A/HRC/54/61
the Secretary-General 103 since 2018 on allegations of surveillance, the freezing of bank
accounts under the FCRA and attempted killing of close relatives for his engagement with
the United Nations in relation to uranium mining and cement factories in Meghalaya.
79.
Special procedures mandate holders addressed 104 the case of Mr. Urikhimbam
concerning the registration of the CSD. According to information received by OHCHR,
CSD’s renewal of registration under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) has
not been formally acknowledged or granted. On 23 March 2023, the Ministry of Home
Affairs notified CSD that the validity of their registration certificate under the FCRA was
extended until 23 September 2023. During the period, CSD and its staff have reportedly been
under constant surveillance and periodically visited in their offices by individuals who ask
about their activities and whereabouts. CSD has notified the Ministry of Interior about these
visits, both in person and in writing, to no avail.
80.
The case of the International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN), a Denmark-based
non-governmental organization working against caste-based discrimination and for the rights
of Dalits, has been included since 2020 in the reports of the Secretary-General105 related to
its application for consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United
Nations (ECOSOC). Since 2008, the IDSN application was repeatedly deferred by the
Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations, the body mandated to consider
applications for consultative status with ECOSOC, hence limiting its cooperation with United
Nations bodies and mechanisms. In August 2021, the Government responded stating that the
legitimate scrutiny of an application for a special status with the United Nations cannot be
termed as reprisal.106
81.
On 7 December 2022, a vote by ECOSOC member States 107 granted IDSN
consultative status with the United Nations along with nine other civil society organizations
(E/2023/L.6). This vote overturned a previous decision by the NGO Committee at its
September 2022 session refusing to grant the same nine organizations consultative status and
put an end to15 years of deferrals.
82.
On 18 July 2023, the Government responded to the note verbale sent in connection
with the present report expressing regret that previous responses concerning Mr. Khurram
Parvez and the NGO-Centre for Social Development (CSD) had been ignored and that actions
by the Government had been incorrectly considered reprisals or intimidation for cooperating
with the UN system. The Government underlined its strong commitment to human rights and
its active cooperation with the United Nations. It stressed that the preventive detention of
Mr. Khurram Parvez was in accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedures, that law
enforcement agencies had found that Mr. Parvez had instigated and executed violent acts and
disturbances in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir since July 2016 and noted that a
person under investigation should not try to leave the country until its is completed.
Regarding the CSD, the Government clarified that it was suspended after being in violation
of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act of 2010.
14.
Indonesia
83.
The case of Mr. Victor Mambor, affiliated with the newspaper Tabloid Jubi and The
Jakarta Post, was included in the 2021 report of the Secretary-General108 on allegations of
acts of harassment, intimidation and threats for reporting on the situation in West Papua and
103
104
105
106
107
108
60
A/HRC/51/47, para. 61, Annex II. paras. 80–81; A/HRC/48/28, Annex II. paras. 66–68;
A/HRC/45/36, para. 76, Annex II. paras. 72–73; A/HRC/42/30, Annex II, para. 57; A/HRC/39/41,
Annex I paras. 63–65.
IND 18/2019.
A/HRC/51/47, Annex II, paras. 86–87; A/HRC/48/28, Annex II para. 69; A/HRC/45/36, Annex I,
paras. 58–59.
A/HRC/48/28, Annex II, para. 70.
24 votes in favour, 17 votes against and 11 abstentions.
A/HRC/48/28, para. 72, Annex I, paras. 48–49.
GE.23-15378