Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights: Rupert Colville
Location:
Geneva
Subject: (1) Burundi
(2) Thailand
(3) Guinea
(4) Ethiopia
(1) Burundi
We are increasingly concerned at the extremely tense
situation in Burundi, from where more than 145,000 people have already fled to
neighbouring countries. Yesterday, High Commissioner Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein
alerted the Security Council to the potential for a serious crisis in the
country, which could severely impact on the regional stability and development.
His statement to the Council is on our website.
Parliamentary and local elections, which took place on 29
June in an atmosphere far from conducive to a free, fair and inclusive vote,
were boycotted by opposition parties, with outbreaks of violence, including
small-arms and grenade attacks.
Over the past two months, our Field Office in Burundi has
documented over 300 cases of arbitrary arrest and detention of demonstrators,
human rights defenders, political opponents and journalists. We have also noted
numerous cases of torture and other forms of ill-treatment in detention.
A severe crackdown on independent media has led to the
closure of most private media and radio stations. Large numbers of journalists
and human rights defenders have fled Burundi for fear of reprisals. Peaceful
protests have been met with unwarranted use of force, including lethal force,
in violation of Burundi's obligation under national and international law to
guarantee the right to freedom of assembly.
Recently we have also seen key members of the President's
own political party and government fleeing the country.
Our Field Office has also documented dozens of killings,
most of them shootings of demonstrators and human rights defenders by members
of the Imbonerakure militia and security forces.
Once again, we urge the authorities to disarm this
militia without delay.
These targeted campaigns of intimidation and terror have
pushed many people out of the country. Refugees interviewed by our staff in the
DRC, Rwanda and Tanzania continue to refer to the Imbonerakure militia as the
main threat, but some have also stated that militants from other groups are
also employing violence – a new and disturbing development. Media interviews
carried out in the past couple of days, with leaders of the attempted coup in
May, who talk openly of organizing military units and of resorting to the use
of force, are alarming.
We call on all sides to make serious and urgent efforts
to find a peaceful solution to this crisis before it leads to uncontrollable
violence.
(2) Thailand
We are gravely concerned by the deportation to China
yesterday of 109 people understood to be ethnic Uighurs -- including some 20
women -- by the Thai authorities. The 109 individuals, who were part of a
larger group of more than 350, had been detained in very poor conditions at
various immigration detention facilities across Thailand since March 2014, when
they were apprehended after leaving China on their way to Turkey. Despite
Turkey’s reported willingness to admit them to its territory, only 172 of the
350 were eventually allowed to go to Turkey in late June. Some 60 others remain
in detention in Thailand.
The UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment has repeatedly expressed concern
to the Thai authorities that the deportation of this group to China would
amount to refoulement and put them at risk of being tortured or subjected to
other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
The principle of non-refoulement is contained in Article
3 of the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment to which Thailand is a party.
We strongly urge the Thai authorities to ensure the
protection of the 60 individuals who remain in detention and ensure that no
further deportation of individuals, including potential refugees and asylum
seekers, are made to countries where there are substantial grounds to believe
that they would face an imminent risk of grave human rights violations,
including torture.
We also urge Thailand to monitor the return of this group
and to do all in its power to ensure that they are treated in line with
international human rights standards.
We call on the Chinese authorities to ensure that those
extradited are treated in full conformity with the country’s human rights. We
understand the Thai authorities have received diplomatic assurances from China
that the people will be protected from harm, and urge both countries to ensure
that this pledge is scrupulously observed.
(3) Guinea
We welcome the indictment issued on 7 July against the
former President of the Republic of Guinea, Moussa Dadis Camara in the context
of the on-going investigations into the 2009 killings at a stadium in the
capital Conakry.
On 28 September 2009, tens of thousands of opposition
protestors were attacked with live ammunition and tear gas by Guinean security
forces. At least 156 people were killed, some 109 women were raped, allegedly
mostly by members of the security and defence forces, and more than 1,000
people were injured in the stadium and surrounding areas. Dozens of other
people went missing and are still unaccounted for.
A UN-led international commission of inquiry recommended
that the Government should take appropriate measures to respond to this
situation. Subsequently, in 2010, the Government set up an investigation led by
a team of three magistrates, which led last Tuesday to the indictment of former
President Camara, who is currently living in neighbouring Burkina Faso. Some
400 victims and other witnesses are reported to have given testimony to the
investigators.
This is an important step in the fight against impunity,
and follows the indictment of at least 15 other individuals, including high
ranking military officers, over the past few years. We hope the judicial
process will be scrupulously fair and transparent and that all those implicated
in these crimes, and against whom there is sufficient evidence, will be
prosecuted, paving the way to justice and redress for the victims and their
families.
A year ago, the High Commissioner urged the Government to
take concrete steps to advance the investigation and prosecution of those
responsible for the serious crimes that took place in 2009.
We also encourage the Guinean authorities to continue
their efforts to fight impunity in other cases, for example in connection with
the 2012 killings in the village of Zoghota in the Forest Region, and further
political violence that occurred in 2013 and 2015 in Conakry.
Our Office in Guinea, established in 2010, will continue
to offer its support to promote justice and accountability.
(4) Ethiopia
We welcome the release and dropping of charges against of
two bloggers and three journalists in Ethiopia, who were being tried on
terrorism charges and had been in detention for more than a year. We also
welcome the release of Reeyot Alemu, an award-winning journalist who was arrested
in 2011 and sentenced in 2012 to 14 years in prison, reduced to five years on
appeal.
At least seven other journalists and four bloggers from
the blogging collective Zone 9 remain in detention. We urge the Ethiopian
authorities to take similar steps to release them and other activists who have
been detained for exercising their rights to free expression and opinion, and
carrying out legitimate work.
We also encourage the Ethiopian Government to review its
anti-terrorism legislation and laws regarding civil society organisations and
the media, to bring them into line with international human rights law and
principles.
As we have previously stressed to the Ethiopian
authorities, the fight against terrorism cannot serve as an excuse to
intimidate and silence journalists, bloggers, human rights activists and
members of civil society organisations.
ENDS
For more information and media requests, please
contact Rupert Colville (+41 22 917 9767 / rcolville@ohchr.org) or
Cécile Pouilly (+41 22 917 9310 / +41 79 618 34 30/ cpouilly@ohchr.org).
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