Pierre-Claver Akolly Amégnikpo Dekpoh works at the West African Human Rights Defenders Network (WAHRDN) in Lome, Togo. He spoke to ISHR about what drove him to become a human rights defender and about the challenges that he and his colleagues in Togo and West Africa face in working towards the realisation of human rights.
On 17 April 2023, ISHR sent its annual submission to the report of the UN Secretary-General on reprisals and intimidation against defenders engaging or seeking to engage with the UN and its human rights mechanisms. The submission presents a disturbing pattern of intimidation and reprisals in 23 countries.
ISHR’s annual submission to the report of the UN Secretary-General on reprisals demonstrates the need for the UN and States to do more to prevent and ensure accountability for intimidation and reprisals against human rights defenders and others cooperating or seeking to cooperate with the UN and its human rights mechanisms. ISHR’s submission outlines developments in the international human rights system, and documents a number of new cases, as well as follow-up on previously submitted cases.
“In order for the international human rights system to function to its fullest potential, human rights defenders must be able to share crucial information and perspectives, safely and unhindered. However, many defenders still face unacceptable risks and are unable to cooperate safely with the UN.” Madeleine Sinclair, New York Office Co-Director and Legal Counsel. “The vast majority of cases remain unresolved year after year. More must be done to ensure the efforts to document and address reprisals cases also include sustained and consistent follow up. Otherwise, the cost of carrying out reprisals remains too low, impunity reigns and perpetrators are further emboldened“.
The submission presents a disturbing pattern of intimidation and reprisals in 23 countries, with the addition this year of Algeria and France. Cases of reprisals featured in the submission range from States defaming and stigmatising defenders, to criminalising their work, but also to arbitrarily detaining, arresting and killing them.
In Israel, Palestinian defenders face ongoing intimidation and repression as reprisals for their cooperation with UN human rights mechanisms.
In Bahrain, the situation still shows no signs of improving, with human rights defenders continuing to be arbitrarily detained and denied timely and adequate medical treatment by the government.
In Algeria, Andorra, Cameroon and India defenders continue to be criminalised.
In China defenders are still facing online surveillance, harassment and enforced disappearance.
In Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela and Yemen many more defenders face arbitrary detention, ill-treatment and criminalisation.
Other cases of reprisals include threats, harassment, hate speech, surveillance, property damage, disbarment, death threats, travel bans, enforced disappearances, unjustified raids, dissolution of associations, judicial harassment, smear campaigns, forced deportations, confiscation of travel documents, red tagging, denial of healthcare and family visits as well as accusations of terrorism, among others. Other countries cited in the report include cases in the Andorra, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Burundi, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, France, The Maldives, Morocco, Nicaragua, The Philippines, Russia, and Thailand.
ISHR also submitted follow-up information on a large number of cases, demonstrating that incidents of reprisals and intimidation are very rarely, if ever, adequately resolved.
This year, ISHR is running again its #EndReprisals campaign. The campaign will raise the profile of 6 cases (all included in the submission) and seek to achieve a more sustained attention on the issue of reprisals and follow-up of the cases throughout the UN system. In particular, we want the UN Secretary General to include all the reprisal and intimidation cases in his upcoming report and UN member States to use the opportunity of the interactive dialogue at the Human Rights Council on the Secretary-General’s report in September, as well as Item 5 debates at all sessions, to raise specific cases and hold their peers accountable.
The 52nd regular session of the Human Rights Council (HRC52) was held from Monday 27th February to Tuesday 4th April 2023.
On 7 March, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Volker Türk presented an oral update on the human rights situation around the world. In his intervention, the High Commissioner referred to several situations around the world that raise human rights concerns and highlighted several developments. During the session, the High Commissioner also provided oral updates on Nicaragua and on Sudan on March 3, on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on March 21, on the Democratic Republic of the Congo on March 30, and on Ukraine on March 31. These oral updates given by the High Commissioner provided the basis for the general debate under Item 2 on 7th and 8th March.
Ten new Special Procedures mandate-holders were appointed to the following mandates: the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation, the Special Rapporteur on the right to development, one member to the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent (from Asia-Pacific States), four members to the Expert Mechanism on the Right to Development (one member from African States, one from Asia-Pacific States, one from Eastern European States and one from Western European and other States), two members to the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (one from Asia and one from the Arctic), and one member to the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (one member from Latin American and Caribbean States).
43 texts (all resolutions) were considered by the Council. This represents a 23% increase in the number of adopted texts compared to one-year prior (HRC49). Of the 43 adopted texts, 28 were adopted by consensus (65%) and 15 by a recorded vote (35%).
After adopting 43 resolutions, the Council extended the mandates of ninethematic mandate-holders (i.e., adequate housing, foreign debt, freedom of opinion and expression, human rights defenders, migrants, minority issues, racism, sale and sexual exploitation of children, and torture), and ninecountry mandate-holders (i.e., Belarus, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mali, Myanmar, Nicaragua, South Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, and Ukraine).
16 NGOs made a joint analysis:
That this Council has chosen to blatantly ignore the findings of the Fact Finding Mission (FFM) on Libya and end its mandate at a time when crimes against humanity are being perpetrated, with no sign of abating, is shocking. That it is set to replace it with a capacity-building resolution, with no ongoing monitoring and investigative component, is shameful. It sends a to message to abusive militias and armed groups that they can continue to perpetrate crimes under international law without fear of consequences. These crimes include arbitrary detention, murder, rape, enslavement, sexual enslavement, extrajudicial killing and enforced disappearance in detentions, and increasingly, repressive measures against civic groups. David Yambio, a co-founder and speaker of the self-organized protest movement Refugees in Libya and a refugee in Libya who was forcibly conscripted by the RADA militias, and sent to war fronts, asked UN Member States in his statement before the Council, if the mandate of the FFM on Libya is discontinued who will document the violations in Libya, including against migrants, and how will the victims find justice and accountability. Instead of appeasing unaccountable warlords and officials, the Council should let victims of violations in Libya and their loved ones know that they matter, and that committing a crime comes at a cost because no one is above the law. As a matter of priority, as per the FFM’s recommendations, the Council should establish an independent international investigative mechanism and an OHCHR established autonomous mechanism to monitor and report on gross human rights violations. See also: https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/04/07/weak-un-resolution-libya-exposes-eu-bias
We are deeply concerned by the push to undermine language on gender based discrimination and violence evidenced by the amendments tabled to replace gender with sex, or gender responsive with gender sensitive, across resolutions. This is a continuation of the trend at HRC sessions to deliberately use disinformation to attack gender equality and measures to address gender based discrimination. We remind States of their obligation to prevent and eliminate gender based discrimination and violence, it is not optional and should not be reduced in its scope. We are also deeply concerned by the attempts by some States to question the fact that a clean, healthy and sustainableenvironment is a universal human right, despite the recognition of this right by both the HRC and the UNGA, and in the context of the triple planetary crisis and the strong demands for environmental justice across the world. We are equally concerned about growing and coordinated efforts to undermine or outright delete standard language on the need for a ‘human rights based approach’ to development and other rights agendas, offering as a subpar substitute undefined and duplicative concepts such as a ‘people-centered approach.’
We welcome the adoption of the resolution on the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. The fact that all tabled amendments were massively rejected and that no State eventually called for a vote shows how much this right is important for the work of the HRC and for the international community as a whole.
We welcome the resolution on the contribution of the Human Rights Council with regard to the human rights implications of drug policy, which comes at a critical time, as States prepare for next year’s mid-term review of the 2019 political declaration. It underlines the role of the Human Rights Council, as the UN’s premier human rights body, in contributing to human rights strengthening throughout the UN system. We welcome that the resolution promotes an approach centered on human rights and public health, including harm reduction, and that some of the amendments tabled to weaken this approach were rejected, but we regret that other amendments aimed at continuing a harmful and punitive approach to drugs were adopted. We now call on States to ensure that they comply with their human rights obligations in the design and implementation of drug policies.
Civil society participation is a cornerstone of the HRC. It brings voices from local communities and organisations who can effectively inform the HRC of human rights priorities and needs on the ground. Yet the special emergency measures and ongoing budget constraints adopted by the HRC in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, coupled with measures adopted to respond to the Covid-19 crisis, and the ongoing Strategic Heritage Plan, have heavily restricted civil society participation at the HRC. We appreciate the reinstatement of side events and request that the Council continues to work with UNOG and New York to ensure that side events are kept in place amidst the implementation of the Strategic Heritage Plan. We reiterate our calls on the HRC to maintain hybrid modalities (remote participation in all debates and informal consultations) for all Observers of the HRC (States and civil society organisations with ECOSOC status), as complementary to in-person participation; to reinstate General Debates in June sessions and maintain them unrestricted; and to ensure that efficiency is not prioritised over effectiveness, expertise and inclusiveness, including by addressing the chronic underfunding of the UN’s human rights pillar. Furthermore, civil society must be able to access and communicate with the HRC freely and safely. They should not be intimidated nor suffer reprisals related to that engagement.
We welcome the renewal of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders. Coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the Declaration on HRDs and the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, this reflects that the unhindered work of defenders is integral to the realisation of all human rights for all people, particularly those who have suffered discrimination or repression.
We welcome the renewal of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, on the thirty-year anniversary of the creation of the mandate. Over 30 years, the mandate has played an essential role in creating a robust set of international standards and shaping how we understand the right to freedom of expression in the digital age, as well as responding to violations and helping ensure accountability and justice.
We welcome the renewal of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the sale, sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children. We welcome the change in the title of the mandate in line with the Luxembourg Guidelines and the inclusion of children among the stakeholders the mandate should consult with.
We welcome the resolution on the situation of human rights in Belarus in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election and in its aftermath, given the strong report of the High Commissioner following the OHCHR examination of the human rights situation in Belarus, and the need to renew the mandate of the mechanism. However, we express disappointment that the call of Belarusian and international organisations to establish an independent investigative mechanism went unheeded.
We welcome the adoption by consensus of the resolution on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) which renews the mandates of the Special Rapporteur and the OHCHR Seoul office, which are key avenues for accountability for victims and survivors. The consensus adoption demonstrates the isolation of the North Korean government and the universal condemnation of its grave violations of the human rights of its people. States should support efforts to document and preserve evidence of crimes for future prosecutions, and explore other pathways to bring to account those responsible for serious international crimes committed in North Korea.
We welcome the resolution on cooperation with Georgia, however we strongly urge Georgia to remain focused on addressing the human rights challenges in the territory within its control, not just in the Georgian territories of Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region/South Ossetia.
While we welcome the resolution on technical assistance in Haiti, we regret that the Human Rights Council took years before putting Haiti back on its agenda. Since the discontinuation of the independent expert in March 2017, the human rights situation in Haiti has deteriorated rapidly. The security crisis has exacerbated inequalities and has pushed thousands of Haitians to be forcibly displaced. This situation has been noted by the report of the OHCHR of February 2023 and by the High Commissioner himself after his official visit earlier this year. We also welcome that the resolution envisages the creation of an Office of the High Commissioner in the future.
We welcome the adoption of the resolution on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the change of approach from a purely procedural resolution merely renewing the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran to a more substantial resolution addressing some of the key issues of concern, including violations committed in the context of the repression of recent protests, violations of the rights of women and girls and of minorities, illegal use of the death penalty and persistent impunity for violations of human rights. For the first time ever, the HRC has adopted a resolution, through which it collectively expresses alarm at these “widespread, repeated and persistent” violations and urges Iranian authorities to take action on them. We also welcome the increased support from States from all regions to this resolution, and we note with appreciation that opposition to the renewal of the mandate has significantly decreased at this session, reflecting growing concerns with the situation of human rights in Iran since the repression of the protests started in September 2022 following the custodial death of Jina Mahsa Amini.
We welcome the resolution on the situation of human rights in Myanmar maintaining the situation high on the agenda of the HRC and reaffirming the Council’s collective condemnation of the grave violations and abuses of international human rights and humanitarian law in the country. However, we regret that despite clear, repeated calls by the Special Rapporteur and civil society, the Council once again failed to call for a comprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar to prevent the ongoing violations, especially indiscriminate airstrikes on civilians and civilian infrastructure.
We welcome the resolution on the promotion and protection of human rights in Nicaragua that consolidates and extends for two years the mandates of the Group of Human Rights Experts and the OHCHR, with a new emphasis on violence against Indigenous Peoples and Afrodescendants, those forcibly displaced and striped of nationality, and reprisals, including against EMRIP member Anexa Cuningham. The exceptional two-year extension is a sheer reflection of the sustained worsening and gravity of the country’s human rights crisis – where the Group of Experts found crimes against humanity -, fueled by the government’s unprecedented lack of engagement with the UN system. The Group of Experts will be able to deepen its investigation, further identify perpetrators, and preserve evidence for justice processes.
We welcome the resolution on the situation of human rights in Ukraine stemming from the Russian aggression. The report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry (COI) was clear: war crimes are being committed in Ukraine and the patterns of serious violations suggest other crimes are likely being committed as well, including crimes against humanity. Given the need for further investigation, the HRC is right to mandate the COI for a further year.
We welcome the renewal of the mandate of the Commission of Inquiry on Syria and call on the Council to continue to support scrutiny and accountability for gross human rights violations committed in Syria. We welcome the language in the resolution in support of the establishment of an international mechanism for the missing in Syria, and we call on UN Member States to support the creation of such an institution at the General Assembly.
We welcome the adoption of a resolution that further extends the mandate of the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan. Such a mechanism remains vital as the conditions that prompted the Council to establish the Commission, in 2016, have not significantly changed to warrant less scrutiny. Regarding this and other country situations, the Council should stand steadfast in support of accountability for grave violations. We stress that a purely technical assistance and capacity-building focus would be unsuitable to tackle South Sudan’s serious human rights challenges and would risk further emboldening those who perpetrate the most serious crimes.
We regret that the Council failed to respond adequately to several human rights situations including Algeria, China, Egypt, India, and Saudi Arabia.
We regret that the Council failed to respond to the situation in Algeria. Since the beginning of the Hirak pro-democracy movement in Algeria, more than 5500 Algerians have been prosecuted for exercising their fundamental rights and freedoms. According to the documentation of activists in the country, more than 70% of the people detained are in pre-trial detention. In the context of heightening repression against activists and closure of civic space, more than 500 individuals are prosecuted on the basis of so-called terrorism charges pursuant to the 2021 amended article 87 bis of the penal code. Between 2022 and 2023, four Algerians were condemned to lengthy prison sentences ranging between 10 and 15 years on the basis of this article. UN Special Procedures have continued to address the situation in Algeria, regarding the increased use by the authorities of ‘national security laws to prosecute people who exercise their rights to freedoms of opinion and expression, and peaceful assembly and association’ and raise ‘alarm at the extent of crackdown on dissent in Algeria’. In her statement on 22 February 2023, Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders addressed the dissolution of two leading human rights associations, and said “acts of intimidation, silencing and repression against the human rights movement must end”. Algeria, a member of the Council, is failing to cooperate with the Council and its mechanisms, including in the context of the UPR review where Algeria did not accept several important recommendations, especially with regards to amending the counter-terrorism law to meet international law requirements, to guarantee the protection of human rights defenders, and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of assembly and expression.
We regret the ongoing failure of the Council to respond meaningfully to the OHCHR Xinjiang report through a resolution on China. The Council’s ‘China exceptionalism’, facilitated by but by no means solely attributable to the OIC’s shameful double-standards, not only weakens its credibility but also undermines the confidence of victims and human rights defenders everywhere in its ability to respond to international crimes orchestrated by the most powerful governments. With a historic Urgent Action ruling by the CERD in November, countless Treaty Bodies recommendations, an OHCHR report, and three joint statements by over 40 Special Procedures experts, the UN system cannot be clearer: the crisis is severe, and so should be the Council’s response to it.
We regret that the Council failed to respond to the situation in Egypt. Egyptian and international civil society organisations have been calling on the Council to adopt a resolution on the human rights situation in Egypt. The human rights situation in Egypt merits the Council’s attention according to the objective criteria which States from all regions have committed to apply on whether a situation merits the HRC’s attention. Yet, civil society’s request for HRC action at the 52nd session was declined. WHRD Sanaa Seif, sister of arbitrarily detained British-Egyptian human rights defender Alaa Abdel Fattah, came to the HRC to advocate for her brother’s release and the thousands others arbitrarily detained in Egypt. She told the Council “you can’t keep turning a blind eye on Egypt”, and urged the Council to address the human rights crisis in Egypt.
We regret that the Council once again failed to respond to the situation in India, despite the systematic rollback of fundamental freedoms, the rule of law and independent institutions as well as the ongoing harassment, intimidation and criminalisation of human rights defenders, journalists, and dissidents, and targeting of civil society organisations using national security and counter-terrorism infrastructure. The Council also has responsibility to take appropriate action to prevent potential atrocity crimes against minorities, especially Muslims, as a result of the increasing discrimination and incitement to violence often by Hindu nationalist leaders.
We regret that the Council failed to respond to the situation in Saudi Arabia, where the situation meets the objective criteria. According to ALQST’s 2022 annual report, the Saudi authorities continue patterns of abuse, including arbitrary arrests, severe jail sentences for peaceful, legitimate activity on social media, enforced disappearances, systemic gender discrimination, and harsh restrictions on prisoners of conscience released from prison, including travel bans, thus further deepening the climate of fear. We reiterate our call on the HRC to create a monitoring and reporting mechanism on the ever-deteriorating human rights situation in Saudi Arabia.
Signatories:
ARTICLE 19
Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
Child Rights Connect
CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI)
DefendDefenders (East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project)
Franciscans International
Gulf Centre for Human Rights
Impact Iran
International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI)
Human rights defenders around the world are coming together in powerful coalitions and turning to international human rights laws and systems to achieve justice and accountability. And while the threats and challenges remain enormous, we’re starting to win! says ISHR in its latest annual report, outlining key impacts during the last year and its vision for 2023 and the years ahead.
See more achievements by visiting the website! In a recent conversation with Björk, environmental activist Greta Thunberg reflected that hope is not something you feel, but something you do. ‘When people act,’ she said, ‘they create hope’. In 2023, fuelled by indignation and sustained by hope, ISHR’s commitment is to provide solidarity to defenders, contribute to positive momentum and, with your support, achieve even more significant human rights wins!
‘Witnessing the realisation of human rights in our countries would be a great joy because that is what we work towards.’
Pierre-Claver Akolly Amégnikpo Dekpoh works at the West African Human Rights Defenders Network (WAHRDN) in Lome, Togo. He spoke to ISHR about what drove him to become a human rights defender and about the challenges that he and his colleagues in Togo and West Africa face in working towards the realisation of human rights.
To mark the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the UN Declaration on human rights defenders in 1998, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, will focus on successes achieved by human rights defenders in her upcoming thematic report to the Human Rights Council. The report will demonstrate how the work of defenders is crucial in helping achieve more just and equitable societies.
This side event, which is co-sponsored by a number of States and organisations, including ISHR, will take place a day before the Special Rapporteur’s presentation of the report to the Human Rights Council and in addition to the Special Rapporteur herself, the panel will include a State representative who will outline how that State collaborated with defenders to bring about human rights gains. It will also include two defenders who will speak about successes they have achieved.
Speakers:
Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders
Gustavo Gallon, Permanent Representative of Colombia to the United Nations Office at Geneva
Tara Houska, US-based citizen of Couchiching First Nation, Environmental & Indigenous rights defender
Daniel Goinic, Human Rights Program Director at Legal Resources Centre in Moldova
Moderator: Imogen Foulkes, BBC Correspondent in Geneva
Due to space limitation, registration is mandatory to attend the event in-person: please click here to register.
Protection of human rights defenders The mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders is to be renewed at the HRC’s March session through a resolution led by Norway.
Reprisals
ISHR remains deeply concerned about reprisals against civil society actors who engage or seek to engage with UN bodies and mechanisms. We call on all States and on the Council to do more to address the situation. General Debate Item 5 is a key opportunity for States to raise concerns about specific cases of reprisals and demand that Governments provide an update on any investigation or action taken toward accountability. An increasing number of States have raised concerns in recent Council sessions about individual cases of reprisals, including at HRC sessions 39, 41, 42, 43, 45, and 51.
ISHR believe that States raising cases is an important aspect of seeking accountability and ending impunity for acts of reprisal and intimidation against defenders engaging with the UN. In September 2022, ISHR ran a campaign regarding five specific cases of reprisals (#EndReprisals). We continue to urge perpetrator States to resolve these cases and other States to raise these cases in their statements: Ibrahim Metwally Hegazy (Egypt), the co-founder and coordinator of the Association of the Families of the Disappeared. Jiang Tianyong (China), a lawyer and legal rights activist working at grassroots level to defend land and housing rights, promote the rights of vulnerable social groups and expose root causes of systemic rights abuses. The Human Rights Center ‘Viasna’ (Belarus), which works towards the development of civil society and the promotion of human rights in Belarus and provides legal aid to people in defending their rights and public interests. Comité de Familiares de Víctimas del Caracazo (COFAVIC); Observatorio Venezolano de Conflictividad Social (OVCS); Centro de Justicia y Paz (CEPAZ); Control Ciudadano (and its director Ms. Rocío San Miguel); and Espacio Público (and its director Mr. Carlos Correa) (Venezuela): a group of five NGOs and two individuals working for the promotion of human rights in Venezuela and who have a history of cooperating with the UN, including the Fact-Finding Mission on Venezuela. Human rights lawyers and defenders Armel Niyongere,Dieudonné Bashirahishize, Vital Nshimirimana and Lambert Nigarura (Burundi), four prominent and well-respected figures within Burundian civil society and their local communities. In addition, we urge States to raise individual cases of reprisals in the country-specific debates taking place at this session: Nicaragua, Sudan, Israel and occupied Palestine, Myanmar, Iran, Venezuela, Belarus, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Further information on these cases can be found here or by contacting the ISHR team at s.hosseiny@ishr.ch.
Other thematic debates At this 52nd session, the Council will discuss a range of economic, social and cultural rights in depth through dedicated debates with: The Special Rapporteur on the right to food The Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt The Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing The Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights The Council will discuss a range of civil and political rights through dedicated debates with: The Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief The Special Rapporteur on torture The Special Rapporteur on the right to privacy In addition, the Council will hold dedicated debates on the rights of specific groups including: The Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children The Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on children and armed conflict The Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities The Special Rapporteur on minority issues The Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights of persons with albinism The Council will hold dedicated debates on the interrelation of human rights and thematic issues including: The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism The Special Rapporteur on human rights and the environment The High Commissioner’s report on access to COVID-19 vaccines
Country-specific developments
Afghanistan: The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan is a crucial mechanism for ongoing monitoring and documentation of the situation in the country, as well as enabling discussion and dialogue amongst States on its findings. It remains an important channel for communication between human rights defenders and survivors inside Afghanistan with the intergovernmental decision-making spaces. However, it falls short due to the overwhelming evidence of gross violations and abuses in Afghanistan. The HRC must respond to the calls from Afghan human rights defenders, especially women human rights defenders, and civil society and establish an independent accountability mechanism with a mandate and resources to investigate the full scope of violations abuses that continue to be committed in Afghanistan by all parties and to preserve evidence of these violations for future accountability. The Council will hold an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on 6 March.
China On 24 November 2022, the CERD issued an Urgent Action decision on Xinjiang stressing the ‘scale and nature’ of the repression of Uyghurs and Muslim minorities, as evidenced by the Xinjiang Police Files leaks. The Committee urged China to release all those arbitrarily detained, stop harassing Uyghurs abroad, and fully review its national security framework. For the first time ever, the Committee referred the matter to the Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on the Responsibility to Protect, while reminding ‘all States of their responsibility to cooperate to bring to an end through lawful means any serious breach of human rights obligations.’ States should ensure sustained visibility on the broader human rights situation across China, raising root causes of violations that commonly affect Uyghurs, Tibetans, Hong Kongers and mainland Chinese human rights defenders, including the abuse of national security as documented by the OHCHR’s Xinjiang report and Special Procedures, and ask for the prompt release of human rights defenders, including feminist activists Huang Xueqin and Li Qiaochu, human rights lawyers Chang Weiping and Ding Jiaxi, legal scholar Xu Zhiyong, Uyghur doctor Gulshan Abbas, Hong Kong lawyer Chow Hang-tung, and Tibetan climate activist A-nya Sengdra.
Mali. In 2020, Mali finally adopted its implementation decree for the HRD law. While it was a long awaited achievement, especially as it establishes the defenders protection mechanism within the National Human Rights Institution, the text also provides that in order to be recognised as such, any defender must carry a card or badge issued in advance by the Minister responsible for human rights. This provision was later reinforced by the decision adopted by the Malian government in September 2020, which establishes the characteristics and procedures for granting and withdrawing the professional card of human rights defenders. During the last presentation of the report of the independent expert on the human rights situation in Mali, ISHR delivered a statement asking the independent expert what support he planned to give to the Malian government to ensure the full implementation of the defenders law and its protection mechanism. The HRC must keep the scrutiny on Mali to ensure that defenders in the country are protected in line with the UN Declaration and not restricted by the limitation imposed by a card defining the status of defenders. The Council will hold an interactive dialogue with the independent expert on 30 March.
DRC The DRC has noticeably improved the protection of human rights in the Kasaï region but progress remains slow and action is still needed towards transitional justice and the protection of defenders in this region. In December 2022, the national assembly of the DRC adopted the draft law for the protection and promotion of defenders. The last step is for the text to be adopted by the Senate, which would strengthen the protection of defenders at the national level after the adoption in February 2016 of an edict for the protection of human rights defenders and journalists in the South Kivu province and a similar text adopted in November 2019 on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders in the North Kivu Province. The United Nations Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO) must support the calls of civil society and ensure the protection and promotion of defenders is part of its support to the government of the DRC. The Council will consider oral updates and hold an enhanced interactive dialogue with the High Commissioner and the team of international experts on the DRC on 30 March.
Egypt Notwithstanding the launch of a national human rights strategy, the fundamental purpose of which is to deflect international scrutiny rather than advance human rights, there has been no significant improvement in the human rights situation in Egypt since the joint statement delivered by States in March 2021. Since that time no consequential follow-up has occurred at the HRC, while the situation has further deteriorated on the ground. As witnessed by the world during COP27, the brutal crackdown on civil society in Egypt continues to intensify. Sustained, coordinated action on Egypt at the Council is more necessary than ever. Egypt continues to carry out widespread and systematic violations of human rights, including freedom of expression and freedom of assembly and association. The Egyptian authorities have for years employed draconian laws, including laws on counterterrorism, cybercrimes, and civil society in order to subdue the civilian populations and stifle all forms of peaceful dissent and mobilisation. Under the current government, Egypt ranks among the worst three countries in the world in the numbers of jailed journalists and almost all independent media has been forced to shut down or threatened into silence. Hundreds of websites continue to be banned. Scores of civil society and media representatives continue to be disappeared, tortured and arbitrarily detained under the pretense of counter-terrorism and national security.
While the release of a few select arbitrarily-detained activists is a sign that international pressure works, the number of releases pales in comparison to the vast numbers of individuals newly detained by the National Security Prosecution, or whose arbitrary detention was renewed in 2022. Between the reactivation of the Presidential Pardons Committee in April 2022 and the end of 2022, the authorities released around 900 people held for political reasons, but almost triple that number of suspected critics and opponents were interrogated by prosecutors and arbitrarily detained. ISHR reiterates the calls of more than 100 NGOs from around the world urging the HRC to create a monitoring and reporting mechanism on the ever-deteriorating human rights situation in Egypt.
Israel / OPT This session will consider a number of resolutions associated with the human rights situation in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including with respect to the right of Palestinian’s to self-determination, as well as expanding and illegal Israeli settlements. Israeli policies and practices against Palestinian people have been found to constitute acts of apartheid by UN experts as well as by both international and national NGOs, while a HRC-mandated commission of inquiry has found that Israel’s permanent occupation and de facto annexation of Palestinian territory is likely unlawful. ISHR calls on all States to engage with these resolutions on their human rights merits, applying objective criteria in a principled and consistent way which upholds the right of self-determination as well as freedom from violence and discrimination. The Council will hold an interactive dialogue with the High Commissioner on ensuring accountability and justice in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem on 3 March.
Nicaragua A year after the adoption of resolution 49/3, the UN system has continued to document a steady deterioration of the country’s multi-pronged human rights crisis: UN and IACHR documentation compiled by the Colectivo 46/2 point to the absence of any step taken to implement any of the 14 recommendations from resolution 49/3. Instead, the ruling party has seized absolute control over the country’s 153 municipalities in a 2022 electoral process characterised by ‘repression of dissenting voices and undue restriction of political rights and civil liberties,’ according to the OHCHR; canceled the legal status of more than 2500 civil society organisations; detained political prisoners in inhumane conditions; and allowed for the continuation of widespread attacks, including 32 killings since 2018, by armed settlers against indigenous peoples of the Northern Caribbean Coast. The Nicaraguan government has confirmed its diplomatic isolation by refusing to cooperate with six UN Treaty Bodies within a year prompting an unprecedented public condemnation by the UN’s two anti-torture committees. It has also retaliated against EMRIP member and Nicaraguan citizen Anexa Cunningham, by denying her entry into the country on July 9. We urge the Human Rights council to renew, for a period of two years, resolution 49/3 establishing the mandate of the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua, and the monitoring mandate of the OHCHR. We call on all governments to support such a resolution and reinforce its intersectional approach, by bringing particular attention to the situation of indigenous peoples and afro-descendants, migrants and forcibly displaced persons, those detained for political reasons and the families of victims.
Saudi Arabia According to ALQST‘s 2022 annual report, the Saudi authorities’ unleashed a new wave of repression in 2022. Familiar patterns of abuse continued, including arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances and harsh restrictions on prisoners of conscience released from prison, including travel bans. However from mid-year onwards in particular, the Saudi courts started imposing jail sentences of unprecedented severity for peaceful, legitimate activity on social media, further deepening the climate of fear in the kingdom. Use of the death penalty increased sharply after a lull during the COVID period, with the biggest mass execution in recent times (of 81 men in a single day), and executions for non-violent drugs-related offences made a dramatic comeback. This intensification of repression went hand in hand with the progressive diplomatic rehabilitation of Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and de facto ruler, Mohammed bin Salman. We call on the HRC to respond to the calls of NGOs from around the world to create monitoring and reporting mechanism on the ever-deteriorating human rights situation in Saudi Arabia.
Sudan The Sudanese military and some political parties and civic groups signed a framework agreement to pave the way for a power transition to civilian forces in December 2022. But the agreement was not widely welcomed by local resistance movements, including resistance committees and some women’s groups. The protests continued across the country demanding a comprehensive transitional process that respects the people’s demands for accountability, peace, and justice. In the meantime, the security forces crackdown on protests is sustained, while the violations of freedoms of assembly, expression, and association continues. Following the political framework agreement, attacks on women human rights defenders (WHRDs) and women groups continued as the violence in conflict areas escalated. The HRC must ensure continued reporting on Sudan and to urge the international community to prioritise justice and accountability in any upcoming political solution. The Council will consider an oral update and hold an interactive dialogue with the High Commissioner and designated Expert on 3 March.
Ukraine In the face of overwhelming evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity associated with Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, ISHR calls on the HRC to renew the mandate of the Commission of Inquiry on human rights in Ukraine associated with Russia’s war of aggression, including the mandate of the Commission to examine the root causes of the conflict such as the repression and criminalisation of human rights defenders and independent journalists in Russia. The Council will hold an interactive dialogue with the Commission of Inquiry on 20 March. The Council will also hold an interactive dialogue on the OHCHR report on Ukraine on 31 March.
Venezuela ISHR joins Venezuelan and international organisations in urging states to speak out against the NGO bill currently passing through the National Assembly in Venezuela. The ‘Law of Supervision, Regularization, Performance and Financing of Non-Governmental and Related Organizations’ seeks to criminalise and further restrict the work of NGOs in the country. During the HRC session, there will be two agenda items specifically focusing on Venezuela: the update from the High Commissioner on 21 March, and an oral update by the UN fact-finding mission on 23 March, which will be their first since their mandate was renewed by the Council, last September. The High Commissioner’s update will no doubt include impressions and recommendations drawn from his recently concluded first visit to Venezuela. These updates will take place at a time of ongoing political flux in the country, upcoming elections and – critically – further threats to civic space. During the interactive dialogues on Venezuela, States must continue to express concern at ongoing human rights and humanitarian crises in the country, at the introduction of the NGO bill and call for the release of the arbitrarily detained including human rights defender Javier Tarazona who has now been held for almost 600 days, wholly without justification.
Yemen ISHR joins civil society organisations from Yemen and around the world in urging the HRC to establish an independent international criminally focused investigative mechanism on Yemen. Before its untimely dissolution in 2021, the UN Group of Eminent Experts (GEE), established by the HRC in 2017, recommended that UN member States refer the situation in Yemen to the International Criminal Court (ICC), support the establishment of an international criminally focused investigative mechanism, and stressed the need to realise victims’ right to reparation. In late 2021, HRC members narrowly rejected a resolution that would have renewed the GEE’s mandate following lobbying by Saudi Arabia and the UAE. In September 2022, Saudi Arabia and Yemen rejected attempts by States to ensure continued discussion at the HRC of the ongoing human rights crises in Yemen. The international community should not stand by and allow the vote to disband the GEE to be the HRC’s last word on the situation, nor should they allow warring parties to continue to block formal discussions of large-scale human rights abuses, war crimes and the urgent need for accountability. A new, HRC-mandated mechanism is required to ensure that potential avenues of criminal accountability and reparative justice are effectively explored for Yemen and may be pursued now and in the future to address impunity and provide effective redress to victims.
Guatemala Guatemala’s recent UPR put a spotlight on the fast deterioration of democratic spaces in the country. Over twenty States raised attacks against indigenous, environmental, and other human rights defenders, and journalists. There has been a steady increase in attacks, with a record high of 1000 attacks by 2021 according to local groups. The government, meanwhile, made no reference to the issue during the review. States also shared concern about the erosion of judicial independence, an issue repeatedly highlighted by UN experts and officials. Over the past years, UN experts have exposed interference or blocking in the appointment of high level court judges. High Commissioner Volker Türk recently condemned a 70% increase in cases of intimidation and criminal charges against justice officials fighting impunity and corruption. A growing number of judges and legal professionals have fled the country since the government closed the UN’s International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG) in 2019. In 2021, UN and OAS experts denounced a ‘choking’ law that gave the government ‘wide scope to control NGOs’. In this context, space for Guatemalan civil society to safely advocate for human rights and expose violations, and for the judicial authorities to respond to abuses and uphold the rule of law has become dangerously narrow. These patterns create serious risks of further deterioration – in a trend that is also seen in neighbouring Central American countries – in the lead-up to the June 2023 presidential elections. High Commissioner Türk’s presentation of his Office’s report on Guatemala to the HRC in March will provide a critical window of opportunity for States to collectively urge Guatemala to engage with the OHCHR to meaningfully address and put an end to attacks against human rights defenders and justice officials, ensure judicial independence, and review laws and policies that restrict civil society space.
Other country situations
The High Commissioner will provide an oral update to the Council on 7 March. The Council will consider updates, reports and is expected to consider resolutions addressing a range of country situations, in some instances involving the renewal of the relevant expert mandates. These include: Enhanced interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Eritrea Oral briefing and interactive dialogue with the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia ID with the Special Rapporteur on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and a presentation of the report of the High Commissioner Interactive Dialogue with the High Commissioner on Belarus Interactive dialogue with the High Commissioner, and interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Iran Interactive Dialogue with the Commission of Inquiry on Syria Enhanced interactive dialogue with the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan with the participation of the High Commissioner, and an interactive Dialogue on the OHCHR report on South Sudan High-level Dialogue with the Independent Expert on the Central African Republic Interactive dialogue with the Fact-Finding Mission on Libya #HRC52 | Council programme, appointments and resolutions During the organisational meeting for the 52nd session, held on 13 February, the President of the Human Rights Council presented the programme of work. It includes 7 panel discussions. States also announced at least 39 proposed resolutions.
Adoption of Universal Periodic Review (UPR) reports
During this session, the Council will adopt the UPR working group reports on Bahrain, Ecuador, Tunisia, Morocco, Indonesia, Finland, the United Kingdom, India, Algeria, Philippines, Brazil, Poland, the Netherlands, and South Africa.
Panel Discussions:
During each Council session, panel discussions are held to provide member States and NGOs with opportunities to hear from subject-matter experts and raise questions. 7 panel discussions are scheduled for this upcoming session: Biennial high-level panel discussion on the question of the death penalty. Theme: Human rights violations relating to the use of the death penalty, in particular with respect to limiting the death penalty to the most serious crimes High-level meeting commemorating the thirty-fifth anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to DevelopmentHigh-level panel discussion on UPR Voluntary Funds: achievements, good practices and lessons learned over the past 15 years and optimized support to States in the implementation of recommendations emanating from the fourth cycle Annual full-day meeting on the rights of the child [two accessible meetings]. Theme: Rights of the child and the digital environment Annual interactive debate on the rights of persons with disabilities. Theme: Support systems to ensure community inclusion of persons with disabilities, including as a means of building forward better after the COVID-19 pandemic Debate in commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Theme: The urgency of combating racism and racial discrimination 75 years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Annual high-level panel discussion on human rights mainstreaming. Theme: A reflection on five years of the United Nations Youth Strategy (Youth 2030): mapping a blueprint for the next steps Read here the three-year programme of work of the Council with supplementary information.
Read here ISHR’s recommendations on the key issues that are or should be on the agenda of the UN Human Rights Council in 2023.
Vincent Ploton leads ISHR’s strategic engagement and litigation with the UN Treaty Bodies, and he drew attention to General Comment N° 26 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which spells out the obligations of States parties to the ICESCR in relation to land rights. This constitutes the first guidance wholly dedicated to land rights across the UN Treaty Body system. CESCR’s new resource provides a major opportunity for land rights defenders at a time when the global battle for natural resources is at a historical high, and those who stand to protect their land are on the frontline. In all world regions, people who resist the destruction and exploitation of their land are facing judicial harassment, threats and murders. Indigenous and peasant communities who defend their rights to cultivate and live on their ancestral lands are dispossessed and extorted by powerful actors. CESCR’s General Comment spells out the measures that States parties must take to uphold compliance with the obligations set out in the Covenant.
ISHR welcomes the dedicated section of the General Comment on land rights defenders, which echoes our inputs and calls on States parties to:
Publicly recognise … the importance and legitimacy of the work of human rights defenders and a commitment that no violence or threats against them will be tolerated
Repeal of any State legislation or any measures that are intended to penalise or obstruct the work of human rights defenders
Strengthen State institutions responsible for safeguarding the work of human rights defenders
Investigate and punish any form of violence or threat against human rights defenders
Adopt and implement programmes, in consultation with potential beneficiaries, that are well resourced and have inbuilt coordination mechanisms that ensure that adequate protection measures are provided to human rights defenders at risk whenever necessary
Speaking about this groundbreaking new guidance, the Committee’s Co-Rapporteur Rodrigo Uprimny said: “I hope that communities whose land rights are denied, including indigenous communities, can count on the force of international law, and the norms dictated by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and and Cultural Rights. The General Comment reaffirms and reinforces the concept of free, prior and informed consent and also recognizes the fundamental work of defenders of land rights.
‘If we work together to make sure that issues are more visible, that happen in Africa, the civil society organisations, I think, will be achieving more.’
Odinakaonye ‘Odi’ Lagi is the programme director for the Network of University Legal Aid Institutions (NULAI), Nigeria, and she works on promoting access to justice and legal aid for Nigerians. Citing the example of the Nigerian social movement to protest against the actions of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (known as the end #EndSars protests), which she says did not receive enough attention in the continent, she calls for civil society groups and activists across Africa to come together to shed more collective light on individual national struggles.
UN secretary general Antonio Guterres with Chinese president Xi Jinping during an official visit to Geneva on 18 January 2017. (UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré)
In parallel, ISHR hosted a panel discussion on the topic with former member of the UN Committee against Torture (CAT) Felice Gaer, William Nee of the Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders, Peter Irwin from the Uyghur Human Rights Project, and ISHR’s Director of Treaty Body advocacy, Vincent Ploton. ISHR Programme Director Sarah Brooks moderated the discussions.
“The incidents recounted, while qualitative in nature, provide compelling evidence of China’s ability to effectively and unrelentingly restrict civil society engagement with [UN treaty bodies] in the context of specific reviews, and deter independent sources from speaking up,” the report states.
The report adds to growing suspicion of Beijing’s sway over the UN human rights office, after it led a successful campaign last year to delay for months the publication of a report concluding that mass detention of Uyghurs and other religious minorities in Xinjiang could amount to crimes against humanity.
“When treaty bodies do their work well, they document violations and that can lead to serious actions such as the establishment of commissions of inquiry at the Human Rights Council, or even refereeing situations to the International Criminal Court, which can then lead up to indictment of national leaders or heads of state,” Vincent Ploton, co-author of the report, told Geneva Solutions. “So the consequences can be far reaching.”
China, which is party to six out of the ten treaties, has consistently sponsored candidates that have previously worked for the government and that work in institutions or organisations with close ties to the government, Sarah Brooks, co-author of the report, explained. At least one of them, Xia Jie currently sitting in the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), has formal ties to the Chinese communist party.
The authors recount how in 2015 during China’s evaluation by the Committee Against Torture (CAT), the Chinese committee member was kicked out by the chair for taking photos of the activists present, an intimidation tactic that China but also other countries have been known to use against campaigners who come to Geneva.
Seven Chinese activists were also reportedly prevented from travelling to Geneva to participate in the evaluation through threats and even detention. Felice Gaer, CAT chair at that time, recalled the event at a panel organised to launch the report.
This “creates a chilling effect”, leading “those who might be facing particular risks of reprisals to walk back their interest in participating in the process”, Brooks told Geneva Solutions.
The Chinese government has particularly targeted Uyghur and Tibetan groups, telling the office not to publish their reports on the UN human rights website under the pretext that they are “splitists” and therefore their input is misinformation, Gaer recalled at the panel. See also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2022/09/01/finally-the-long-awaited-un-report-on-china/
Ploton said this external pressure exerted on UN staff is even “more worrying”, but said. At the same time, reports submitted by what civil society groups call Gongos, meaning government organised NGOs, that pose as civil society while promoting state interests, have been flooding the reviews, making it hard for the experts to know which sources to trust.
Speaking at the panel, William Nee of the Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders warned that avenues for expression in China, from press to social media to academia, had been closing in recent years, making the UN system all the more important for Chinese rights activists.
China is set to be evaluated by the Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights (CESCR) in February, followed by the CEDAW in May.
In an email response to Geneva Solutions, the Chinese permanent mission to the UN in Geneva rejected the report, calling the accusations “groundless and unjustified”.s
China is far from being the only country trying to influence the treaty bodies. The report also mentions Saudi Arabia and Russia. An analysis by the Geneva Academy from 2018 found that 44 per cent of treaty body expert members had experience working for the executive branch in their respective countries, as opposed to independent civil society groups or academia.
Ploton explained that this was allowed by countries practising “horse trading”, meaning that they agree to vote for a candidate in exchange for a vote for theirs.
Treaty bodies members adopted in 2012 the Addis Ababa guidelines, which spell out what independence and impartiality means for them, but the authors say Geneva Academy’s findings show there has been little progress since then. A major review of the treaty bodies system took place in 2020 for which civil society “had high hopes”, Ploton said. But in the end, “the process was a failure”, he said, describing the issue of reforming treaty bodies as a “hot potato” no state or UN official wanted to hold. “This is not a new phenomenon,” he said. “What is unique about China is how systematic it is.”
China has also been pushing for reforms to keep the expert groups in check, for example keeping them from doing follow-ups after a review or even banning NGOs that are not accredited by the UN Economic and Social Council, which had been blocking for years certain NGOs from being approved until recently.
A few countries including the Nordics and the United Kingdom have taken steps of their own to make sure that candidates are independent. “But the number of countries that take the process seriously is too narrow,” Ploton said.
The ISHR calls in the report for the creation of an independent vetting process, in the image of the International Criminal Court and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which have independent expert panels to monitor member elections. Both were NGO-led initiatives, as were the treaty bodies, Ploton said. “Perhaps it’s on us to make that change happen,” he added.
Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards 
CESCR’s General Comment no. 26 on land rights defenders
February 8, 2023Vincent Ploton leads ISHR’s strategic engagement and litigation with the UN Treaty Bodies, and he drew attention to General Comment N° 26 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which spells out the obligations of States parties to the ICESCR in relation to land rights. This constitutes the first guidance wholly dedicated to land rights across the UN Treaty Body system. CESCR’s new resource provides a major opportunity for land rights defenders at a time when the global battle for natural resources is at a historical high, and those who stand to protect their land are on the frontline. In all world regions, people who resist the destruction and exploitation of their land are facing judicial harassment, threats and murders. Indigenous and peasant communities who defend their rights to cultivate and live on their ancestral lands are dispossessed and extorted by powerful actors. CESCR’s General Comment spells out the measures that States parties must take to uphold compliance with the obligations set out in the Covenant.
ISHR welcomes the dedicated section of the General Comment on land rights defenders, which echoes our inputs and calls on States parties to:
Speaking about this groundbreaking new guidance, the Committee’s Co-Rapporteur Rodrigo Uprimny said: “I hope that communities whose land rights are denied, including indigenous communities, can count on the force of international law, and the norms dictated by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and and Cultural Rights. The General Comment reaffirms and reinforces the concept of free, prior and informed consent and also recognizes the fundamental work of defenders of land rights.
See also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2022/04/21/green-economy-and-human-rights-defenders-provide-data-denounce-attacks/
.https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/new-resource-for-land-rights-defenders/
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Tags: Comment, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR, land rights defender, Rodrigo Uprimny Yepes, social economic and cultural rights, treaty bodies, Vincent Ploton