddaramaiah said it is imperative that all states, irrespective of political affiliations, join hands in constructive federal dialogue. Federal renewal cannot be a solitary endeavour of one or two States; it must emerge as a collective articulation.
"The objective, as your letter rightly emphasises, is not to weaken the union but to right-size it, to ensure that national energy is concentrated on genuinely national priorities, while states are trusted with spheres constitutionally entrusted to them," he added.
In this regard, he further stated that it would be both appropriate and necessary for the union government to provide an institutional platform for all states to deliberate upon these questions.
"Whether through a revitalised Inter-State Council under Article 263, a special conclave of Chief Ministers, or a structured constitutional review dialogue, the union must facilitate a forum where states can place their recommendations formally, transparently, and deliberatively. The absence of such structured engagement has contributed to the perception that cooperative federalism has receded from lived practice," he added.
