Photo: Screenshot, UNWebTV. The Vice President of the Human Rights Council opens the debate on Item 5.
To end impunity and ensure accountability for acts of harassment, reprisals, and intimidation against defenders who engage with UN mechanisms, ISHR has continued to call for States to raise specific cases when given the opportunity. During HRC52, BENELUX answered ISHR’s call, raising 6 specific cases of reprisals against defenders from Belarus, Burundi, Cameroon, China, Egypt, and Venezuela.
In the lead up to HRC52, ISHR has called on States to bring up specific cases of reprisals. On Thursday, 23 March 2023, during the General Debate under Item 5 on Human Rights Bodies and Mechanisms, Belgium, on behalf of the BENELUX group of countries (Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands), delivered a statement expressing its concern regarding the following cases of intimidation and reprisals against individuals and organisations who cooperated with UN human rights mechanisms:
States raising cases is an important aspect of seeking accountability and ending impunity for acts of reprisal and intimidation against defenders engaging with the UN. As part of its campaign to #EndReprisals, ISHR mobilised last September on the first five above-mentioned cases in a continuous effort to urge States to publicly condemn these acts of intimidation and reprisals and to push for accountability and redress.
In expressing their concerns regarding these specific cases, BENELUX referred to this year as the 25th anniversary of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by consensus by the General Assembly.
Download as PDF"Article 1 of the declaration states that ‘Everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to promote and to strive for the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels’. And yet, since the adoption of the Declaration, we have witnessed all too many disturbing attacks against human rights defenders in all too many places in the world."BENELUX Statement
BENELUX went on to urge States and the UN to follow up on, prevent, and make public statements on serious and unresolved cases, and to address them systematically. Similarly, the European Union expressed their deep concerns at instances of reprisals, calling for States to respect, protect, “and strongly condemn any form of intimidation, harassment, and reprisal… do[ing] everything in their power to end and prevent such acts, ensure prompt and impartial investigation, effective remedies, and full accountability for these acts.”
ISHR calls on States to continue to speak out about specific cases of reprisals, to push for accountability and an end to impunity, and to support justice and reparations for victims.
In a report launched today, ISHR examines China’s efforts to restrict access for independent civil society actors and human rights defenders to UN human rights bodies. The report provides an analysis of China’s membership of the UN Committee on NGOs, the growing presence of Chinese Government-Organised NGOs (GONGOs), and patterns of intimidation and reprisals by the Chinese government.
The UN Human Rights Council has extended the mandate of the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua for two years, doing so with a larger majority compared to the body’s 2023 renewal, and including a reporting mechanism to the UN General Assembly in New York.
In a joint statement, UJSARIO and ISHR stressed the failure of the international community to uphold its commitments to decolonisation and human rights as the occupation of Western Sahara and systematic oppression of the Saharawi people by Morocco continue. They urged the Council to take action.
