Assistant Secretary-General presenting the Secretary-General's report on reprisals at HRC60 by video message from New York. Credit: UN Web TV.
The UN Secretary-General’s annual report on reprisals shows that ‘targeted repression across borders appears to grow in scale and sophistication’ against defenders who cooperated with the United Nations'. Notably, 10 of the 32 States reported to have retaliated against individuals or groups who sought to engage with the United Nations are sitting members of the Human Rights Council.
The Human Rights Council debated the annual report of the UN Secretary-General on reprisals against persons or individuals working or seeking to work with the United Nations – which this year cited incidents involving 32 States.
'Every case of reprisal represents a silenced voice. When States punish those who speak to the UN or seek to cooperate with its mechanisms, they are not only attacking individuals or organisations, they are also attacking the very system meant to protect them.'Madeleine Sinclair, New York Office Director at ISHR
The report identified two new trends: the increase in ‘transnational repression’ with examples from around the world and, and ‘the targeting of individuals belonging to the LGBTIQ+ community or advocating for their rights’
During her presentation of the report, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ilze Brands Kehris reminded participants that ‘in certain contexts, a decline or absence of reported allegations may reflect effective intimidation rather than progress.’
Heeding the message of ISHR’s campaign to #EndReprisals, various States stepped up and spoke out for accountability, calling out perpetrating States and raising specific cases. Many States also raised concerns over increase cases of transnational repression and sanctions against mandate holders.
In a statement for the BENELUX States, Luxembourg raised the cases of Djibouti journalist Kadar Abdi Ibrahim, Guatemalan lawyer Claudia González Orellana, human rights defenders Manouchehr Bakhtiyari from Iran, Chow Hang-Tung from Hong-Kong, Vietnamese journalist Pham Doan Trang and the staff members of Belarussian rights group Viasna.
Australia, on behalf of Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, raised concerns about civil society in Nicaragua, the designation of the International Committee of Indigenous Peoples of Russia as ‘extremist’, and the situation of Jimmy Lai’s legal team and their families in Hong Kong and human rights defenders in Iran.
Liechtenstein welcomed the recent release of Alaa Abd El-Fattah in Egypt and also drew attention to Loujain Al-Hathloul in Saudi Arabia and Ibrahim Hegazy in Egypt. Czechia noted the cases of Alexey Gorinov in Russia and the Human Rights Centre Viasna. Denmark raised Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja in Bahrain, while Palestine highlighted Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Germany mentioned Alexey Sokolov in Russia, the Human Rights Centre Viasna in Belarus, Mohammad Seifzadeh in Iran, Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan in China, Chow Hang Tung in Hong Kong, Basma Mostafa in Egypt, Olnar Alberto Ortiz Bolívar in Venezuela, as well as Maximilienne Ngo Mbe and Alice Nkom in Cameroon.
Published on 17 September, the Secretary-General’s report included the case of prominent human rights defender Loujain Al-Hathloul from Saudi Arabia who was included in ISHR’s annual campaign to #EndReprisals.
However, the document did not cite the other three campaign cases which all involve travel bans, namely Anexa Alfred Cunningham who cannot return to her home country of Nicaragua, Egyptian lawyer Mohamed El-Baqer who despite being released in 2023 remains on a terrorist list preventing him from traveling, and Kadar Abdi Ibrahim from Djibouti, whose passport was confiscated in 2018. Another ongoing gap in the report is the lack of documentation of reprisals against UN mandate holders.
‘To address impunity, we urge the Secretary-General to include all unresolved cases in the follow-up section and address reprisals faced by UN experts for carrying out mandates entrusted to them by this Council. Failing to do so undermines the effectiveness and credibility of the system and this mandate itself.’Elise Golay, ISHR Campaign and Mobilisation Manager, in a statement to the Council
ISHR urges States to continue raising specific cases of reprisals at the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly and to pressure governments and other perpetrators to resolve and to end intimidation of individuals or groups seeking to work with the UN.
The UN Secretary-General published his annual report on reprisals, expressing concerns over the growing 'scale and sophistication' of 'targeted repression across borders' against human rights defenders. These acts are directly aimed at individuals and organisations engaging with the United Nations, and in some cases, their family members and colleagues.
The 60th session of the UN Human Rights Council will consider issues including acts of intimidation and reprisals for cooperation with the UN, systemic racism, environment and climate justice, and the rights of Indigenous Peoples and people of African descent. It will also present an opportunity to address grave human rights situations in States including Afghanistan, Burundi, China, Israel/oPt, Nicaragua, Russia, Sudan and Venezuela, and many others. Here's an overview of some of the key issues on the agenda.
Sudanese authorities are systemically denying access to identification documents, especially passports, to human rights defenders, political opponents, and peace advocates calling for an end to the war, a sustainable peace, and a democratic transition.
