pokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights:
Rupert Colville
Location: Geneva
Subjects: (1) Libya
(2) Malaysia
(3) Thailand
(4) Venezuela
_________________________________
(1) Libya
We are publishing today a report*, which will be formally
presented to the Human Rights Council in March, describing the situation of
human rights in Libya during 2014. It paints a bleak picture of increasing
turmoil and lawlessness, fanned by a multitude of heavily armed groups amid a
broadening political crisis. Rampant violence and fighting, including in the
country’s two biggest cities, Tripoli and Benghazi, as well as many other
cities and towns across the country, is badly affecting civilians in general
and a number of specific groups in particular, the report says.
During 2014, civilians were victims of indiscriminate
artillery and air attacks. Unlawful killings and summary executions, including
targeted assassinations, were commonplace. Footage appearing to show a number
of beheadings in Benghazi and Derna emerged in November. And a number of
hospitals, schools as well as airports and other public infrastructure were
attacked and damaged, or used for military purposes.
A broad cross-section of society has been impacted. Children
have suffered tremendously, with large numbers unable to go to school in their
hometowns, and some killed or maimed at home or during attacks on schools and
hospitals.
In addition to indiscriminate attacks, the report documents
numerous incidents of targeted violence, with cases of harassment,
intimidation, torture, numerous abductions, and summary executions of human
rights defenders, civil society activists, journalists and other media
professionals, as well as members of the judiciary, politicians and law
enforcement officers.
The report, produced in conjunction with the UN Support
Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), also describes numerous incidents of violence
against women over the past year, including reports of threats, attacks and
killings of female human rights defenders, politicians and other women in public
positions.
Minority groups, including Egyptian Coptic Christians, have
also been increasingly targeted.
The report also highlights the extremely vulnerable
situation of migrants in Libya, especially those in areas affected by the
fighting, and of internally displaced people.
Migrants face arbitrary detention and very poor conditions of detention,
marked by overcrowding, poor sanitation and exploitation. The number of
internally displaced soared from some 60,000 at the beginning of the year to an
estimated 400,000 by mid-November. They were displaced as a result of the
fighting as well as the intentional destruction of residential properties,
farms, factories and other businesses by armed groups targeting perceived
opponents, for example in Warshafana and in Benghazi. Some, like the
Tawerghans, have been displaced multiple times.
Thousands of people remain in detention – mostly under the
effective control of armed groups -- with no means of challenging their
situation as prosecutors and judges are unable or unwilling to confront the
armed groups. UN human rights staff have received reports of torture or other
ill-treatment in many places of detention.
The deteriorating security environment has impacted heavily
on the justice system, which is no longer functioning in parts of the country.
Prosecutors and judges have frequently been subjected to intimidation and
attacks, in the form of court bombings, physical assaults, abduction of
individuals or family members and unlawful killings.
The reform process has been severely undermined with little
progress on the establishment of a new fact-finding and reconciliation
commission or measures of redress for victims.
The report highlights the need to strengthen State
institutions, ensure accountability for human rights violations and support the
ongoing political dialogue. While the continuing violence has had a disastrous
impact on the running of some key institutions, others continue to function but
need support, most notably the Constitution Drafting Assembly. The National Council on Civil Liberties and
Human Rights, Libya’s national human rights institution which has been
forcefully shut down in Tripoli, must be allowed to resume its work.
* The full report can be found here:
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session28/Documents/A_HRC_28_51_ENG.doc
(2) Malaysia
We are disappointed by the Federal Court ruling today to
uphold the Appeals Court decision of March 2014 sentencing Mr. Anwar Ibrahim,
the opposition leader, to five years in prison on charges of sodomy, a crime
that should not exist under international human rights law.
Mr. Ibrahim has faced a number of charges and lengthy
judicial processes since his removal from the Government in 1998. There are
allegations that this case has been politically motivated and the trial marred
by violations of due process rights in relation to the opportunities provided
to the defence, raising concerns about the fairness of the judicial process. In
addition, Mr. Ibrahim has been investigated and his lawyers prosecuted under
the 1948 Sedition Act for speaking about the case.
We are highly concerned by the increasing use of the
Sedition Act in an apparently arbitrary and selective fashion, against
political opposition, human rights activists, journalists, lawyers and
university professors in Malaysia since 2014.
(3) Thailand
We are concerned that a number of proposed amendments to the
1955 Act on the Organization of Military Courts due for consideration this week
are not in line with international human rights standards. The National
Legislative Assembly that was appointed by the military government in 2014 is
expected to adopt the amendments on Thursday.
We are particularly concerned that the proposed amendment to
section 46 would authorize military commanders to issue detention orders for
both military personnel and civilians under the Criminal Procedure Code for up
to 84 days with no judicial oversight. Since the May 2014 coup, military courts
have had jurisdiction over civilians for specific offenses, including lese
majeste, security offences and violations of Orders of the National Council of
Peace and Order. The proposed amendment could be applied in such cases.
Detention without judicial review breaches the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Thailand is a state
party. Under Article 9, a person detained on suspicion of a criminal offence is
to be brought promptly before a judge. The Human Rights Committee that oversees
the ICCPR has interpreted “promptly” to mean within a few days.
OHCHR notes assurances by the current Government of its
commitment to uphold its international human rights obligations. We urge the
National Legislative Assembly to revise the proposed amendments in line with
international human rights standards, including the right to judicial review of
detention, right to counsel and right to appeal. We call on the Government to
restrict the use of military courts to military offences committed by military
personnel. Under the ICCPR, Thailand has a duty to ensure that everyone has the
right to a “fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial
tribunal established by law,” (article 14) and the Human Rights Committee has
underlined that the military character of a trial should in no way affect these
rights.
(4) Venezuela
We are concerned by recently passed Resolution 008610 of the
Ministry of Popular Power for Defence of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
which describes the norms to be followed by the Bolivarian Armed Forces when
controlling public assemblies and demonstrations published on 23 January.
The use of the military for law-enforcement purposes should
only be an exceptional way to respond to an emergency situation, when there is
a need to support the civilian police. In such cases, the use of the military
should only be temporary and the military should act under civilian command and
control.
In line with international standards, the use of lethal
force must be the last resort, only applied along the principles of necessity
and proportionality, and only in situations where it is strictly unavoidable in
order to protect life. The Venezuelan Constitution (Article 68) recognises the
right to peaceful demonstration and bans the use of fire arms and toxic
substances in the control of peaceful demonstrations.
We urge the Venezuelan Government not to use the armed
forces in the control of peaceful demonstrations, and to adhere in all
circumstances to the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by
Law Enforcement Officials and its own Constitution.
ENDS
For more information or media requests, please contact
Rupert Colville (+41 22 917 9767 /
rcolville@ohchr.org) or Cécile Pouilly (+41 22 917 9310 / cpouilly@ohchr.org).
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