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Posts Tagged ‘Mary Lawlor’

UN experts are turning the spotlight on Kenya over a troubling pattern of human rights violations – the case of Bob Njagi and Nicholas Oyoo

October 30, 2025

UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion Irene Khan

Mary Lawlor UN Special Rapporteur for human rights defenders

On 5 August 2025 a group of United Nations human rights experts has written to the Kenyan government over allegations of serious human rights violations. These violations include the killing of protesters, the arrest and detention of human rights defenders, the deportation of a Ugandan lawyer, and the suppression of media freedom during the June 25 protests across the country.

The letter (referenced AL KEN 3/2025,) was sent by four UN Special Rapporteurs, namely Mary Lawlor (Human Rights Defenders), Matthew Gillett (Arbitrary Detention), Irene Khan (Freedom of Expression), and Gina Romero (Freedom of Assembly and Association).

Copies of the letter were also shared with the governments of Uganda and Tanzania, given their involvement in the alleged incidents. The Kenyan government was given 60 days to respond to the communication before being made public on the UN’s human rights website.

By October 22, Kenya had not responded to the contents of the letter. The experts expressed grave concern over what they described as “an emerging pattern of criminalisation and harassment of human rights defenders in Kenya.”

According to the communication, nationwide protests on June 25, 2025, left 16 people dead and hundreds injured. The demonstrations, which marked the first anniversary of the 2024 anti-Finance Bill protest, were allegedly met with excessive police force.

During the protests, several major media houses reportedly had their transmission centres raided by police and communication officials who switched off live broadcasts. The Communications Authority of Kenya allegedly issued a directive barring media outlets from airing live coverage of the protests, a decision later suspended by the High Court in Milimani, which termed it “potentially unconstitutional” pending a hearing scheduled for October 24, 2025.

Kenyan youth confronts UN with tough questions in Geneva forum [VIDEO]

The letter cites the arrest of Mark Amiani, John Mulingwa Nzau, and Francis Mutunge Mwangi, all members of the Social Justice Centres Working Group, who were detained by police on June 27 while travelling to work in Mombasa. They were later charged with incitement of violence, damage to property, and theft, though the experts said no credible evidence was presented in court.

They were held for five days before being released on bail on July 2, with conditions requiring them to report to the police twice weekly. Their next court hearing was scheduled for August 21, 2025.

Prominent activist and photojournalist Boniface Mwangi was also arrested at his Nairobi home on July 19, where police allegedly confiscated electronic equipment and even tear gas canisters. He was charged with unlawful possession of ammunition and released on bail two days later.

The UN experts noted that Mwangi had previously been arrested several times and was abducted in Tanzania in May 2025, before being found in Kenya’s coastal town of Ukunda days later.

The letter further highlighted the deportation of Ugandan lawyer Martin Mavenjina, a senior legal advisor at the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), who was expelled from Kenya on July 5 despite having a valid residency and a Kenyan family.

He was allegedly detained at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and forced onto a flight to Kampala without being informed of the reason or given access to legal counselADVERTISEMENT

A day after Mavenjina’s deportation, armed men reportedly stormed a press conference hosted at the KHRC offices in Nairobi, where women and widows were calling for an end to police brutality and enforced disappearances. The assailants allegedly destroyed journalists’ equipment and accused the women of organising protests. Despite reports being filed, no investigations have been launched, according to the letter.

UN calls for action and accountability: The UN experts urged the Kenyan government to clarify the legal basis for the arrests, detentions, and deportations, and to end the intimidation of journalists and human rights defenders.

They also demanded investigations into the killings and injuries from the protests.

The experts warned that the events “constitute blatant violations” of international human rights laws, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which guarantees freedoms of

But good news the two were found back after more than a month, see: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/news/national/missing-kenyan-activists-freed-after-39-days-in-secret-ugandan-military-detention-5257852

and https://nation.africa/kenya/news/africa/kenyan-activists-bob-njagi-nicholas-oyoo-freed-after-diplomatic-pressure-on-uganda-5257840

and: https://k24.digital/411/activist-bob-njagi-opens-up-on-chilling-torture-he-faced-while-detained-in-uganda

https://www.pulselive.co.ke/articles/news/local/why-un-experts-are-calling-out-kenya-in-scathing-letter-to-government-2025102704150886531

https://nation.africa/kenya/news/abductions-kenya-risks-sanctions-for-ignoring-un-queries-on-human-rights-abuses-5245882

https://eastleighvoice.co.ke/national/231234/east-africa-law-society-warns-of-eroding-rule-of-law-as-kenyan-activists-tanzanian-diplomat-go-missing

https://nation.africa/kenya/news/kenya-responds-to-un-on-abductions-after-media-highlight-5249510

https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/east-africa/kenya-tells-un-it-acted-within-the-law-on-rights-5251392#google_vignette

https://www.msn.com/en-xl/africa/kenya/activist-reveals-possible-whereabouts-of-bob-njagi-and-nicholas-oyoo-claims-they-ve-been-tortured/ar-AA1PLNzW

https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2025-11-08-activists-njagi-oyoo-freed-what-we-know-so-far

https://www.chron.com/news/world/article/kenyan-activists-released-from-ugandan-detention-21149624.php

Posted in human rights, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: arrests, Bob Niagi, Boniface Mwangi, deportation, Gina romero, history, Human Rights Defenders, Irene Khan, Kenya, Mark Amiani, Martin Mavenjina, Mary Lawlor, Matthew Gillett, news, politics, UN Special Rapporteurs

Interview with Mary Lawlor, departing UN special rapporteur

October 29, 2025

On 13 October 2025, Nina Lakhani, climate justice reporter the Guardian, published this interview with Mary Lawlor, UN special rapporteur for human rights defenders, who presented her final annual thematic report during an interactive dialogue at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly’s Third Committee. The Special Rapporteur’s report focused on the contributions of human rights defenders addressing climate change and working to realise a just transition from fossil fuels, and the risks they face in carrying out this work.

Mary Lawlor, the UN special rapporteur for human rights defenders since 2020, has documented hundreds of cases where states have sought to smear and silence climate defenders engaged in peaceful protest, non-violent civil disobedience and litigation.

“Attacks against climate defenders have surged over the course of the mandate, and we now see outright repression against people who are organizing for climate action. It’s some of the states that have claimed to be the strongest supporters of human rights defenders including the UK, Germany, France and the US, that are most often repressing climate activists and where the right to protest is being denigrated and delegitimized.

“These big countries spew out the rhetoric about 1.5C, but they don’t mean it. They are playing the game to suit themselves. It’s business as usual,” Lawlor said in an interview with the Guardian.

Lawlor will present the penultimate report of her six-year mandate, “Tipping points: Human rights defenders, climate change and a just transition”, to the UN general assembly on 16 October.

It documents state repression including police violence and surveillance, civil litigation deployed to deliberately wear down and silence climate defenders known as Slapp (strategic lawsuits against public participation), as well as bogus criminal charges ranging from sedition, criminal defamation, terrorism and conspiracy to trespass, to public disorder and to disobedience.

One trend documented by Lawlor is the conflation of non-violent climate action with terrorism. In 2022, the French minister of interior at the time, and current minister of justice, accused the national environmental movement Les Soulèvements de la Terre of “ecoterrorism”. The government sought to close down the group, but the country’s highest administrative court eventually overturned the effort.

Lawlor is adamant that climate activists are human rights defenders. They use non-violent protest, disruptive civil disobedience and litigation to stop fossil fuel projects and pressure elected officials to take meaningful action precisely because they are trying to protect the right to food, clean water, health, life and a healthy environment.

But it’s not just fossil fuels. Human rights are now being targeted in the rush for critical minerals and new sources of non-fossil energy. The same repressive playbook is being used by governments and private companies involved in land grabs, pollution and Indigenous rights violations in pursuit of a green transition.

“Governments are repressing human rights defenders and the current trajectory is incompatible with the realization of human rights for all. It’s just a road to destruction … I think states are behaving in a criminal fashion,” Lawlor said.

“No system, no power, no government, no big company seeking profit should trump the rights of billions of people in the world. And that’s what’s happening. It’s the rich, the powerful that are creating such a disaster for humanity.”

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/13/climate-defenders-mary-lawlor-human-rights

https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/unga-80-special-rapporteur-urges-states-to-protect-environmental-defenders-working-towards-a-just-transition

https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/new-report-un-special-rapporteur-exposes-rising-global-threats-and-systemic-retaliation-against-environmental-defenders-under-the-aarhus-convention/

https://genevasolutions.news/climate-environment/environmental-crimes-go-unpunished-experts-want-to-equip-defenders-to-fight-back

Posted in human rights, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Business & Human Rights Resource Centr, climate-change, environment, environmental defenders, General Assembly, Geneva Solutions, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, indigenous groups, Mary Lawlor, news, Nina Lakhani, politics, the Guardian, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders

NGOs Call for the Immediate Release of Saudi Human Rights Defender Mohammed al-Bejad

August 12, 2025

We, the undersigned organizations, express deep concern over the continued arbitrary detention of the Saudi human rights defender Mohammed al-Bejadi more than two years beyond his sentence. His continuing detention, along with countless others, demonstrates that despite a recent spate of prisoner releases, the Saudi authorities’ severe repression of rights activists and critics remains. We call for his immediate release, along with all others arbitrarily detained in the kingdom for peacefully exercising their fundamental freedoms.

Al-Bejadi, a founding member in 2009 of the now-banned Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), has been arrested and imprisoned three times for his peaceful human rights activism, most recently on 24 May 2018 during a crackdown on women’s rights defenders. He was subsequently sentenced to an egregious 10-year prison term, with five years suspended, which expired in April 2023.

More than two years later, he remains in Buraydah Prison, where he has been denied access to legal representation. According to ALQST, an independent Saudi human rights group, he has also experienced torture and other ill-treatment, including physical abuse and prolonged incommunicado detention.

The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, highlighted al-Bejadi’s case in April 2025 to draw attention to a worrying trend in Saudi Arabia, in which the authorities continue to hold prisoners past their completed sentences, in violation of basic international standards and Saudi Arabia’s own laws.

Two other prominent human rights defenders, Mohammed al-Qahtani – another ACPRA co-founder –and Essa al-Nukheifi, were held arbitrarily for more than two years beyond their prison terms before being conditionally released in January 2025.

In other instances, when political prisoners have neared the end of their prison terms Saudi authorities have retried them and increased their sentences. Besides inflicting further injustice on these people after years of arbitrary imprisonment, the failure to release prisoners whose sentences have concluded creates fear that they too may be retried.

Saudi authorities have released dozens of people imprisoned for peacefully exercising their rights in recent months, yet continue to arbitrarily hold many more. Released prisoners continue to face heavy restrictions, such as arbitrary travel bans and having to wear an ankle monitor.

Meanwhile, the Saudi authorities’ record of rights violations continues to deteriorate, notably with their escalating use of the death penalty, including the recent execution of a prominent Saudi journalist Turki al-Jasser, and a notable surge in executions of foreign nationals for non-violent drug-related offences.

Al-Bejadi is one of several people arbitrarily imprisoned whose activism stretches back for decades. He spent four months in prison without charge or trial from September 2007 to January 2008, and was again jailed for more than five years, from March 2011 to April 2016, after taking part in a protest outside the Ministry of Interior. During that protest he said: “I do not have a family member in detention, but we must defend not only our own family but our whole country and all those who are oppressed. All prisoners of conscience are my family.”

The undersigned organizations call on the Saudi authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Mohammed al-Bejadi, all others detained beyond the completion of their prison sentences, and all individuals who are imprisoned for the peaceful exercise of their fundamental rights and freedoms.

Signatories:

ALQST for Human Rights
DAWN
European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR)
FairSquare
Freedom House
Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)
Human Rights Watch
HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
MENA Rights Group
Middle East Democracy Center (MEDC)
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders

https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/08/07/ngos-call-for-the-immediate-release-of-saudi-human-rights-defender-mohammed-al

Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Essa al-Nukheifi, illegal detention, joint letter, Mary Lawlor, Mohammed al-Bejadi, Mohammed Al-Qahtani, NGOs, Saudi Arabia, Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA)

Special Rapporteur for human rights defenders: open vacancy for impartial and competent candidates

July 29, 2025

In March 2026, the UN Human Rights Council (the Council) will appoint the next Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders. The role of this Special Rapporteur is essential: they promote the work of those who defend human rights and they protect human rights defenders at risk. The Special Rapporteur serves in a voluntary capacity and is independent of the UN, States and non-governmental organisations. As other Special Rapporteurs, they are tasked by the UN to monitor and report on human rights situations around the world. They also provide advice and recommendations for the implementation of those rights.

The four rapporteurs until now have all been of exceptional calibre:

Mary Lawlor (Ireland)

2020-2026

She became a Board member of the Irish Section of Amnesty International in 1975, was elected Chair from 1983 -1987 and in 1988 became its Director. She founded Front Line Defenders in 2001 to focus specifically on the protection of human rights defenders at risk.

On 1 May 2020, she took up the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, where she has adopted a people-centred approach to the mandate. Her mandate was renewed for another three-year term by the UN Human Rights Council in April 2023.

She is also currently an Adjunct Professor of Business and Human Rights in the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI), School of Business, Trinity College Dublin.

Mr. Michel Forst (France)

2014 – 2020

Mr. Michel Forst (France) was Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders from June 2014 until April 2020. From 2008 to 2013, Mr. Forst was the UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Haiti, and between 2012 and 2013 he was the Chair of the Coordination Committee of the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council.

Mrs. Margaret Sekaggya (Uganda)

2008 – 2014

Mrs. Margaret Sekaggya (Uganda) was the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders from 2008 to 2014. Before her appointment as Special Rapporteur, Ms. Sekaggya was the Chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission and a High Court Judge in the country.

Ms. Hina Jilani (Pakistan)

2000 – 2008

Ms. Hina Jilani (Pakistan) was Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders from 2000 – 2008. In 1980, she and her sister founded Pakistan’s first women-only legal practise. She became an Advocate of the Supreme Court shortly after her tenure as Special Rapporteur came to an end.

We should be campaigning so the new person appointed is independent, impartial and competent and comes from a background that represents the diversity of our world.

Are you a suitable candidate? Apply! (1) Complete the online survey (2) Submit the application form in Word format. The deadline for applications is 31 August 2025, noon Geneva time (CEST).

Apply now

https://crm.ishr.ch/civicrm/mailing/view?reset=1&id=1648&cid=8618&cs=4d4377e0b21634e99cf8fa9460dc5085_1752823212_168

Posted in human rights, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Hina Jilani, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Margaret Sekaggaya, Mary Lawlor, Michel Forst, Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, vacancy

Rapporteur dismayed by continued criminalisation of human rights defenders after her visit to Algeria

February 1, 2025

On 30 January 2025 Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, said that Algeria continues to restrict and harass human rights defenders for their peaceful activities, an independent human rights expert said today.

“More than a year after I visited Algeria – at the end of 2023 – I am deeply disappointed to see that human rights defenders in different fields of work, some of whom I met, are still being arbitrarily arrested, judicially harassed, intimidated and criminalised for their peaceful activities under vaguely worded provisions, such as ‘harming the security of the State’,” said Mary Lawlor. [https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2023/12/07/mary-lawlor-returns-from-algeria-visit/]

“The case of Mr. Merzoug Touati, an independent journalist and human rights defender who has been subjected for years to trials on spurious charges, is among the most alarming cases I have recently examined,” Lawlor said.

“Since 2024, he has been detained three times. During his latest arrest, in August 2024, his family was reportedly subjected to ill-treatment. He was then allegedly physically and psychologically tortured while in police custody for five days. He continues to be judicially harassed even after his release,” the expert said.

“No less concerning is the arrest of three human rights lawyers and a young whistleblower between February and July 2024,” Lawlor said, highlighting the cases of Toufik Belala, Soufiane Ouali and Omar Boussag.

Belala was summoned for interrogation three times since April 2024 and finally accused of publishing false information that may threaten the security of the State, before being freed under judicial control.

The human rights lawyer Soufiane Ouali was taken from his home during a violent dawn raid by police in July 2024, and placed in custody along with 14 others, including the young whistleblower Yuba Manguellet. They were charged under Article 87bis of the Penal Code, a vaguely worded counter-terrorism provision that is often misused to crackdown on freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.

Other restrictive articles of the Penal Code have been used to accuse human rights lawyer Omar Boussag of ‘incitement of an unarmed gathering’ and ‘contempt of an official body’ following the publication of his posts on Facebook.

“These are not the only cases,” Lawlor said. “The environmental rights defender Karim Khima has been pursued for years in court for organising protests against a housing development on land with historical remains and for the protection of the ecosystem around Lake Mezaia, which is threatened by the planned construction of an amusement park. Fortunately, he was finally acquitted.”

Lawlor also drew attention to the case of the ‘Collectif des Familles de Disparus,’ an organisation set up during the Algerian Civil War in the 1990s to seek answers to the forcible disappearance of persons. This year, the organisation has repeatedly been prevented from holding events by huge contingents of police forces surrounding its office in Algiers. Its female lawyer and members, many of whom are mothers of disappeared persons, have been manhandled and forced to leave the location on these occasions.

“I want to repeat that I met nearly all of these human rights defenders,” the Special Rapporteur said. “Not one of them was in any way pursuing violent acts. They all must be treated in accordance with international human rights law, which Algeria is bound to respect.”

She said that during her visit to Algeria, she also met with many public officials in an atmosphere of constructive exchange. “I am therefore doubly disappointed to see that restrictions against human rights defenders are continuing,” Lawlor said.

https://reliefweb.int/report/algeria/algeria-special-rapporteur-dismayed-continued-criminalisation-human-rights-defenders-after-her-visit

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/01/algeria-special-rapporteur-dismayed-continued-criminalisation-human-rights

Posted in human rights, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Algeria, criminalisation, detentiion, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, Merzoug Touati, news, Omar Boussag, politics, Soufiane Ouali, Toufik Belala, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders

Egypt: Special Rapporteur concerned about use of anti-terrorism legislation HRDs

January 17, 2025

An independent human rights expert expressed on 15 January 2025 concern about the continued application of anti-terrorism legislation in Egypt to imprison human rights defenders.

“Although there has been some progress with the release of some detainees and the development of a national human rights strategy, Egypt persists in routinely misusing counter-terrorism legislation and recycling criminal charges against human rights defenders,” said Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.

“What is particularly striking is the continued detention of human rights defenders past their release date by repeatedly charging them with similar, if not identical, terrorism-related accusations, in a practice commonly known as “rotation” or “recycling”,” Lawlor said.

The Special Rapporteur previously raised concerns in this regard in 22 communications sent to the Government of Egypt since May 2020. The practice of “rotation” was also highlighted by the UN Human Rights Committee in its concluding observations on Egypt’s last review in March 2023.

In particular, the Special Rapporteur expressed concern over the use of this practice to detain three human rights defenders for lengthy periods of time.

“It is shocking that instead of being released at the end of her five-year sentence on 1 November 2023, human rights lawyer Ms. Hoda Abdel Moneim was detained again under new charges. And one year later, a third set of charges was brought against her. She is now facing two new trials, with one of the new charges – ‘joining an unnamed terrorist organisation’ – being identical to that for which she had completed her sentence in 2023, in violation of the principle of double jeopardy”, Lawlor said.

In November 2024, the same terrorism-related charge was brought against another woman human rights defender, Aisha al-Shater, who was tried in the same case with Abdel Moneim. This charge is also identical to that for which she is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence.

In a third case, human rights defender and lawyer Ibrahim Metwally has been arbitrarily detained without trial for over four years. He was arrested in 2017 at Cairo Airport, while he was on his way to Geneva to meet with the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. Although the Cairo Criminal Court has ordered his conditional release twice, he was repeatedly charged with new terrorism-related offences, one of which he supposedly committed in prison. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention previously found Metwally’s detention to be arbitrary and noted that it amounts to an act of retaliation for cooperation with the UN.

“It is outrageous that Mr Metwally is facing trial in three cases, including that of ‘conspiring with foreign entities’, which appear to be in relation to his cooperation with the UN and his peaceful human rights work in Egypt prior to his detention,” Lawlor said.

The Special Rapporteur noted that the poor prison conditions in which the three human rights defenders are held were equally alarming. The human rights defenders have had health problems from the start of their arrest and have reportedly been denied adequate medical treatment despite the severity of their conditions, which may amount to physical and psychological ill-treatment.

“It is unacceptable for prison authorities to deny recommended surgery, bar the transfer of a detainee to a hospital, or withhold medical records from the detainee’s family and lawyer,” Lawlor said.

The Special Rapporteur is in contact with the authorities of Egypt on this issue and has urged them to meet their international human rights obligations, by which they must abide.

https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/01/egypt-special-rapporteur-concerned-about-use-anti-terrorism-legislation

https://african.business/2025/01/apo-newsfeed/egypt-special-rapporteur-concerned-about-use-of-anti-terrorism-legislation-against-human-rights-defenders

https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2025/country-chapters/egypt

Posted in human rights, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: Aisha al-Shater, anti-terrorist laws, detention, Egypt, Hoda Abdel Moneim, Human Rights Defenders, Ibrahim Metwally, Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders

UN special rapporteur ‘dismayed’ at Turkey’s jailing of human rights lawyers

January 17, 2025

A United Nations special rapporteur on Thursday 16 January 2025 condemned Turkey’s continued use of counterterrorism laws to imprison human rights lawyers and activists, calling it a violation of international human rights obligations.

Mary Lawlor, the UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders, expressed alarm over the long-term detention of nine Turkish human rights lawyers and activists who were sentenced to lengthy prison terms on what she described as “spurious terrorism-related charges.”

The group includes eight members of the Progressive Lawyers’ Association (ÇHD) who were arrested between 2018 and 2019 and convicted under Turkey’s Anti-Terror Law: Barkın Timtik, Aytaç Ünsal, Özgür Yılmaz, Behiç Aşçı, Engin Gökoğlu, Süleyman Gökten, Selçuk Kozağaçlı and Oya Aslan. They were sentenced to up to 13 years in prison in what has been widely criticized as an unfair trial, known as the ÇHD II trial.

Another arrestee, lawyer Turan Canpolat of the Malatya Bar Association, was imprisoned in 2016 based on the testimony of a client who later admitted he had been coerced. Canpolat was convicted of alleged links to the Gülen movement, inspired by the late Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen, which Ankara accuses of orchestrating a coup attempt in 2016, and sentenced to 10 years in prison. The Gülen movement denies involvement in the coup.

Canpolat was detained in 2016 after responding to a police search at a client’s residence, only to find himself accused based on doctored evidence and coerced testimony. Despite the dismissal of related charges against others implicated in his case and the recanting of key testimony, he remains in prison. His conviction was based on his legal representation of companies later closed by emergency decrees after the coup, a move critics argue criminalizes standard legal work. International legal groups have denounced his imprisonment as a miscarriage of justice, calling for his release.

All nine lawyers are currently held in high-security prisons, and Canpolat has reportedly been kept in solitary confinement for nearly three years without a disciplinary order, a practice the UN expert found “extremely disturbing.”

Lawlor has raised concerns about their cases since the beginning of her mandate in 2020, but Turkey has continued to criminalize their work. “I remain dismayed that the criminalization of their human rights work has not stopped,” she said.

She urged Turkish authorities to comply with international human rights law and guarantee fair appeal hearings for the detained lawyers. “I am ready to discuss this further with Turkish authorities,” she added.

The Turkish government has repeatedly been criticized for using broad anti-terror laws to silence political dissent and imprison journalists, lawyers and activists. Since the 2016 coup attempt, Turkey has arrested thousands on terrorism-related charges, often based on tenuous evidence such as social media posts or association with banned groups.

International human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have condemned Turkey for what they describe as politically motivated prosecutions and the erosion of due process. The European Court of Human Rights has ruled against Turkey in multiple cases, finding that it has violated the right to a fair trial and engaged in arbitrary detention.

https://www.turkishminute.com/2025/01/16/un-special-rapporteur-dismayed-at-turkeys-jailing-of-human-rights-lawyers-under-terrorism-laws4

seealsohttps://www.fidh.org/en/region/europe-central-asia/turkey/turkey-unacceptable-attacks-on-the-legal-profession

Posted in human rights, Human Rights Council, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
Tags: anti-terrorist laws, Barkın Timtik, criminalisation, human rights, human rights lawyers, Mary Lawlor, news, Oya Aslan, politics, Turan Canpolat, Turkey, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders

UN General Assembly: UN expert urges recognition of vital work of defenders for 2030 Agenda

November 10, 2024

On 17 October 2024, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, presented her latest report in an interactive dialogue with United Nations member States during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in the Third Committee.

In an interactive dialogue presenting her report to the Third Committee of the General Assembly, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Mary Lawlor urged States to acknowledge the crucial role of human rights defenders in achieving seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and advancing 2030 Agenda. During the interactive dialogue, Mary Lawlor highlighted human rights defenders’ contributions to various SDGs, including zero hunger (Goal 2), good health and well-being (Goal 3), quality education (Goal 4), gender equality (Goal 5), clean water and sanitation (Goal 6) as well as affordable and clean energy (Goal 7). The report illustrates specific examples of human rights defenders’ work and contributions to each of seventeen Sustainable Development Goals.

During the dialogue, the Special Rapporteur noted that ninety percent of SDG targets are linked to human rights obligations. Given that only seventeen percent of the goals are on track, she emphasised the need for human rights defenders to be supported in their work in making the SDGs a reality. She noted that despite this crucial work of defenders in advancing the SDGs, they face severe barriers and threats including stigmatisation, criminalisation and other violations of fundamental rights.

In her concluding remarks, the Special Rapporteur emphasised that amidst global disagreements, the SDGs represent a rare consensus and urged States to support, partner with and respect HRDs working to support 2030 Agenda. Mary Lawlor in her recommendations, urged States to publicly acknowledge the essential role human rights defenders play in advancing the 2030 Agenda and called for legal frameworks that protect rather than restrict defenders and civil society in their legitimate work in achieving SDGs.

https://ishr.ch/latest-updates/unga79-un-expert-urges-recognition-of-the-vital-work-of-hrds-in-fulfilling-the-2030-agenda

See also SDG – Human Rights Data Explorer : https://sdgdata.humanrights.dk/en/node/252884

and

https://www.fidh.org/en/issues/business-human-rights-environment/human-rights-and-environmental-rights/cop-29-environmental-defenders-must-be-protected

Posted in human rights, Human Rights Defenders, ISHR, UN | Leave a Comment »
Tags: 2030 Agenda, danish institute for human rights, environmental defenders, Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), UN General Assembly, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders

Call for Input: Special Rapporteur’s Human Rights Council report on human rights defenders in remote and rural areas

September 26, 2024

The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders is seeking input for her upcoming report to the Human Rights Council, which will focus on human rights defenders working in remote and rural areas. The report, to be presented in March 2025, will explore the unique challenges faced by these human rights defenders, such as geographic isolation, limited access to resources, and lack of meaningful consultation. Despite these challenges, human rights defenders in these regions play a critical role in defending human rights, maintaining public institutions, and ensuring the rule of law.

This call for input invites contributions from a range of stakeholders, including States, businesses, civil society organizations, and human rights defenders themselves. The aim is to assess the nature of threats, obstacles, and opportunities for human rights defenders in these remote regions. Submissions should focus on topics like gender-specific challenges, protection strategies, successes achieved, and examples of good practices. These inputs will help shape practical recommendations on improving safety, access to resources, and support for defenders in rural areas.

The collected inputs will inform the report and be published on the OHCHR website to foster dialogue and improve protection measures for human rights defenders in these challenging environments.

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Tags: call for proposals, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, news, OHCHR, rural areas, Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders

Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and development

August 19, 2024

The General Assembly received the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor.

In the report, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, highlights the contributions made by human rights defenders to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. In the report, she demonstrates that, across every one of the 17 Goals, human rights defenders are placing human rights at the core of sustainable development and, in doing so, are assisting States in their responsibility to leave no one behind. The Special Rapporteur highlights that this work is being made more difficult by increasing restrictions on the right to defend rights.

Download Report (PDF | 431.83 KB | English version)

https://reliefweb.int/report/world/report-special-rapporteur-situation-human-rights-defenders-a79123-enarruzh

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Tags: development, environmental defenders, General Assembly, Human Rights Defenders, Mary Lawlor, Reliefweb, Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards