Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for
Human Rights:
Ravina Shamdasani
Location:Geneva
Subjects: (1) Libya human rights report, (2)
Cambodia / Montagnards
_________________________________
(1) Libya human rights report
Fighting in recent months between armed groups
in western and eastern Libya, as well as in the south, has resulted in hundreds
of civilian deaths, mass displacement and acute humanitarian conditions for
those trapped in conflict zones, warns a new report issued today by the UN
Human Rights Office and the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). The report
documents indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas, the abduction of
civilians, torture and reports of executions, as well as deliberate destruction
of property, among other serious abuses and violations of international law in
various parts of the country.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid
Ra'ad Al Hussein has warned all the parties involved in the fighting that those
involved in grave abuses of international human rights and international
humanitarian law are criminally liable, including before the International
Criminal Court which is investigating the situation in Libya.
“As a commander of an armed group, you are
criminally liable under international law if you commit or order the commission
of grave human rights abuses or fail to take reasonable and necessary measures
to prevent or punish their commission,” High Commissioner Zeid has warned.
He has urged all those in positions of
authority to declare publicly that acts amounting to violations and abuses of
international human rights and humanitarian law will not be tolerated.
A press release on the report, quoting High
Commissioner Zeid and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for
Libya, Bernardino Leon, can be viewed on: http://www.ohchr.org. To read the
full report, please visit: http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Countries/LY/UNSMIL_OHCHRJointly_report_Libya_23.12.14.pdf
(2) Cambodia / Montagnards
We are very pleased to announce that the UN
Human Rights Office in Cambodia was able, after weeks of engagement with the
central and provincial authorities, to bring to safety the 13 Vietnamese
Montagnards who had been hiding in the Cambodian forests since October, with no
protection from the elements and little sustenance. They had said they wished
to seek asylum, but provincial authorities had warned that, if found, they
would be deported.
Last week, the Montagnards indicated that they
were ready to come forward in the presence of the UN. Early Saturday morning,
one group of eight Montagnards, including one woman, presented themselves to
the joint UN and Ministry of Interior team that had travelled to Ratanakkiri
two weeks earlier. Later that day, our team of three human rights officers and
one driver scoured the jungle to search for the other group of five who wished
to present themselves to the UN. Provincial police later informed the team that
the group was being held in custody. The five were handed over to the joint
team that evening.
When our team found them, the 13 Montagnards
were thin, exhausted, disheveled and complaining of various health problems
after more than seven weeks of sleeping rough on the forest floor with little
to eat.
The group is now being registered by the
government’s Refugee Department which will process their claims for asylum.
We are grateful for the close collaboration
with the Ministry of Interior and with our partners at the UN Refugee Agency
(UNHCR). We thank the Ministry of Interior for its cooperation throughout the
past two months, in spite of the difficulties with the provincial authorities.
We acknowledge with appreciation the cooperation of the provincial law
enforcement authorities in the final instance, when they ultimately allowed the
last five to apply for asylum. We will continue to work with the Government to
ensure that any future cases are handled in line with the standards required by
international law.
ENDS
For further information and media requests,
please contact Ravina Shamdasani (+41 22 917 9169 / rshamdasani@ohchr.org)
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