Statement at the 55th Session of the UN Human Rights Council
General Debate Item 4
Delivered by Sigrid Lipott
Thank you Mr President,
CIVICUS encourages the Council to play a more assertive role in preventing rather than reacting to human rights crises and serious crimes. The rapid and continued deterioration of civic space is one of the first early warning signs on which the Council should promptly act.
Civic space conditions in Mali are dire, with an escalation of violations of freedom of expression amid censorship. In recent months, journalists, human rights defenders and religious leaders have been facing intimidation, judicial harassment and prosecution for their criticism of the transitional military authorities, with many arbitrarily detained. CSOs and political opposition parties have been dissolved or threatened with dissolution. There are also concerns around prospects of accountability and justice for victims of grave human rights violations following the announcement of Mali’s withdrawal from ECOWAS and termination of MINUSMA mandate.
The civic space in Myanmar has continued to regress due to sustained repression by the junta. Nearly 20,000 political prisoners are currently in arbitrary detention on fabricated charges, including human rights defenders, while torture and ill-treatment is rampant. In recent months, political prisoners faced increased sentences for holding protests. The crackdown on the media by the junta has persisted, with over 60 journalists still being detained in the country, amid severe internet repression. Despite this, ASEAN has failed to address the crisis in Myanmar and more must be done to push for the release of activists, stop the flow of weapons and funds to the junta and to end impunity for serious crimes.
In Venezuela, in a context of a complex humanitarian emergency, several censorship mechanisms have been deployed as part of a strategy to persecute human rights defenders and limit the right to freedom of expression. We express concerns around incommunicado detention of Rocio San Miguel following the decision of the Second Court Against Terrorism and suspension of activities of the OHCHR in the country as well as the draft NGO law which, if enacted, would seriously hinder the freedom of association.
We call on the Council to address these urgent situations and prevent further crisis.
We thank you.