The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Eritrea, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Myanmar and the Syrian Arab Republic were under the spotlight earlier this week as the Human Rights Council considered reports on the human rights situation in these countries.  

(Geneva) - Earlier this week, the Human Rights Council considered reports on the human rights situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Eritrea, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Myanmar and the Syrian Arab Republic. Each report referred to attacks against human rights defenders and restrictions imposed on civil society space, including harassment and arbitrary detention of human rights defenders; the use of unwarranted force against peaceful protesters; the significant number of political prisoners; and the persistent lack of cooperation with special procedures. The presentation of each report was followed by an interactive dialogue. A brief summary of the report and the interactive dialogue is incorporated below. 

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea

The report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) noted North Korea's back-peddling from agreeing to a visit by the Special Rapporteur, the revocation of all offers of cooperation and the suspension of all dialogue with the High Commissioner, the Commission of Inquiry and the Special Rapporteur.

In the interactive dialogue that followed, a majority of States called for the DPRK’s renewed cooperation with the international human rights system, the immediate closure of all political prisoner camps and the full repatriation of prisoners. A number of States also supported the referral of the DPRK to the International Criminal Court and welcomed the placement of the human rights situation in the DPRK on the agenda of the upcoming Security Council meeting.

DPRK rejected the Special Rapporteur’s report, alleging that survivor testimonies were fabricated and accusing States supporting the country-specific mandate of colluding in an attempt to politicise the human rights situation and undermine the credibility of the DPRK government.

Eritrea

The report of the Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea, which was informed by written submissions, interviews with approximately 400 people from five countries, consultations with experts, and civil society, highlighted Eritrea’s lack of cooperation and failure to respond to repeated requests for a country visit.

The report referred to Eritrea as a militarised state under a suspended Constitution with no rule of law that is plagued by widespread curtailment of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, movement, association, expression and press. These restrictions, as well as inhumane prison conditions, are imposed with complete impunity.

Eritrea rejected the findings of the Commission, including allegations of gross and systematic violation of human rights, asserting that the Commission was not objective in conducting its inquiry and failed to consider Eritrea’s right to sovereignty and development.  

Islamic Republic of Iran

In his report, the Special Rapporteur on the situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran detailed a range of violations of international human rights law perpetrated by the Iranian Government. These included executions of political prisoners; arbitrary death sentences under drug-trafficking legislation; the imprisonment of an alarmingly high number of journalists; and proposed new laws that appear to expand government influence over media, the legal community and civil society. The Special Rapporteur also lamented the continued harassment, arrest, prosecution and imprisonment of members of civil society who criticise the Government and called for the immediate release of all individuals detained for legitimately exercising their right to freedom of expression or dissent.

In the interactive dialogue that followed, the USA highlighted the continued harassment of human rights defenders for engaging with the Special Rapporteur, the widespread closure of media bodies and persecution of bloggers. The United Kingdom, Ireland and Norway called for the protection of human rights defenders criminalised under ill-defined criteria. In this respect, Germany stressed the plight of Jason Rezaian, a Washington Post blogger imprisoned in July 2014 under undisclosed charges, who was granted access to a lawyer only two weeks ago.

Iran was highly critical of the report, arguing that the Special Rapporteur failed to give due attention to its replies received from Iran or the hindering effect global economic sanctions have had on its effort to implement human rights obligations.

Myanmar  

The report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation in Myanmar noted the Government’s efforts towards democratisation, national reconciliation and development, but highlighted numerous challenges to overcome in ensuring the achievement of these fundamentals.

The report expressed the Special Rapporteur’s concern about disproportionate force used by government officials against peaceful protesters; intimidation and interrogation suffered by journalists; the surveillance and monitoring of human rights defenders; the use of national security laws to limit civil society space; and the significant number of political prisoners, disapprovingly noting the recent imprisonment of at least 14 people for protesting against land confiscations.

In the interactive dialogue that followed, the European Union and Norway stressed the need for measures to enable journalists, human rights defenders and civil society actors to continue their work; Australia demanded full implementation of the Special Rapporteur’s recommendations; and Spain sought that violence against women and restrictions on freedom of expression were addressed as a priority.

NGOs demanded the immediate release of political prisoners; expressed concern about excessive use of force against protesters; noted the serious human rights violations committed by the army with total impunity; and called for investigation of and accountability for the killings of people protesting land confiscations. They also demanded the renewal of the Special Rapporteur’s mandate and additional resources for special procedures staff working in the field.

Syrian Arab Republic 

The report of the Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic powerfully outlined the ongoing plight of the Syrian people, drawing attention to the displacement of over half of the population, the pervasive sexual violence, and the systematic targeting of individuals seeking to provide medical and humanitarian relief over the past four years of conflict.

In the interactive dialogue that followed, the Commission urged the Council to take measures to address the culture of total impunity which continues to facilitate atrocities in Syria. Many states, including Belgium, Chile and Australia, supported the Commission’s call for the Security Council to refer the situation to the International Criminal Court, a prospect which was previously vetoed in May last year. The United States, New Zealand, and multiple civil society groups made interventions regarding the arbitrary detainment and enforced disappearance of innumerable human rights defenders and journalists since the conflict began.

Syria did not respond substantively to any of the allegations outlined in the report, and attacked the Commission for politicisation and bias. The Assad regime continues to refuse the Commission access to the country. 

Criticism of the special procedures

In the interactive dialogues for each of the countries referred to above, Russia, China, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Iran, Belarus, Syria, Myanmar, Lebanon, Cuba and Kazakhstan directly and repeatedly criticised the country-specific special procedures. Such States claim that country specific mandates and discussions are biased and prosecutorial processes that politicise human rights and assert that countries should only be examined under the Universal Periodic Review process.

UN Photo - Eric Bridiers