Eight United Nations experts are awaiting a response from Tajik authorities to a letter expressing concern about the fate of convicted journalists and civil activists. UN experts and special rapporteurs in their letter demanded an explanation from Dushanbe regarding reports of gross violations of the rights of nine convicted journalists and bloggers, as well as civil activists. The letter dated 12 May 2023, is published here. UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor has visited Tajikistan earlier to address the human rights violations in the country.

In their appeal, which UN experts sent to Dushanbe in May of this year, they provided details of the detention and imprisonment, as well as information about the conditions of detention in correctional institutions for journalists and bloggers Daleri Imomali, Abdullo Gurbati, Zavkibeki Saidamini, Abdusattor Pirmuhammadzoda, Khushruz Jumaev, human rights activists Abdulmajid Rizoev, Manuchehra Kholiknazarov, Faromuz Irgashev and civil activist Ulfatonim Mamadshoeva.

The letter to Tajikistan authorities was signed by the UN Special Rapporteur of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, and the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, Alice Gill Edwards, cites cases of torture and ill-treatment of detainees. UN experts also criticized the Tajik authorities for imprisoning detained journalists and bloggers on trumped-up charges of extremism and collaboration with banned organizations.

Last year, authorities sentenced them to terms ranging from 7 years to life in prison. Supporters of those convicted and international human rights organizations believe that the arrests and detention of journalists and civil activists were politically motivated. UN experts noted in a 20-page letter that from arrest to trial, the rights of detained journalists and activists were grossly violated.

One of the convicts, Daler Emomali, was accused of illegal entrepreneurship, dissemination of knowingly false information and participation in an extremist association, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. However, human rights activists believe that the authorities took revenge on him for his critical videos.

The letter expresses concern about the fate of journalist and civil activist Ulfatonim Mamadshoeva, whom the authors call a representative of the “Pamir minority.” UN experts expressed regret that the Tajik authorities never responded to their previous letters regarding the fate of Mamadshoeva.

66-year-old Ulfathonim Mamadshoeva was sentenced to 21 years in prison in early December 2022 . The Tajik authorities accused Ulfathonim Mamadshoeva of organizing mass riots in the Rushan district and the city of Khorog in May 2022. Supporters of Mamadshoeva consider the criminal case to be fabricated.

The letter, signed, in particular, by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, and the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, Alice Gill Edwards, cites cases of torture and ill-treatment of detainees. The authors write that the arbitrary arrests of some of those convicted are contrary to the laws of Tajikistan and international law. UN experts also criticized the Tajik authorities for imprisoning detained journalists and bloggers on trumped-up charges of extremism and collaboration with banned organizations. The actions of the Tajik authorities are a stern warning to other human rights defenders: criticism will be severely punished.

The letter was officially sent to the government of Tajikistan in May. The authorities had to respond to this message within 60 days. However, apparently, there was no response from Dushanbe: the UN, as a rule, publishes responses to its appeals on its official website.

In recent years, the government of Tajikistan has been criticized by the UN, Western countries and international human rights organizations for regular violations of human rights in the country.

Source : Radio Free Europe

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The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) on Monday condemned the suspension of United Nations’ aid deliveries through a crossing from Türkiye to northwestern Syria for the past seven weeks.

In a written statement, the rights group said that since U.N. aid halted, civilians residing in camps in the region have been facing difficult circumstances, as the supply of bread to numerous refugee camps had been cut off.

For seven weeks now, aid to northwestern Syria has been suspended since the cross-border aid mechanism expired on July 10 and after Russia vetoed the resolution to extend aid crossings in the U.N. Security Council on July 11.

Under a resolution adopted in 2014, international aid was sent to people in northwestern Syria via Türkiye. The aid, mostly food and medicine, is estimated to have reached 4 million people. After an earthquake killed more than 56,000 people in Türkiye and Syria in February, Syria allowed the U.N. to use those two border crossings from Türkiye to dispatch aid. The approval was due to expire on Aug. 13.

The mandate of the U.N. aid mechanism was previously extended until July 10 by a decision on Jan. 10.

Just days later, Damascus authorized the mechanism for another six months, saying the deliveries would have to be in “full cooperation and coordination with the Bashar Assad regime,” but those aid deliveries are yet to resume because the U.N. has concerns with “two unacceptable conditions.”

The same conditions have not been imposed on the U.N. use of the Bab al-Salam and Al Ra’ee border crossings.

Syrians who fled Bashar Assad’s rule fear he may soon be able to choke off badly needed aid as Damascus acts to establish sway over U.N. assistance into the opposition-held northwest, the last major bastion of the Syrian opposition.

Source: Daily Sabah

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UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, Fernand de Varennes, reported during his trip to the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region in Tajikistan, he met with representatives of civil society and residents of the region. Varennes arrived in Tajikistan for a working visit on October 9 till October 20.

The UN Special Rapporteur told journalists that the residents of Gorno-Badakhshan informed him about violations of their rights in 2021-2022, particularly concerning the rights of detainees and cases of harsh treatment by law enforcement agencies. He stated, “People are complaining about religious restrictions as well as limitations on the use of Pamiri languages,” during a press conference in Dushanbe on October 19.

UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, Fernand de Varennes, reported during his trip to the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region in Tajikistan, he met with representatives of civil society and residents of the region. Residents shared with him the violations of their rights in 2021-2022, particularly concerning the rights of detainees and cases of harsh treatment by law enforcement agencies.

According to Varennes, representatives of ethnic minorities in Tajikistan have complained that they do not have their own deputies in the Tajik parliament. However, he did not disclose the details of his meetings.

Meanwhile, the UN website reported on October 19 that Fernand de Varennes, in his statement following an 11-day visit to Tajikistan, expressed particular concern about the fate of ethnic minorities, including the Jughi, religious minorities, and the Pamiri community in GBAO “on several fronts, including their representation in the national parliament, access to education in their native language, and freedom of religion “.

The UN Special Rapporteur strongly recommended that the Tajikistan authorities continue their efforts to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and urged a review of the legislation to include the Jughi minority in the National Action Plan. “Regarding the events that took place in GBAO since November 2021, the Special Rapporteur called on the authorities to conduct an impartial and transparent investigation in accordance with international standards and measures to prevent tension and violence escalation in the region,” as stated in the UN announcement. Fernand de Varennes emphasized that the Tajik authorities’ response to the complaints of the Pamiri people is an essential part of this de-escalation.

Varennes announced during a press conference in Dushanbe that the report following his working visit to Tajikistan will be published in March 2024. The final report will first be presented to the Tajikistan government and then to the UN Human Rights Council.

Earlier in April, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Nazila Ghanea, visited Tajikistan. During a press conference at the end of her visit, she expressed concerns about the situation regarding freedom of conscience and religion and noted that the scope of the freedom of religion or belief in the country is alarmingly distant from international human rights standards. Nazila Ghanea stated that Tajikistan should leave behind its past, which was marked by civil war, and protect freedom of religion and belief.

The authorities of Tajikistan regularly face criticism from international human rights organizations and Western countries for human rights violations, including the rights of minorities and restrictions on religious freedom.

Source : Azatlyk Radiosy

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Angry Turkish Cypriots punched and kicked a group of international peacekeepers who obstructed crews working on a road that would encroach on a U.N.-controlled buffer zone in ethnically divided Cyprus, the U.N. said Friday.

It said the attack happened as peacekeepers stood in the way of work crews building a road to connect the village of Arsos, in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north, with the mixed Greek Cypriot-Turkish Cypriot village of Pyla, inside the buffer zone and abutting the Greek Cypriot south, where the island’s internationally recognized government is seated.

A video seen by The Associated Press showed scores of Turkish Cypriots accosting a much smaller group of Slovak and British U.N. soldiers trying to hold them back from starting work inside the buffer zone. Some peacekeepers suffered blows to the face as they linked arms to push back the advancing Turkish Cypriots. The U.N. said three soldiers had to be treated for minor injuries.

The violence constitutes a serious escalation of tensions not seen on the island in years.

Source: AP News

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The Assad regime finally approved humanitarian aid deliveries across the opposition-held areas in Syria, which were devastated following a pair of earthquakes centered in southeast Türkiye.

Aid would arrive to those who needed it with the help of the U.N., Syrian Red Crescent and international Red Cross, Syrian state media reported Friday.

The regime had also declared areas worst affected by Monday’s deadly earthquake – Lattakia, Hama, Aleppo and Idlib – disaster zones and would set up a fund to rehabilitate them.

Meanwhile, the United Nations said Friday it was rapidly exhausting the aid stocks it had in Syria before the devastating earthquake and needed quick resupply to support the millions affected.

U.N. agencies said the response to Monday’s quake, which has killed at least 22,000 people in Türkiye and Syria, would last far beyond the immediate life-saving search-and-rescue stage.

The Bab al-Hawa crossing from Türkiye is currently the only way U.N. assistance can reach civilians in war-torn Syria without going through regime-controlled areas. Meanwhile, the Syrian regime is under international sanctions.

The U.N. has called for politics to be stripped out of the disaster response, as it looks to replenish its warehouses.

“We cannot accept any impediments in this situation,” said Catharina Boehme, from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) headquarters team.

“We need to ensure access to assistance and health care for all those in need. Collectively as the U.N. we will be measured on whether we can enable this,” she told a briefing in Geneva.

Corinne Fleischer, the World Food Programme’s (WFP) Middle East regional director, said the WFP had pre-positioned stocks in northwest Syria of ready-to-eat food for 125,000 people and enough family rations, that need cooking, for 1.4 million people for one month.

It has already reached 30,000 people with ready-to-eat food and the rest is being distributed.

“We are running out of stocks and we need access to bring new stocks in,” Fleischer said, via videolink from Cairo.

“Natural disasters don’t know borders and nor does humanitarian aid. Let us be able to replenish our stocks in northwest Syria.”

Planning ahead

The UNHCR, the U.N.’s refugee agency, had 30,000 so-called core relief items – mattresses, blankets, kitchen sets, plastic sheeting, jerry cans and sleeping mats – and 20,000 tents pre-positioned in Syria before the quake.

“We have been distributing them since Day One,” said Sivanka Dhanapala, the UNHCR representative in the country.

“A lot of this is being sent out and now needs to be replenished as quickly as possible,” he said, via videolink.

The agency’s immediate response is focused on shelter and relief items and ensuring that collective centers receiving displaced persons have adequate facilities.

“We’re also looking at what happens in four, eight, 12 weeks,” said Dhanapala.

“When we look at eight to 12 weeks, we look at supporting livelihoods and basic services in affected areas,” he said, including trying to undertake minor repairs in damaged housing.

“Longer term, we would look at debris removal,” and trying to mobilize engineers, he added.

Source : Daily Sabah

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