ISHR & CTDDH
At the 50th session of the Human Rights Council, Togo underwent its 3rd Universal Periodic Review (UPR). While the government showed a willingness to promote some of the rights necessary to enable the work of human rights defenders, large structural and legal efforts are still needed to improve the situation overall.
On 30 June, Togo’s Minister for Human Rights, Citizenship Training and Relations with Institutions of the Republic, Christian Eninam Trimua presented the report on the outcome of its UPR. Togo decided to adopt 182 of the 224 recommendations they received. Among those recommendations, some are important for the rights of defenders such as creating a safe working environment, particularly for women defenders, and to allow for the legal registration of organisations protecting the rights of LGBTI persons.
However, in a joint statement, ISHR and the Coalition Togolaise des Défenseurs des Droits Humains (CTDDH), expressed their concerns regarding the treatment of human rights defenders including journalists and stated that “since 2019, there has been an increase in the adoption of legislation and regulations aimed at restricting the work of civil society”.
To change this situation, the joint statement called on Togo to:
Concerns were also raised about the arbitrary detentions of citizens such as Kpatcha Gnassingbé, Dontema Kokou and Atti Abi, who were arrested while exercising their rights of peaceful protests and freedom of expression. Thus, taking into account all those remarks and to ensure that real progress is being made after the adoption of this UPR, the Togolese government should submit to the Council a mid-term report on the advances made.
On Tuesday 16 April 2024, ISHR delivered to both Geneva’s Administrative Council and its legislative counterpart, the Municipal Council, physical copies of the more than 1000 signatures collected in support of a memorial honouring Chinese human rights defender Cao Shunli.
13 April 2024 marked one year since the Chinese authorities arbitrarily detained prominent human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng and his wife, woman defender Xu Yan. As their health steadily deteriorates, 30 rights groups and the European Union have renewed their call for their prompt release.
In a series of groundbreaking rulings in early 2024, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Constitutional Court of Colombia set new precedents that significantly enhance protections for human rights defenders across Latin America.
