Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human
Rights: Rupert Colville
Location: Geneva
Subject: (1)
Iraq (2) Al Jazeera (3) Venezuela (4) Guatemala
(1) Iraq
We are extremely concerned at the situation of civilians
in Mosul where fighting is becoming ever more intense and concentrated as Iraqi
Security Forces, supported by the international coalition, push to retake the
whole of the city from ISIL. We remind all parties to the conflict that they
must abide by the principles of humanity, distinction, proportionality and
precaution in carrying out military operations.
As Mosul is increasingly liberated from ISIL, we are
seeing an alarming rise in threats, specifically of forced evictions, against
those suspected of being ISIL members or whose relatives are alleged to be
involved with ISIL – threats that have also been made in other areas.
We have received reports of so-called night letters left
at families’ houses or distributed in neighbourhoods, including in Sharqat in
Salahadin Governorate, Al Heet City in Al Anbar and Al-Qayyarah in Ninewa
Governorate, as well as in Mosul City. These letters typically warn people to
leave by a particular date or face forced expulsion. Many of these threats are
the result of tribal agreements that explicitly demand that families of
affiliated ISIL members be excluded from the area.
Hundreds of families have been threatened with forced
displacement and such developments are extremely worrying. People are at real
risk of forced eviction from their homes and losing access to basic
necessities, including adequate housing, food, access to health services and
education.
Illegal forced evictions and forcible displacement may
amount to collective punishment and are in clear contravention of the Iraqi
Constitution, international human rights and international humanitarian law. Criminal
liability is strictly personal to the individual involved in the commission of
the crime for which she or he has been convicted by a court of law, according
to the facts. In no way can
responsibility for crimes be transferred to any another innocent person.
We urge the Iraqi Government to take action to halt such
imminent evictions or any type of collective punishment, and to reinforce the
formal justice system to bring perpetrators to justice. Illegal forced
evictions are acts of vengeance that are detrimental to national reconciliation
and social cohesion.
(2) Al
Jazeera
Over the past three weeks, the High Commissioner has been
raising concerns, both publicly and directly with States, about the various
human rights issues arising out of the dispute between Qatar and four other
countries in the region.
This alarming dispute has been taken to a new level with
the inclusion of some fundamental rights and freedoms in the list of demands
imposed on Qatar by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt,
with a 10-day deadline for implementation ending on 4 July. In addition to the
issues we have already raised about the impact on ordinary people in the
region, the High Commissioner is extremely concerned by the demand that Qatar
close down the Al Jazeera network, as well as other affiliated media outlets.
Whether or not you watch it, like it, or agree with its
editorial standpoints, Al Jazeera’s Arabic and English channels are legitimate,
and have many millions of viewers. The demand that they be summarily closed
down is, in our view, an unacceptable attack on the right to freedom of
expression and opinion.
If States have an issue with items broadcast on other
countries’ television channels, they are at liberty to publicly debate and
dispute them. To insist that such channels be shut down is extraordinary,
unprecedented and clearly unreasonable.
If it were to actually happen, it would open a Pandora’s
Box of powerful individual States or groups of States seriously undermining the
right to freedom of expression and opinion in other states, as well as in their
own. The High Commissioner therefore once again urges all five States to take
measures to solve this dispute in a calm, reasonable and lawful manner, and to
ensure that any actions they take do not impact on the human rights of their
own and other countries’ citizens and residents.
(3)
Venezuela
The decision by the Venezuelan Supreme Court on 28 June
to begin removal proceedings against the Attorney General, freeze her assets
and ban her from leaving the country is deeply worrying, as is the ongoing violence
in the country.
We are also disturbed by the decision on 27 June by the
Supreme Court’s Constitutional Chamber to declare her appointment of a deputy
attorney general to be null and void, and to appoint instead a temporary
deputy, in violation of the appointment procedure under Venezuelan law. The
Chamber also granted some of the Attorney General’s, until now, exclusive
functions to the Ombudsperson.
Since March, the Attorney General has taken important
steps to defend human rights, documenting deaths during the wave of
demonstrations, insisting on the need for due process and the importance of the
separation of powers, and calling for people who have been arbitrarily detained
to be immediately released.
We are concerned that the Supreme Court’s decisions
appear to seek to strip her Office of its mandate and responsibilities as
enshrined in the Venezuelan Constitution, and undermine the Office’s
independence.
The dismissal of judicial officials should be subject to
strict criteria that do not undermine the independent and impartial performance
of their functions. According to the UN Guidelines on the Role of Prosecutors,
States should ensure that prosecutors are able to perform their professional
functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment, improper interference or
unjustified exposure to civil, partial or other liabilities.
We note that up to 22 June, according to the Attorney
General’s Office, 75 people had died and some 1,419 had been injured in the
continuing protests. Most recently, three young demonstrators were reportedly
killed by members of the security forces – two by firearms and one who died
when a tear gas canister was reportedly shot directly at him by a police
officer. In addition, there are increasing reports that security forces have
raided residential buildings, conducted searches without warrants and detained
people, allegedly with the intention of deterring people from participating in
the demonstrations and searching for opposition supporters.
We urge all powers of the Venezuelan State to respect the
Constitution and the rule of law, and call on the Government to ensure that the
rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of opinion and expression
are guaranteed.
We also call on all people in Venezuela to only use
peaceful means to make themselves heard and urge all parties to renounce
violence and harassment of opponents.
(4)
Guatemala
The situation of some 100 families who have been
displaced from their homes in the Laguna Larga community in the Petén region of
Guatemala is extremely worrying. These families, who are currently living on
the border with the Mexican state of Campeche, fled in anticipation of a forced
eviction scheduled for 2 June ordered by a court.
Since then, the families have been living in extremely
precarious conditions - in tents
and dependent on short-term
humanitarian assistance, including food, water, medicine and hygiene items
provided by the government of Guatemala, as well as by some non-governmental
organizations. Supplies are reported to be running low, according to official
sources.
We are very concerned that the evictions were ordered
without ensuring that firm resettlement and protection plans for the affected
families were in place, as required by international human rights standards –
leaving the families quite literally with no place to go. The displaced
families must be given adequate humanitarian assistance until appropriate
relocation measures are in place.
We understand that further evictions from the area, which
lies within the Laguna del Tigre National Park, are scheduled for the coming
weeks, potentially leading to a crisis situation and potential violence. This
situation is heightened by the weak presence of the State, and the operation of
illicit activities, including drug trafficking, in the region.
Given the widespread problem of land tenure insecurity in
Guatemala, forced evictions are common. Such evictions should only be carried
out as a last resort, after exhausting all other alternatives, and in
accordance with adequate measures before, during and following the eviction,
with special protection provided for women, children and indigenous peoples,
among others.
It Is essential that the Guatemalan Government takes
urgent steps to establish a dialogue in good faith with the displaced families
from Laguna Large, as well as other communities at risk of forced evictions, in
order to find adequate and acceptable alternative solutions.
ENDS
For more information and media requests, please contact
Rupert Colville (+41 22 917 97 67 / rcolville@ohchr.org) or Liz Throssell (+41
22 917 9466/ ethrossell@ohchr.org)
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