Issue No. 27 of the Assembly and Association Briefing, the newsletter of Maina Kiai, UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. In this our final issue: • Kiai completes term as Rapporteur, hands over mandate to Annalisa Ciampi • A thank you message from former Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai – and news on work yet to come • Kiai launches FOAA Online! – a web-based collection of legal arguments on assembly and association rights • Special Rapporteur files interventions in South Africa and Zimbabwe cases • Venezuela: allow peaceful protests and investigate killing of demonstrators • UN experts urge Russia to drop Jehovah’s Witness lawsuit which threatens religious freedom • Russia: “Immediately release detained peaceful protesters” • UN rights experts urge lawmakers to stop “alarming” trend to curb freedom of assembly in the US • Ahead of referendum, UN experts warn Turkey about impact of purge on rights • UN experts urge United Arab Emirates: “Immediately release Ahmed Mansoor” • Belarus: expert decries of violence against protestors, demands release of all detained • Hungary urged by UN expert to reconsider new law targeting Central European University • Maina Kiai’s Testimony... Continue reading →
جنيف (28 مارس/آذار 2017): إنّ خبراء حقوق الإنسان* يحثّون حكومة الإمارات العربيّة المتّحدة على الإفراج الفوريّ عن مناصر حقوق الإنسان البارز أحمد منصور الذي اعتقل الأسبوع الماضي. لقد قام رجال الأمن باعتقال السّيد منصور البالغ 47 عاما، متزوّج وأب لأربعة أطفال، في السّاعات الأولى من يوم 20 آذار/مارس بعد اقتحام منزله. ولا يزال مكان وجوده مجهولاً، كما لا تتوفّر أيّة معلومات عمّا إذا كان قد تمّ توجيه أيّة اتّهامات ضدّه. وجاء في تصريح الخبراء: "إنّنا نعتبر اعتقال السّيد منصور واحتجازه هجوماً مباشراً على العمل المشروع لمناصري حقوق الإنسان في دولة الإمارات العربيّة المتّحدة". وأكّدوا "أنّ عمل منصور المتميّز في مجال حماية حقوق الإنسان والنّهوض بالديمقراطية، فضلا عن تعاونه الشّفاف مع آليات الأمم المتّحدة، له قيمة كبيرة ليس فقط بالنسبة... Continue reading →
GENEVA – United Nations rights experts are urging the Government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to immediately release the renowned human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor, who was arrested last week. Mr. Mansoor, who is 47 and married with four children, was taken away in the early hours of 20 March by security agents who broke into his home. His whereabouts remain unknown, and there is no information on whether any charges have been brought against him. “We regard Mr. Mansoor’s arrest and detention as a direct attack on the legitimate work of human rights defenders in the UAE,” the experts said. “Mr. Mansoor’s outstanding work in the protection of human rights and the advancement of democracy, as well as his transparent collaboration with UN mechanisms, is of great value not only for the UAE but for the whole region,” they emphasized. “We fear that his arrest and secret detention may constitute an act of reprisal for his engagement with UN human rights mechanisms, for the views he expressed on social media, including Twitter, as well as for being an active member of organizations such as the Gulf Centre for Human Rights, and an active supporter of others, including Human Rights Watch.” The experts urged the authorities to immediately reveal the whereabouts of Mr. Mansoor, a... Continue reading →
This page summarizes cases raised with the United Arab Emirates by the Special Rapporteur between May 1, 2011, (when the Special Rapporteur took up his functions) and February 28, 2017 (the date of the last public release of communications). Communications are released to the public once per year. This page also contains observations on these communications and on responses received from the United Arab Emirates. Communications and observations are divided into sections based upon which observation report they originally appeared. Each communication is referenced as urgent appeal (UA), allegation letter (AL), joint urgent appeal (JUA) and joint allegation letter (JAL) - the hyperlinks lead to these documents. This is followed by the date the communication was issued, as well as the case number and the State reply (also hyperlinked if available). Summaries and communications are published only in the language of submission (in the case of the United Arab Emirates, English). First Report (May 1, 2011 to March 15, 2012) None Second Report (March 16, 2012 to February 28, 2013) Joint urgent appeal, 15/05/2012. Case no. ARE 3/2012. State Reply: None to date. Alleged revocation of citizenship, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance of human rights defenders. Joint urgent... Continue reading →
