21h session of the
Human Rights Council
Item4
Delivered by Renate Bloem
Thank you Madam President,
CIVICUS has repeatedly urged the Ethiopian Government to realign its policy to international human rights law. Following passing of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s we believe that now is the time for the new leadership to recommit the State to the full respect of its population’s human rights. The Council and Ethiopia’s international partners should equally take the opportunity to call for a number of pressing reforms to re-establish respect for the freedoms of association, assembly and expression as a matter of priority during this time of transition. In particular, we ask HRC member and observer states to call upon Ethiopian authorities to
- Amend the 2009 Ethiopian Charities and Societies Proclamation to remove restrictions on human rights organizations and bring the Proclamation in line with the Ethiopian Constitution and international human rights obligations, including the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders
In relation to our critical comments on Friday, CIVICUS wants to commend the Government of the Russian Federation for its non-interference in the large peaceful protest demonstration during this weekend
Madam President,
The Bahrain Government engaged in May 2012 with the 2nd cycle of the UPR process.
It did not specify during the preliminary adoption which of the recommendations to improve its human rights record it would adopt or reject. However, since this date, the crackdown on human rights defenders and political activists has increased, including arbitrary detention, harassment and torture. We urge Council member and observer states to call the Bahrain Government during the upcoming UPR adoption for
- the unconditional release of human rights defenders, Nabeel Rajab, Zainab and Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and Abdul-Jalil Al-Singace, all peaceful opposition activists, and all those jailed for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, including journalists, doctors, teachers, lawyers
- to immediately implement the recommendations of the BICI and to establish an adequate time frame for this;
- to adopt all relevant UPR recommendations
- to ensure that those who participate in the UPR process do not face reprisals
I thank you for your attention
