UN urges India to restore Internet in Jammu and Kashmir

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression David Kaye, and the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Michel Forst, issued a news release in which they urged India to ‘immediately end its ban on social media networks and on mobile Internet services in the State of Jammu and Kashmir’. The ban was imposed following student demonstrations in the region. According to David Kaye, ‘Internet and telecommunications bans have the character of collective punishment and fail to meet the standards required under international human rights law to limit freedom of expression’.