human rights defenders, journalists, and other media professionals

Cases
Location of case in SG report
2023-076-001
Country Geolocation

Latitude: 17.570692

Longitude: -3.996166

Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
Mali
From Region
UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report
  • UN Special Procedures: Country
Dates of prior UN action
20 February 2023
Type of record
Unnamed individual/group/organization
Gender
Gender unclear
Was the victim a foreign national?
No
Was the victim a minor?
No
Individual's/organization's activity

human rights defenders, journalists, and other media professionals with whom he had spoken

Type of rights defended
  • Unclear in SG Report
Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
No
Reported trigger of reprisal
  1. On 20 February 2023, upon completion of his official visit to the country, the United Nations Independent Expert on Mali stated publicly that human rights defenders, journalists, and other media professionals with whom he had spoken were no longer willing to discuss certain allegations of human rights violations or abuses for fear of reprisals by Malian transitional authorities and their supporters, particularly on social media.61 On 31 March 2023, during his interactive dialogue with the Human Rights Council and in his report on his visit, the Independent Expert expressed deep concern that civil society had almost entirely disappeared, about the self-censorship that journalists have confessed to for fear of reprisals from the Malian transitional authorities and attacks against human rights defenders on social media.62
Engagement with UN body
  • UN Special Procedures: country
Type of attempted engagement
  • Submission of information to UN
Reprisal information
  1. On 20 February 2023, upon completion of his official visit to the country, the United Nations Independent Expert on Mali stated publicly that human rights defenders, journalists, and other media professionals with whom he had spoken were no longer willing to discuss certain allegations of human rights violations or abuses for fear of reprisals by Malian transitional authorities and their supporters, particularly on social media.61 On 31 March 2023, during his interactive dialogue with the Human Rights Council and in his report on his visit, the Independent Expert expressed deep concern that civil society had almost entirely disappeared, about the self-censorship that journalists have confessed to for fear of reprisals from the Malian transitional authorities and attacks against human rights defenders on social media.62
Types of reprisals suffered
  • Threats/Intimidations (incl. "fear of reprisal")
Alleged/likely perpetrators
Both state and non-state actors
Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
No
Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
Yes
Government response dates
28 July 2023
Government response content
  1. On 28 July 2023, the Government responded to the note verbale sent in connection to the present report noting that, despite its cooperation and readiness to engage in dialogue, attempts to exploit sensitive issues persisted. It also noted that some of the alleged incidents had taken place outside the reporting period and rejected the allegations of reprisals, inviting OHCHR to prevent any attempts to instrumentalize human rights issues