(English) GINEBRA - El Gobierno de Venezuela debe facilitar las protestas pacíficas e investigar debidamente la muerte de al menos 25 personas en las manifestaciones recientes, señaló hoy un grupo de expertos* en derechos humanos de las Naciones Unidas. “Estamos seriamente preocupados por las acusaciones de uso excesivo e indiscriminado de la fuerza durante las protestas, así como por las detenciones arbitrarias y las muertes”, dijeron los expertos. “Tales actos constituirían graves violaciones de los derechos a la vida, a no ser privado arbitrariamente de la libertad, y a las libertades de reunión pacífica y de expresión”, añadieron. Cientos de personas también han resultado heridas y más de 850 han sido arrestadas en las protestas que comenzaron en 2015 en el contexto de la inestabilidad económica y social. Las manifestaciones se intensificaron luego de que el Tribunal Supremo de Justicia del país emitiera, el mes pasado, la decisión de asumir los poderes legislativos de la Asamblea Nacional controlada por la oposición. La decisión fue revertida posteriormente, pero las protestas continuaron. “En este momento la tensión política es elevada y la opinión pública está fuertemente dividida, pero en situaciones como ésta es cuando precisamente los gobiernos... Continue reading →
(español) GENEVA – The Government of Venezuela must facilitate peaceful protests and properly investigate the deaths of at least 25 people in recent demonstrations, say a group of United Nations human rights experts. “We are gravely concerned about allegations of excessive and indiscriminate use of force during the protests, as well as arbitrary detentions and killings,” the experts said. “Any such actions would constitute serious violations of the rights to life, not to be deprived arbitrarily of liberty, to freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression,” they added. Hundreds of persons have also been injured and more than 850 people arrested in the protests, which began in 2015 against a backdrop of economic and social unrests. The demonstrations became more intense after a ruling last month by the country’s Supreme Tribunal of Justice that it could assume the legislative powers of the opposition-controlled National Assembly. The decision was later reversed, but the protests have continued. “Political tensions are high at the moment, and public opinion appears sharply divided, but this is precisely when governments should do most to protect people’s rights” the experts stressed. “The people of Venezuela need space for peaceful, constructive dialogue –... Continue reading →
GENEVA – United Nations human rights experts today urged the Ethiopian authorities to end their violent crackdown on peaceful protests, which has reportedly led to the death of over 600 people since November 2015. They further called on the Government to allow an international commission of inquiry to investigate the protests and the violence used against peaceful demonstrators. “We are outraged at the alarming allegations of mass killings, thousands of injuries, tens of thousands of arrests and hundreds of enforced disappearances,” said the UN Special Rapporteurs on freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai, the Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances and on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Agnes Callamard. “We are also extremely concerned by numerous reports that those arrested had faced torture and ill-treatment in military detention centres.” “In light of the lack of progress in investigating the systematic violence against protesters, we urge the Ethiopian Government to allow an international independent commission to assist in shedding light on these allegations,” they stated. The human rights experts highlighted in particular the 2 October events in Oromia, where 55 people were killed in a stampede. “The deaths in the Oromia... Continue reading →
GENEVA – Three United Nations human rights experts today urged the Egyptian Government to put an end to the disproportionate reactions against the exercise of the rights to assembly and expression in the country. “The worsening crackdown on peaceful protest and dissent in Egypt represents a further setback for an open political environment and a vibrant civil society,” today said the UN Special Rapporteurs on freedom of expression, David Kaye; on freedom of peaceful assembly and association, Maina Kiai; and on human rights defenders, Michel Forst. “The use of force against civil society and against the expression of dissenting views on political issues contribute to a deteriorating climate for the promotion and protection of fundamental rights that form the essential components of a democratic society,” they stressed. The rights experts condemned the authorities’ harsh response to the largest protests in Egypt in the past two years with mass arrests and use of force in a continued clampdown on peaceful protestors, journalists, lawyers and human rights defenders. They also criticised the storming of Egypt’s Journalists’ Syndicate by security forces on 1 May 2016, a first since its founding 75 years ago. On 15 and 25 April, protest took place across Egypt and security forces... Continue reading →
