HRC63: Defenders in Seychelles call for the preservation of their civic space

On 28 September, a delegation from Seychelles presented its fourth report under the Universal Periodic Review to the Human Rights Council. Of the 199 recommendations received, Seychelles 'took note' of 12 and accepted 186 of which four on the protection of human rights defenders and their working environment.

ISHR’s statement, in partnership with Association for Rights Information and Democracy (ARID), welcomed the acceptance of the recommendation on the establishment of a specific protection mechanism for human rights defenders (108.31).

However, the statement and the joint report raised concerns on the persisting challenges regarding the protection of civic space in the country. Journalists continue to face arbitrary arrests, detentions and bans.

On freedom of association, Section 25 of the Associations Act 2022 requires authorisation from the Registrar for elected members of a board of directors to carry out their duties. Additionally, the Public Gatherings Act empowers authorities to impose restrictions on venue and time of assemblies if deemed to present a risk for public health, morality, and safety.These provisions put restrictions on this internationally guaranteed freedom.

To address the identified concerns, the statement called to:

Remove any disproportionate restrictions on the autonomy of associations included in the Associations Act in order to comply with the international standards.
Ensure that human rights defenders, journalists and civil society organisations are protected against any forms of intimidation and attacks.
Review the restrictions on public demonstrations in order to align them with the international standards.

The full video statement is available here.

Author

Lidawh-wè Fabienne Dontema

Country

Seychelles

Mechanism

Programmes

International accountability