Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights: Rupert Colville
Location:
Geneva
Subjects: (1) Zeid calls for justice for rights abuses in Nigeria
(2) Central
African Republic
(3)
Bahrain
(1) Zeid calls for justice for rights abuses in Nigeria
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al
Hussein said interviews with individuals who had fled or were rescued from
towns previously held by Boko Haram painted a picture of “absolute terror and
grave human rights violations” by the insurgents in northeast Nigeria, and also
yielded reports of violations of international human rights and international
humanitarian law by Nigerian armed forces. More details in a press release to
be issued shortly.
(2) Update on CAR:
enforced disappearances and/or extrajudicial killings
The following is an update on one of several incidents
involving foreign troops from a number of different States operating in the
Central African Republic (CAR) in 2014, which as we flagged last weekend, have
still not been resolved and we believe require further investigation with the
aim of providing accountability for any crimes found to have been committed.
We are deeply concerned that more than 15 months after
the enforced disappearance of at least 11 people, including 5 women and one
child, by troops from the Republic of Congo, their whereabouts remain unknown
and a full and transparent investigation has not been conducted by responsible
authorities inside or outside the country.
According to numerous testimonies from local witnesses
interviewed by UN human rights staff in Boali, a small town about 80 kilometres
north of Bangui, 11 people were arrested after an exchange of fire between the
anti-Balaka armed group and the Congolese contingent of the African Union-led
peacekeeping force in the CAR (known as MISCA*). This was not a UN peacekeeping
force.
The 11 individuals, including the local anti-Balaka leader,
General Maurice Kounouno and his family, were detained at General Kounouno’s
house at around 18:00 on 24 March 2014. They were then transferred to the
Congolese MISCA base and detained there.
A witness who was at the MISCA base at the time reported
hearing crying, screaming and gunshots at the premises occupied by the
Commander of the Congolese contingent. Another witness also reported hearing
several gunshots. A third witness said that several hours later, around 21:00,
the Commander knocked on his door and requested two shovels which he said were
needed to reinforce the contingent’s defensive positions. This witness also
described a subsequent deployment of vehicles towards the Usine Boali 3 area
not far from the base. The Commander also reportedly asked the Energy Company
to switch off all the lights around the area. For weeks afterwards, Congolese
MISCA soldiers declared the land around Usine Boali 3 off limits, warning that
there might be landmines in the area. Local workers were told not to clean the
area.
Two other local witnesses said they noticed traces of
vehicles and displaced soil in the Usine Boali 3 area around that time. Other
local sources also said they believed that the 11 detained individuals had been
killed and buried in that area on the evening of 24 March 2014. Upon visiting
the area, human rights staff noticed visible undulation in the land, supporting
the contention that the land was disturbed at one point.
Victims’ families lodged official complaints to the
gendarmerie in May 2014 but there is yet to be an effective investigation. The
Commander of the Congolese contingent had reportedly claimed that the 11
individuals had escaped during their transfer to Bangui. MISCA repeated this
claim to the UN’s International Commission of Inquiry on the Central African
Republic, which also investigated the incident in its report**. However, local authorities interviewed by UN
human rights staff denied they had ever received a request from the Congolese
MISCA force to accompany the detainees to Bangui (the normal procedure).
These reports strongly suggest that the MISCA’s Congolese
contingent has committed acts of enforced disappearance, torture and
extrajudicial killings.
We urge the relevant authorities, including the
Government of the CAR, the African Union and the Republic of Congo, to ensure
without further delay that an impartial, effective and transparent
investigation is conducted to clarify the fate of the people involved, in
particular by investigating the Usine Boali 3 area, where a number of separate
witness accounts, as well as other circumstantial evidence, suggest the bodies
of the missing people may have been buried.
The investigation should be conducted with a view to
ensuring that the perpetrators of any crime are brought to justice and victims
have access to adequate reparation.
The human rights division of MINUSCA conducted a
fact-finding mission to Boali in September last year and a second one at the
end of March this year to conduct further interviews and examine whether there
had been any follow-up by the authorities.
In October, the UN Commission of Inquiry on the CAR was
told by MISCA that the troops involved had been relieved of their duties in
order to facilitate an internal investigation. However, OHCHR and MINUSCA have
been unable to acquire any information on progress in this MISCA/AU
investigation, despite repeated requests. Regardless of the fact that MISCA’s
mandate ended in September 2014, the investigation must not be abandoned. We
urge the appropriate authorities to ensure that the alleged burial site at
Usine Boali 3 is secured and properly examined.
The High Commissioner has stressed that the role of
international forces in halting the worst of the fighting and sectarian
slaughter in CAR has been invaluable, and their presence has unquestionably
saved a large number of lives. Yet, in some cases – and this is one – the
longed-for protectors may have themselves seriously breached international
human rights law.
The High Commissioner is sending a team from Geneva to
the CAR to look into possible further measures to address human rights
violations. He has also been engaging directly with States which provided
troops that are the subject of serious allegations, requesting more information
about the steps they have taken to investigate those allegations, and urging
prosecution of anyone found to have committed crimes.
* The African Union’s peacekeeping force in the CAR was
known as MISCA (Mission internationale de soutien à la Centrafrique sous conduite africaine), and was deployed in
in December 2013, in parallel with the French Operation Sangaris. The forces
were deployed in an attempt to stabilise the country, which was in the midst of
a murderous civil war and on the verge of total collapse. The deployment of
these two forces are credited with halting the worst of the violence between
the two warring groups known as anti-Balaka and ex-Seleka, that had already
cost thousands of lives and threatened to destroy the entire fabric of the
nation. On 15 September 2014, upon completion of MISCA’s mandate, authority was
officially transferred from MISCA to a new UN force known as MINUSCA (UN
Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African
Republic).
**See, paragraphs 552 to 556 of the final report
(S/2014/928) of the International Commission of Inquiry on the Central African
Republic, dated 22 December 2014.
http://www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/s_2014_928.pdf
(3) Bahrain
We are concerned about the harsh treatment of detainees
at the Jaw Prison in Bahrain following a riot there in early March which was
put down by security forces using rubber bullets, tear gas and shotguns,
resulting in many injuries but no deaths. After the riot was quelled, the
detainees were allegedly forced to spend 10 days out in the open courtyard of
the prison before eventually being placed in two large plastic tents
(reportedly around 300 detainees per tent). Around 100 other detainees -- those
accused of instigating the unrest -- were subsequently transferred to another
section of the Jaw prison, and there are allegations that they were subjected
to ill-treatment and torture.
We urge the authorities to conduct impartial, speedy and
effective investigations and to ensure that any victims of torture or
ill-treatment have access to appropriate remedies. We remind the authorities in
Bahrain there is an absolute prohibition of torture under international law.
There are no exceptions whatsoever to that prohibition in any circumstances.
We are also particularly concerned about two individuals
currently in detention in Bahrain, namely Sheikh Ali al-Salman, the Secretary
General of al-Wefaq political party and Nabeel Rajab, one of Bahrain’s most
prominent and respected human rights defenders.
Sheikh Ali al-Salman was arrested on 28 December 2014.
His pre-trial detention has been repeatedly extended since then, and he is
expected to be sentenced later this month. Al-Salman and his lawyers say they
have consistently been prevented by the court from presenting oral arguments.
It is further reported that Al-Salman and his legal representatives have not
been provided with any meaningful opportunity to examine the evidence. Back in
January, as you may remember, the UN, including the UN Human Rights Office,
called for his immediate release. We repeat that call today.
Nabeel Rajab was arrested on 2 April on charges related
to insulting a statutory body (in other words, for reporting publicly on what
was going on inside Jaw prison) and spreading rumours during wartime. If
convicted, Rajab may face up to ten years in prison. He has already been
sentenced to six months of detention, a verdict that was confirmed by the Court
of Appeal on 14 May.
A lasting resolution to the instability that has plagued
Bahrain is not going to be reached solely through reliance on security means or
through repressive measures aimed at silencing critical voices. It needs to be
through a genuine dialogue between the Government and the opposition without
preconditions.
In order to create a conducive environment, all sides
should exercise maximum restraint and avoid further provocations. The path to
such a solution is clearly laid down in the recommendations of the Human Rights
Council's Universal Periodic Review here in Geneva, the Bahrain Independent
Commission of Inquiry and Bahrain’s National Human Rights Commission.
ENDS
For more information and media requests, please contact
please contact Rupert Colville (+41 22 917 9767 / rcolville@ohchr.org ), Ravina
Shamdasani (+41 22 917 9169 / rshamdasani@ohchr.org ) or Cécile Pouilly (+41 22
917 9310 / cpouilly@ohchr.org)
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