While one can accept that the UN and its Secretary General cannot by themselves bring about a resolution of the Kashmir conflict, without the support and active participation of the five permanent members, nevertheless one does expect the Secretary General to be more active in calling attention to human rights abuses especially in areas of conflict that are still on the UNSC agenda. Yet we have a Secretary General in Ban Ki-moon who is simply unwilling to move on Kashmir at all. Why is this so? Simply because he is totally under US diktat and his total inaction on Kashmir is in line with instructions from the US State Department not to pressure India especially in areas where it is being built up to counter China. His assertion when questioned about using the SGs Good Offices in Occupied Kashmir given the continuing human rights violations there, he simply said that he could only use this diplomatic tool of his office if both Pakistan and India sought it. While it is true that SGs Good Offices are used when parties to the conflict agree to the UNs mediation, but in Bans case, he has not even publicly offered his Good Offices - and this is simply to spare India from the embarrassment of having to reject an offer aimed at peace. Additionally, if the Secretary General of the United Nations is serious about resolving a dispute, he has powers under the UN Charter to push for resolution. Article 99 of the UN Charter states: The Secretary-General may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter, which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security. Now can anyone in the UN deny that the Kashmir issue and the indigenous intifada there alongside Indian aggression threaten international peace and security? Yet Ban Ki-moon has maintained a strange silence and continues to do so despite increasing violence in Occupied Kashmir. Not that Pakistan seems to be acting on Kashmir either - much to our eternal shame. Pakistan can move the Secretary General into action under the same Article, by sending him a letter describing the explosive situation in Kashmir and calling for action. In fact, if Pakistan can also get a letter signed by the OIC and China, it would certainly add to the pressure on Ban to act on Kashmir under Article 99. Of course the Kashmir issue will not be resolved simply if the UNSC acts on the SGs request, but it would give a boost to the movement inside Kashmir when international attention is focused on the issue. Why isnt Pakistan acting? Is the inaction tied in to our Envoy at the UNs partiality towards India or is it a wider policy decision to ignore the Kashmir issue and the sufferings of the Kashmiris? Is that why the UNSG, Ban Ki-moon is also inactive?