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That’s in response to information from a new report offered on Wednesday to the Human Rights Council by the UN Assistant Secretary-Common for Human Rights, Ilze Manufacturers Kehris.
Many circumstances have been reported anonymously, due to worry of reprisal. There have been additionally round 50 people who skilled detention, whereas others have been subjected to home arrest.
Regardless of some push-back, Ms. Manufacturers Kehris mentioned the report “makes clear” that “the scope and severity of circumstances of intimidation and reprisal persist and in unacceptably excessive numbers.”
From surveillance to restrictive laws
Primarily based on the findings of the report, she highlighted 4 foremost traits.
First, in near half of the international locations, there are allegations of monitoring and surveillance, each on-line and offline, of people and teams. Quite a few circumstances embrace hacking of accounts, journey bans and different motion restrictions.
Second, a number of UN actors have addressed repeated or related allegations of intimidation and reprisals to these raised on this and earlier studies. Ms. Manufacturers Kehris highlighted indicators of a potential sample in a number of international locations together with China, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Viet Nam, the place there are severe points with the detention of victims of reprisals and intimidation, in addition to India, Israel, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Venezuela.
Third, she highlighted restrictive laws, often on grounds of nationwide safety, together with counter-terrorism measures, or based mostly on legal guidelines governing actions of civil society organizations.
False ‘threats’
“Let me be clear,” Ms. Manufacturers Kehris mentioned. “Claiming girls’s rights earlier than a UN physique will not be an act of terrorism and talking up in UN fora on the rights of minorities or indigenous peoples will not be a menace to nationwide safety.”
Fourth, and lastly, she described “more and more difficult, and even at occasions repressive, environments for victims, human rights defenders, journalists and different civil society actors.”
For the Assistant Secretary-Common, there’s “a worrisome pattern” the place the group is requested to report on a case the place the alleged sufferer seeks anonymity. Out of the 240 people referred to within the report, greater than 100 will not be talked about by title, as a consequence of safety points.
A UN precedence
These victims proceed to be subjected to severe human rights violations, comparable to arbitrary arrests and detention, but additionally torture and ill-treatment, and even demise in custody, killing and enforced disappearances.
Within the digital sphere, activists and journalists have been attacked on social media after talking at UN conferences, and victims focused for submitting info or speaking electronically with the group.
Ms. Manufacturers Kehris additionally pointed out some examples of excellent follow by Member States, comparable to contemplating and making ready for the dangers or any backlash that civil society briefers to the Security Council might face. She additionally known as States’ responses to allegations offered to them within the preparation of the report total, “encouraging.”
She concluded saying that the Member States shouldn’t “tolerate those that carry essential views to us, being silenced.”
“We have to do extra and higher to supply protected and open areas for interplay, the place those that converse up will be heard with out worry of any form of retribution,” she added.
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