Human Rights Council concludes general debate on human rights situations requiring the Council's attention

Human Rights Council
AFTERNOON

19 September 2016

The Human Rights Council this afternoon concluded its general debate on human rights situations requiring the Council’s attention.

In the discussion, speakers drew attention to a number of human rights issues, such as prejudice, violence and discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community, caste-based discrimination, financing of terrorist groups, extrajudicial disappearances, arbitrary detention of journalists, dismissal of judges and judiciary staff, legislation restricting freedom of religion or belief, denial of political rights to religious and ethnic minorities, limitations on freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly, and enforced disappearances.  The Council was criticized for not having paid due attention to deteriorating human rights situations in a number of countries, and was called on to put those situations on its agenda.   

The Council started the general debate on human rights situations that require the Council’s attention earlier in the day and a summary can be found here.

Speaking this afternoon were: Conseil International pour le soutien à des procès équitables et aux droits de l’Homme, Association des étudiants tamouls de France, Association Bharathi Centre Culturel Franco-Tamoul, International Commission of Jurists, International Federation for Human Rights Leagues, World Evangelical Alliance, International Humanist and Ethical Union, Reporters without Borders International, VIVAT International, National Secular Society, Tourner la page, Bahá’í International Community, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, France Liberté: Fondation Danielle Mitterrand, Palestinian Return Centre Ltd, Centre for Human Rights and Peace Advocacy, Liberation, Indigenous People of Africa Coordinating Committee, International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism, Women’s Human Rights International Association, Society of Iranian Women Advocating Sustainable Development of the Environment, Franciscans International, World Muslim Congress, Khiam Rehabilitation Centre for Victims of Torture, International Islamic Federation of Student Organization, World Barua Organization, Mbororo Social and Cultural Development Association, Alsalam Foundation, Article 19, Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain, International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, World Environment and Resources Council, Commission to Study the Organization of Peace, International Association for Democracy in Africa, Pan African Union for Science and Technology, African Regional Agricultural Credit Association, Asian Legal Resource Centre, Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, Action pour la paix et le développement dans la région des Grands Lacs, Comité International pour le Respect et l’Application de la Charte Africaine des Droits de l’Homme et des Peuples, Victorious Youth Movement, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, International Fellowship of Reconciliation, Human Rights Watch, United Nations Watch, European Union of Public Relations, Canners International Permanent Committee, Centre for Environmental and Management Studies, World Council of Arameans, Association Dunenyo, Iraqi Development Organization, International-Lawyers.org, Human Rights Information and Training Centre, Alliance Defending Freedom, Association of World Citizens, International Educational Development, Indian Council of South America, International Service for Human Rights, Conectas Direitos Humanos, CIVICUS – World Alliance for Citizen Participation, OCAPROCE Internationale, Amnesty International, International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations, Association for the Protection of Women and Children’s Rights, Arab Commission for Human Rights, Association Solidarité Internationale pour l’Afrique, Verein Sudwind Entwicklungspolitik , International Muslim Women’s Union, Agence pour les droits de l’homme, Presse Embleme Campagne, Fundación Latinoamericana por los Derechos Humanos y el Desarrollo Social, Comission africaine des promoteurs de la santé et des droits de l’Homme, International Committee for the Indigenous Peoples of the America, ODHIKAR – Coalition for Human Rights, East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project, African Development Association, United Schools International, Prahar and Organization for Defending Victims of Violence.

Speaking in right of reply were Turkey, Bahrain, Syria, India, Ethiopia, Kyrgyzstan, Egypt, Sudan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, China, Indonesia, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Uzbekistan, Brazil, Japan, Philippines and Nigeria.

The Council will resume its work on Tuesday, 20 September, at 10 a.m. when it will hold a half-day panel discussion on the rights of indigenous peoples, followed by a clustered interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on indigenous peoples and the Expert Mechanism on the rights of indigenous peoples.  In the afternoon, the Council will hold an interactive dialogue with the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee, as well as a general debate on Item 5 on human rights bodies and mechanisms, including on the report of the Inter-governmental Working Group on the rights of peasants.   

General Debate on Human Rights Situations that Require the Council’s Attention

Conseil International pour le soutien à des procès équitables et aux droits de l’Homme said that Saudi Arabia was financing groups whose common denominator was that they were the cause of the tragedy in Syria.  It was regrettable that there was no condemnation of air strikes by the United States and France.  Saudi Arabia was a country that was attempting to use its billions of dollars to cause war and interfere in neighbouring countries. 

Association des étudiants tamouls de France said that Sri Lanka’s armed forces were running amok and making life unbearable for Tamil people.  Collective punishment of Tamils ruined the basic rights of the Tamils and their right to earn a living.  The international community had failed to protect Tamils from genocide.  The Human Rights Council was asked to create a Special Rapporteur on the situation of Tamils in Sri Lanka.  Concern was expressed over the safety of individual Tamil activists.

Association Bharathi Centre Culturel Franco-Tamoul said that during the genocidal war, thousands of people had been unaccounted for.  There were thousands who had been subjected to extrajudicial disappearances.  Those who had committed crimes against humanity were in government and military positions now.  The Council was asked how that could be considered to be reconciliation.  An international commission of inquiry was called for to examine reconciliation in Sri Lanka.

International Commission of Jurists said that the Government of Turkey had initiated a purge of the judiciary on an unprecedented scale following the recent coup d’état attempt.  Most of the dismissals of the judges and judiciary staff seemed to be arbitrary, without evidence and the right to a fair trial, and represented a continuation of the attack on the judiciary that was in place before the coup.

International Federation for Human Rights Leagues was deeply concerned about the consequences of the state of emergency following the July 2016 coup attempt in Turkey, and stressed that stability could only be restored by upholding human rights and the rule of law, and not by cracking down on journalists, lawyers, human rights defenders, academics, and other independent and critical voices.

World Evangelical Alliance spoke about the legislation restricting freedom of religion or belief in Nepal, although religious freedom was guaranteed in the Constitution.  Nepal should amend section 26 of the new Constitution and make sure it was in line with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and that it guaranteed the right to choose and change one’s religion, or not to choose any.

International Humanist and Ethical Union, in a joint statement, noted that since 2014, levels in prejudice, violence and discrimination against the gay communities in Nigeria and Uganda had increased.  It called on the two countries to cease the abuse of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex rights, and to ensure that discrimination and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons were prevented and punished when they occurred.

Reporters without Borders International drew attention to 24 Syrian journalists exiled in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon.  Their freedom of movement and residence was limited, as well as their right to return to their country of origin, and they did not enjoy any legal protection.  They were also exposed to professional exploitation and could be at any moment arbitrarily arrested, detained and sent back to Syria.  

VIVAT International, in a joint statement with Franciscans International, remained deeply concerned about the continuous human rights violations in West Papua, as one of the most vulnerable regions of Melanesia.  Indigenous Papuans lived in constant insecurity and were denied their freedom of expression and assembly.  There had also been reports of torture and ill treatment by the Indonesian security forces during their detention. 

National Secular Society noted that the Universal Periodic Review recommendations pertaining to the Equality Act and caste-based discrimination had not enjoyed the support of the United Kingdom.  It called on the Council to encourage the United Kingdom to legislate to implement its international obligations with respect to caste, in line with its human rights obligations, as recommended by the United Nations. 

Tourner la page said that the Tamil people in Sri Lanka had suffered tremendously for the last 70 years, and they were counting on the United Nations and the international community to give them justice and their political rights and assure their protection.  The Council was urged to complete a range of actions, including opening offices for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the north-east region where the crimes had been committed. 

Bahá’í International Community said that the continuation of unjustifiable oppression imposed on the Bahá’í community in Iran was a deliberate Government policy to destroy the Bahá’í community as a viable entity.  One prominent strategy was economic strangulation; thousands of Bahá’í had been expelled from their jobs, their pensions had been terminated, and companies were pressured to dismiss Bahá’í employees.  The international community had to signal to Iran that it was under international scrutiny. 

Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights said that the Tibetan people’s human rights were being violated.  China strove to regulate every aspect of religious life.  A virulent campaign against the Dalai Lama sought to undermine loyalty to him across the country.  Restrictions on pilgrimages, torture and imprisonment were occurring.  The High Commissioner had expressed concern over disappearances.  The demolition of monks’ and nuns’ homes was of great concern.  

France Libertés: Fondation Danielle Mitterrand called attention to the massacre committed in Iran following Khomeini’s fatwa in the 1980s to execute all political opponents.  Several thousand persons had been executed, including pregnant women and juveniles.  There must be an independent investigation into this massacre, as the perpetrators were holding the highest political positions today.

Palestinian Return Centre Ltd said that more than 3,300 Palestinians in Syria had died from various reasons since the beginning of the conflict.  The Government was unwilling to hand over the bodies of the victims of torture, and had forced the families to sign false statements of death, attributing the deaths to natural causes. 

Centre for Human Rights and Peace Advocacy said that the worsening human rights situation in Balochistan required urgent attention by the Human Rights Council.  The disappearances of political activists and human rights defenders as well as military operations against civilians had increased over the past several weeks. 

Liberation noted that the human rights situation of the 160 million Dalits in India required the Council’s attention.  Bearing in mind the high number of crimes committed against the Dalits, it urged the Council to recognize those acts as crimes against humanity and genocide, and to appoint a commission of inquiry to investigate the crimes against minorities in India.

Indigenous People of Africa Coordinating Committee noted that the impunity for the crimes committed against the population of Jammu and Kashmir persisted.  It urged the Council to recommend to the Government of India to review its laws, namely those pertaining to the military and security forces. 

International Movement Against All Forms of Discrimination and Racism (IMADR), in a joint statement with Franciscans International; and Human Rights Now, drew attention to the human rights situation in Ryuku/Okinawa in Japan.  The large presence of the foreign military forces had caused a countless number of human rights violations for decades, including sexual violence against women and girls, environmental destruction, land grabbing and forced displacement.  

Women’s Human Rights International Association said that in 1988, more than 30,000 political prisoners, a majority of them members and supporters of the People’s Mujahedin of Iran, were executed in the space of a few months.  The Council was asked to launch a committee to investigate the 1988 massacre as a crime against humanity.  It was the worst massacre of political prisoners since the Second World War and the perpetrators had to be brought to justice.

Society of Iranian Women Advocating Sustainable Development of Environment spoke about allegations that some Yezidi persons were being kept in iron cages by so-called Islamic State and that Yezidi women were being sexually tortured.  The situation was of particular concern.  The whole world had forgotten those acts.  The Human Rights Council was asked to take action to put an end to those savage acts. 

Franciscans International, in a joint statement with Pax Christi International, and International Catholic Peace Movement, said that in Indonesia, the Government had executed people accused of being involved in drugs-related crimes.   The situation in the Philippines was also of great concern.   Neither the death penalty nor extrajudicial executions could be effective means of reducing the dependence on drugs, but they were a shortcut to cover up the States’ failure in controlling drugs-related crime. 

World Muslim Congress said that the Indian army was killing children because they had the courage to say that they were not, nor would they ever be a part of the State of India.  India was pushing five million Kashmiris to lose faith in the international system, take up armed resistance, and defend themselves against the systematic Indian disdain for Kashmiri life and identity.

Khiam Rehabilitation Centre for Victims of Torture hoped that influential developed countries would support the people of the Gulf Cooperation Council to achieve high standards of democracy.  But the security agreements that those countries had concluded with the countries of the Gulf region delayed those dreams.  The Council should activate the role of the High Commissioner in this respect.

International Islamic Federation of Student Organizations said that the human rights situation in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir was worsening dramatically.  India had created the most militarized part of the world in Kashmir, where one soldier terrorised every 17 Kashmiri civilians.  India had registered a sedition case against Amnesty International and Indian religious extremists had threatened the staff with dire consequences.

World Barua Organization noted that scheduled castes, which constituted more than 15 per cent of the Indian population, continued to suffer from discrimination and persecution.  It requested the Council to pay attention to the plight of the scheduled caste people and to sensitize the Indian State machinery about the atrocities committed against the Dalits. 

Mbororo Social and Cultural Development Association stated that communal violence and the rise of Hindu fundamentalism in India required the Council’s attention.  In spite of the progressive secular constitution and modern domestic human rights laws, wider impunity and killings of minority people in India was of serious concern.

Alsalam Foundation, in a joint statement, drew attention to the worsening human rights situation in Bahrain, where there was a crackdown on civil society and the Shi’a community on an unprecedented scale.  The authorities had prevented their representatives from travelling to Geneva. 

Article 19 was deeply concerned about violations of the right to freedom of expression in Turkey, enabled by measures taken under a state of emergency that was not justified, and said that Turkey must stop abusing the state of emergency powers to also limit reporting on matters in the public interest, including on human rights violations and abuses committed by State and non-State actors in south-east Turkey.

Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain called the Council’s attention to Bahrain’s long-standing and systematic abuse of human rights, particularly concerning prisoners of conscience and human rights defenders.  Torture and arbitrary detention were widespread and systematic, where false confessions extracted under torture led to arbitrary convictions by courts lacking any semblance of independence under international standards. 

International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination said in a joint statement that Israel’s occupation of Palestine was a glaring example of injustice and double standards still dominating the modern world.  The situation in Iraq was grave: the 2003 United States-led invasion and occupation of the country had resulted in over two million victims and had led to the total collapse of the State.

World Environment and Resources Council informed the Council about gross human rights violations committed by Pakistan’s security forces against the Sindhi people.  It was an operation to create fear among the Sindhi people in order to accept the highly controversial multi-billion project called China Pak Economic Corridor. 

Commission to Study the Organization of Peace noted that Pakistan’s police excesses and torture in the Gilgit-Baltistan region were not a new phenomenon.  There were no adequate checks and balances on society on the part of the Government and as a result police officers did not follow the rule of “no torture” during investigations.

International Association for Democracy in Africa stated that the Pakistani army had been violating human rights in Baluchistan and every year thousands of civilians would disappear.  Later, their bodies would be recovered with bullet holes in their heads.  It urged the United Nations to take action against such violations.    

Pan African Union for Science and Technology said that the violation of the human rights of women was rampant in Pakistan, and that life for women in Balochistan – Pakistan’s largest and least developed province - was particularly grim.   Human development in this province had been intentionally neglected by successive central governments in order to benefit out of the vast and geostrategic location of the province and its extensive resources.

African Regional Agricultural Credit Association called the attention of the Council to the grave human rights situation in Balochistan, where the State agents were taking the women hostages in order to force their husbands to abandon their political struggle.  Since the world’s biggest democracy, India, had expressed concern about the situation in Baluchistan, Pakistan had stepped up the repression.

Asian Legal Resource Centre said that the situation of human rights had become alarming in many Asian States.  The institutionalized coercive methods of law enforcement coupled with dysfunctional judicial systems and the violent political culture were contributing to the process of gross violations of human rights.  Bangladesh was an ideal example where the protection of rights was a joke.

Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies said the speaker was the founder of the institute and that he personally had received his training in human rights at the United Nations in Geneva.  In Egypt, recently amended laws were being used against civil society.  There was an unprecedented level of Government repression.  Consequences would result if the Human Rights Council stayed silent with regard to the Egyptian Government’s actions.

Action internationale pour la paix et le développement dans la région des Grands Lacs said that the area of Pakistan-administered Kashmir had been illegally held by Pakistan since 1947.  Pakistan-administered Kashmir was supposed to be a self-governing territory, but it really had remained a colony of Pakistan.  The Pakistani army had used the area of Pakistan Administered Kashmir for training purposes in areas bordering Indian Kashmir.  

Comité International pour le Respect et l’Application de la Charte Africaine des Droits de l’Homme et des Peuples said that there were many human rights violations committed against the population in the camps of Tindouf in Algeria by the Polisario Front, which confirmed that those populations were victims of sequestration.  Sustained international human rights monitoring was needed in the Tindouf camps.

Victorious Youths Movement noted that the situation of human rights violations in the Tindouf camps persisted.  The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had repeatedly submitted requests to the Moroccan Government to report on the situation in the camps.  There was fear that the youth in the camps could be indoctrinated and used by terrorist groups.  Most information about the camps was unreliable and second-hand.

Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development drew attention to the deteriorating human rights situations in several Asian countries, namely the use of preventive detention in Indian administered Jammu and Kashmir; restrictions of civil society and freedom of expression and assembly in Maldives; and outlawing of public gatherings and free speech in Thailand.

International Fellowship of Reconciliation warned of the military trials of civilians, attacks by the military on civilians, and torture in detention by the Moroccan authorities.  Many of the detainees were from the territories on the United Nations’ decolonization list.    

Human Rights Watch noted that since the coup attempt in Turkey, authorities had jailed more than 22,000 soldiers, officers, policemen, judges and prosecutors, whereas up to 100,000 teachers and public servants had been suspended or dismissed.  Bangladesh had been hit by a series of violent attacks on free expression and religious freedom.  In Ethiopia the security forces had repeatedly fired at generally peaceful protesters.

United Nations Watch said that in China, 1.3 billion people were denied any form of freedom of speech, press, religion, assembly, and more.  The Council had responded with no resolutions or commissions of inquiry.  There were also problems with the human rights in Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Cuba.  A rhetorical question was asked about whether the Council was ignoring those countries because each was an elected member of the Council.

European Union of Public Relations said that the Human Rights Council had been created to ensure the safety of human rights around the world, but the human rights situation in Balochistan was deplorable.  The Pakistan Army killed Balochs indiscriminately.  The Council was urged, on behalf of the victims of human rights violations in Balochistan, to ensure their right to life.

Canners International Permanent Committee said that the right to development was based on human dignity and implied the right to self-determination and full sovereignty over wealth and natural resources.  But in Balochistan province of Pakistan, the right to development was totally denied.  Pakistan had always treated Balochistan as a colony.  The ethnic Punjabi elite under the patronage of the Pakistan Government was determined to vandalise the natural resources of Balochistan.

Centre for Environmental and Management Studies said that the Pashtun minority in Pakistan had not been given any basic human rights.  They were brutally killed, tortured, and bombarded by the Pakistani army in the name of the Zarb-e-Azb military operation.  Pashtuns requested the international community to bring to trial in the International Criminal Court all those responsible, including the Army High Command, who ordered the massacre of Pashtun civilians.

World Council of Arameans urged the Council and the Commission of Inquiry on Syria to condemn the genocidal acts perpetrated by ISIS against Christians in Syria.  They were forced to convert, whereas women and girls were turned into sex slaves.  The Arameans had been suppressed by many previous regimes, and most recently by the Kurdish authorities. 

Association Dunenyo said that enforced disappearances represented a major challenge for the international community.  Despite all the recommendations of the treaty bodies, thousands of victims of enforced disappearances existed and had no recourse to justice.  The figures were much higher due to the embargo on the Tindouf camps in Algeria. 

Iraqi Development Organization drew attention to the violations of the rights of journalists.  The promotion of human rights depended on the media.  However, aggression targeting journalists and media institutions still prevailed in much of the Middle East, such as in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Bahrain, Iraq and Syria.      

International-Lawyers.Org said that the escalation of human rights violations was a normal reaction to positions taken following the invasion of Iraq, which started terrible events in the region, but nothing had been said in this forum about the human rights violations of Iraqi civilians, and the compensation to victims.  The international community was failing in Syria where civilians were paying a hefty price, while huge human rights violations were still ongoing on purely sectarian grounds in Yemen.

Human Rights Information and Training Centre drew attention to violations by the Syrian regime, and also said that the two years of the war in Yemen had caused massive destruction of property, recruitment of children and sexual violence.  In Iran, there were 982 children who had been arbitrarily arrested, and members of the Baha’i were also victims of arbitrary arrests. 

Alliance Defending Freedom said that Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East continued to suffer atrocities which aimed to destroy them.  The plight of Yazidi women and girls by ISIS was reported, and atrocities committed by ISIS against other minorities amounted to crimes of genocide, with the aim to eliminate Christian communities from the region.

Association of World Citizens said that Turkish State forces had killed hundreds of people during the curfew affecting south east Turkey.  Their names had been shared with the authorities.  The Turkish Government had set the people on fire.  If pressure had been put on the Turkish State, the people who had been burned alive might still have been alive. 

International Educational Development, Inc. expressed preoccupation with the situation of the Hmong people who had suffered at the hands of the Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic since the end of the Viet Nam war.  The visit of the United States President Obama and his addressing of the issue of unexploded ordnance was positive, and improvement of the situation was expected. 

Indian Council of South America said that Alaska was occupied by the United States of America.  The press was “cloaked” and human rights violations were condoned.   The tourist industry brought cruise ships to the Arctic ocean without examination of its impact.  Alaska and Hawaii continued their protest against the occupation of their territories, and the attempt to build a pipeline on the land of the Sioux.

International Service for Human Rights stated that the Chinese Government appeared as though it upheld civil and political rights, and that it played by the rules.  Nevertheless, there was a broad crackdown on civil society organizations and human rights defenders.  It called on the Council to hold the Chinese Government accountable for its conduct.

Conectas Direitos Humanos called attention to the growing criminalization of the right to protest in Brazil.  In reaction to large-scale protests that were taking place in the country, the Government of Brazil had used security forces to repress manifestations violently.  Furthermore, armed forces had infiltrated groups of protesters. 

CIVICUS – World Alliance for Citizen Participation remained deeply concerned about the situation in Syria and called on all sides to ensure the viability of the current cessation of hostilities.  In Cambodia it condemned limits to freedoms of association, assembly and expression, whereas in Egypt it was concerned about the continued deterioration of the space for civil society.

Organisation pour la Communication en Afrique et de Promotion de la Coopération Economique Internationale OCAPROCE alerted the international community to the grave situation of the Sahrawi people whose right to freedom of expression was restricted.  For over 40 years, this vulnerable population had been deprived of this right by the leaders of the Polisario Front: there was no access to the Internet, and there was no independent media which could denounce the behaviour of the Polisario.

Amnesty International was deeply concerned about Bahrain’s crackdown on the enjoyment of freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, association and movement and urged the Government to take concrete and practical steps to address those human rights concerns.  Amnesty International encouraged the Gambia to release all prisoners of conscience, investigate death in custody of political opponents, and bring legislation in line with international human rights standards on freedom of expression.

International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations stressed the urgent need for a self-determination referendum of the Sahrawi people and called upon the Human Rights Council to actively address the situation of this last colony in Africa and support the exercise of the right to self-determination of its people, in accordance with United Nations resolutions.  The High Commissioner should also do his part and follow up on the Secretary-General’s visit to Western Sahara.

Association for the Protection of Women and Children’s Rights said that human rights violations in Indian occupied Kashmir had reached an alarming level.  Indian forces were trampling underfoot the fundamental freedoms of the Kashmiri people with complete impunity.  Details were given of wounds to individual protestors who had been shot with pellets fired by Government forces to disperse protesters. 

Arab Commission for Human Rights said that people in Syria were suffering from the scourge of war.  The international community had not adequately responded.  Countries of the world had demonstrated indifference to the protection of refugees.  Muslims suffered from Islamophobia.  Blind terrorism affected millions of people.  The European Union continued to ignore the situation and refused to tackle violations against the Palestinian people.

Association Solidarité Internationale pour l’Afrique said that the Sri Lankan Government had established an office without a mandate regarding disappeared people.  People who had taken part in the armed struggle were detained under different pretexts.  The Human Rights Council was urged to demand that the Sri Lankan Government recognize that the Tamils had been engaged in an armed struggle and thus restore their dignity.  Reconciliation had to be mutual and evolved.

Verein Sudwind Entwicklungspolitik said that the Council should pay the greatest attention to people living in territories held by terrorist groups such as ISIL, Al-Qaeda, Taliban, Al-Nussra, Al-Shabab, Boko Haram, and others.  Secondly, the Council should pay attention to countries with least international commitments like Syria, or which violated the rights of their own peoples like Iran or the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

International Muslim Women’s Union called attention to the situation of those nations which had been promised the right to self-determination by the United Nations, but where the promise remained unfulfilled, like Jammu and Kashmir.  What they were being paid by the hand of foreign occupation forces was terrible and inhuman.  

Agence pour les droits de l’homme said that terrorism flourished where leadership and security-related institutions were infested with extremist, corrupt, backward, illiterate or barbaric personnel in key positions.  Such was the case in Nigeria, where astronomical amounts were being stolen by the Nigerian army under the guise of fighting Boko Haram.

Presse Embleme Campagne expressed great concern at the deterioration of the freedom of the press in Turkey.  Turkey was now the largest prison in Europe for media workers.  The crackdown was unprecedented in Europe.  The international community was urged to speak out against Turkey’s attempts to stifle a free media.  Turkey could not be allowed to evolve toward an authoritarian regime.

Fundación Latinoamericana por los Derechos Humanos y el Desarrollo Social called the attention of the Council to the threat to democracy from national parliaments in Latin America, which since 2009 had served as a tool for destabilization to generate an interruption of the constitutional order that began with the parliamentary coup against Manuel Zelaya in Honduras in 2009, the coup against Fernando Lugo in Paraguay in 2012, and that against Dilma Rousseff in Brazil in 2016. 

Comission africaine des promoteurs de la santé et des droits de l’Homme said that the situation in Jammu and Kashmir had been boiling like a volcano and more than 90 people had been killed.  The people of Kashmir had been blocked from the rest of the world.  The international community was urged to pay attention to the current situation in Jammu and Kashmir which originated in the denial of self-determination.

International Committee for the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas said that a grave mistake had occurred in 1959 when the United Nations had included the Hawaiian Kingdom as part of the United States submission to make Hawaii the fiftieth state.  In the final report to the United Nations, none of the Hawaiian islands had been included in the description of Hawaii, and this grave oversight had caused 57 years of oppression, land theft and genocide of the Kanaka Maoli.

ODHIKAR – Coalition for Human Rights said that the human rights situation in Bangladesh had become deplorable.  Peaceful means of transfer of power were blocked and the democracy practices and rule of law were eroded.  Since 2009, the Government had been increasingly authoritarian, freedom of expression had been curtailed, and civil society organizations and human rights defenders were facing prosecution and torture. 

East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project was gravely concerned about the escalating human rights crisis in Ethiopia where the situation had become increasingly unstable since the security forces had fired upon protesters in the Amhara and Oromia regions in August 2016, reportedly killing over 100 people.  Since November 2015, Ethiopia had used excessive and unnecessary lethal force to disperse and supress the largely peaceful protests in the Oromia region, in which at least 600 protesters had been killed and hundreds suffered injuries.

African Development Association said that people in Sahara had been waiting for a political solution to end their suffering, especially in the refugee camps in Tindouf.  The Saharawi people were systematically institutionalized inside those camps where there was no freedom of speech or movement.  The question was asked why the international community remained silent.  The Council was asked to pressure the Polisario regime to respect human rights.
 
United Schools International said that Pakistan used excessive brutality and torture in the region of Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.  Numerous civilians had been prosecuted under military courts without a proper judicial process and without valid charges against them.  The international community had to take proper note and expose those human rights violations.

Prahar said that India had taken several measures to repress victims of violence.  The Government had taken action against Greenpeace India, including preventing a campaigner from travelling to the United Kingdom in January.  The High Court had ruled that some of the steps taken had been illegal.  The Council was asked to recommend to the Government of India not to put bans on non-governmental organizations for protecting the freedom of association.

Organization for Defending Victims of Violence said that attacks had elevated sectarian tensions in Syria.  Containing terrorism in Syria was essential for reaching a political solution.  Dual agendas in the war on terror were an obstacle to reaching success.  Humanitarian needs had reached unprecedented levels.  It was crucial to allow civilians under siege access to aid.  All sides to the conflict were urged to respect international human rights standards.

 
Right of Reply
 
Turkey, speaking in a right of reply, stated that human rights and democracy were fundamental values in Turkey.  The protection and promotion of media freedoms were among Turkey’s priorities, and not a single person had been detained for their journalistic activities.  Turkey’s counterterrorism efforts were conducted in strict compliance with international humanitarian and human rights laws.  The failed coup d’etat, driven by the Gülen movement, had attempted to assassinate the President and overthrow the Government. 

Bahrain, speaking in a right of reply, said that it was a shame that the Council was used for politicized aggressive statements attacking Bahrain.  Bahrain would not listen to anyone who tried to undermine its determination to go forward.  Instead, it would continue with its achievements in the area of human rights.  The politicization of the Council did not help human rights.  Any person arrested in Bahrain was arrested under a warrant, in line with the Constitution and the relevant laws; standards of fair trial were upheld.

Syria, speaking in a right of reply, denounced the allegations on Syrian use of chemical weapons.  Syria reminded of the French role in delaying the immediate investigation of the use of chemical weapons in 2013, which had allowed terrorist groups to hide the evidence of their crimes.  There was no concrete evidence of the Syrian Government’s involvement in the use of chemical weapons; all such claims warranted further investigation.     

India, speaking in a right of reply, stated that Pakistan continued to fabricate facts and figures over the situation in Kashmir.  Pakistan’s illegal occupation of 78,000 square kilometres of the Indian territory continued.  The human rights violations in the whole of Pakistan cried out for the world’s attention.  Religious and ethnic minorities continued to face discrimination and targeted attacks in Pakistan, and blasphemy laws remained in place.  Pakistan was well advised to bring its own house in order and combat terrorism.       

Ethiopia, speaking in a right of reply, responded to statements that seemed to disregard the commitment of the Government of Ethiopia to ensure accountability consistent with the national law and international laws.  The statements suggested that there was absence of objectivity and impartiality.  Ethiopia was committed to carry out an investigation and disclose its results.

Kyrgyzstan, speaking in a right of reply, disagreed categorically with the statement of Ireland on alleged discrimination of human rights in Kyrgyzstan.  Despite the fact that Kyrgyzstan had a mainly Muslim population, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons were free to publicly declare their sexual orientation.  There were also registered non-governmental organizations that protected their rights.

Egypt, speaking in a right of reply, responded to the allegations made by the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Germany, Denmark and France.  They had dealt with issues that the delegation of Egypt had already responded to.  Egypt did not restrict civil society as demonstrated by the rise in the number of civil society organizations. 

Sudan, speaking in a right of reply, reacted to the statements delivered by the European Union, the United Kingdom and Canada.  Sudan’s Constitution protected freedom of expression and media without prejudice to order, safety or public morals.

Turkmenistan, speaking in a right of reply, stated that Turkmenistan was committed to promoting and protecting human rights and freedoms.  An interagency commission was in place to ensure the country’s compliance with the ratified international legal instruments.  Turkmenistan continued its cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.  The Office of Ombudsman for Human Rights had been recently established.

Armenia, speaking in a right of reply, said that Azerbaijan consistently misinterpreted the nature of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.  The recent large-scale offensive that Azerbaijan had unleashed against Nagorno-Karabakh in April had been accompanied by atrocities and violations of human rights laws, a fact reported by a number of organizations.  The ongoing conflict was followed by a rising tide of hate speech and inflammatory language, which was disconcerting.

Azerbaijan, speaking in a right of reply, said that Armenia’s statement continued baseless allegations, which stood against irrefutable facts.  The attention of the Human Rights Council was drawn to the Council of Europe’s parliamentary resolution, which deplored the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh by Armenia.  Azerbaijan remained seriously concerned about an outdated nuclear power plant in Armenia, which presented a serious threat to the whole region. 

China, speaking in a right of reply, said that China was a state of law, and those who broke the law had to be punished, even if they held the title of lawyers.  China encouraged and supported social organizations and provided favourable space for their activities, including foreign non-governmental organizations, as long as they respected Chinese laws.  China genuinely protected minorities’ rights.  A number of countries had adopted double standards naming and shaming other countries while ignoring their own issues.  

Indonesia, speaking in a right of reply, reacted to the statements made by the Solomon Islands and a non-governmental organization, calling them misleading and not representing facts on the ground.  It deplored the way that some delegations supported the cause of separatism.  Indonesia’s laws guaranteed the rights of every person in the country, and it cooperated with civil society organizations.  Despite existing challenges, the Government would continue to pay due attention to all human rights, including those in West Papua.  The provinces of Papua enjoyed a wide degree of autonomy and their budgets were one of the highest in the country.

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, speaking in a right of reply, strongly rejected false allegations made by certain delegations.  They were largely based on the so-called testimonies of the defectors from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.  It was deplorable that some countries simply repeated those false allegations, thus undermining their own credibility.  The continued despicable discourse against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea represented a hostile act which aimed to overthrow the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.  The Council should pay attention to chronic human rights violations in the Republic of Korea and some Western countries.  It urged the Council to stop use human rights for forwarding political agendas.   

Cuba, speaking in a right of reply, strongly rejected the criticism made by the United States, which did not focus on its own human rights problems but preferred to point a finger at other countries.  Police brutality had reached alarming levels in the United States.  There were increasing attacks against the sovereignty of certain countries at the Human Rights Council, such as those against Venezuela.  Cuba urged the United States to allow a visit by the Special Rapporteur on torture in a part of Cuban territory, namely Guantanamo Bay. 

Venezuela, speaking in a right of reply, stressed that poverty in Venezuela had decreased and the middle class had expanded.  There were no political prisoners in Venezuela, but rather prisoners in politics who had caused the death of 43 persons.  The food shortages were the result of a criminal economic war in which national and international corporations associated with United States’ interests had participated.  With what moral authority could countries of the South be attacked by a country which had to respond to the International Criminal Court for its abominable crimes against humanity and neo-colonial wars, and which had created Al-Qaeda through the CIA?

Uzbekistan, speaking in a right of reply, said Uzbekistan was systematically working to ensure the protection of human rights in line with its international obligations.  In recent years, civil society in Uzbekistan had been strengthened; civil society, which numbered over 7,000 organizations, played a major role in the promotion and protection of human rights in the country.  Preparatory work was being conducted for a major political event – presidential elections, to which a number of foreign observers would be invited. 

Brazil, speaking in a right of reply, said that freedoms of expression and association were reflected in the Brazilian Constitution.  Different groups were free to express themselves, both in favour and against the Government.   Incidents of violence were being investigated, and perpetrators would be prosecuted in line with the rule of law.  The Government recognized the right to peaceful assembly. 

Japan, speaking in a right of reply, stated that the construction works in Okinawa had been carried out based on a permit issued by the Government, in agreement with the local authorities.  Japan was a country ruled by law, and construction works were thus carried out in line with rules and regulations.  Japan’s alleged crimes cited by the “DPRK” were groundless.  The anti-hate speech law had been adopted at a Diet session this year.  “DPRK” should squarely face the reality of the dire human rights situation there. 

Philippines, speaking in a right of reply, explained that there was no “shoot to kill” order from the President of the Philippines.  The police were ordered to follow protocols and defend themselves when those involved in illegal drugs production resisted arrest.  The Philippines called on the international community to understand that citizens in the Philippines faced a very dangerous situation due to the proliferation of illegal drugs.  The Philippines needed to be firm in its resolve to pursue its war against illegal drugs.

Nigeria, speaking in a right of reply, responded to the statement made by Human Rights Watch, clarifying that the Nigerian army was a revered institution and a fighting force which had proved it mettle in many United Nations peace-keeping operations and had brought peace to countries.  It was not possible for the same army that had degraded the fighting capacity of Boko Haram to be part of Boko Haram.  The Nigerian Government had treated human rights as its top priority and it would not tolerate any form of religious extremism that trampled on the human rights of anyone and any religion. 

Pakistan, speaking in a second right of reply, noted that once again India was trying to deflect attention from Jammu and Kashmir, which was an internationally recognized dispute.  In case India insisted on flouting all international norms, then the international community had to address the situation in India as a whole.  The current Indian Government openly espoused an ideology that portrayed Muslims and Christians as a threat to the society.  There were strong fascist tendencies among the ruling party in India.  The time had come to address the perverse ideology in India that supported State terrorism.

Republic of Korea, speaking in a second right of reply, stated that the citizens of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea were the worst victims of fear, constantly famished, afraid and deprived of their basic needs. 

Armenia, speaking in a second right of reply, noted that Azerbaijan had consistently rejected a border monitoring mechanism.  Azerbaijan’s vicious armed aggression in April 2016 had resulted in the loss of many military personnel and the indiscriminate shelling of civilians.  No amount of Azeri oil money was sufficient to distort the reality on the ground, which was that the people of Nagorno-Karabakh had won their right to self-determination. 

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, speaking in a second right of reply, said that “South Korea” was hiding the true picture regarding its illegal activities against humanity.  “South Korea” should stop harming its compatriots and allow the 12 abductees to see their parents and subsequently return home.  Japan’s past crimes against humanity, including sex slavery, were an undeniable historic fact.  Japan ought to take a fair approach towards its past.

Azerbaijan, speaking in a second right of reply, stated that Armenia was trying to prop up the illegal puppet regime in Nagorno-Karabakh.  Twenty per cent of Azerbaijan’s territory still remained under occupation and some one million Azerbaijanis were displaced.  Azerbaijan was the most interested party in a peaceful negotiation of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh.  Azerbaijan reserved its inherent right of self-defence.  The leadership of Armenia was urged to exercise responsible and constructive behavior.

Japan, speaking in a second right of reply, said that it was regrettable that the “DPRK” had not responded with concrete actions to all the concerns expressed by the international community.  “DPRK” was asked to take constructive steps forward.  

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For use of the information media; not an official record

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