civil society organizations and human rights defenders working in the field of protection against enforced disappearance, as well as family members of disappeared persons

Cases

Relevant SG report

From Country

Country Geolocation

Latitude: 33.223191

Longitude: 43.679291

Individual's/organization's activity: civil society organizations and human rights defenders working in the field of protection against enforced disappearance, as well as family members of disappeared persons, families, relatives and representatives of the disappeared, as well as victims, human rights defenders, lawyers, civil society organizations and other individuals actively participating in the search and investigation process.

Type of rights defended

Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?: No

Reported trigger of reprisal

Throughout the reporting period, civil society organizations and human rights defenders working in the field of protection against enforced disappearance, as well as family members of disappeared persons, generally stated that they faced threats, intimidation, harassment and extortion for reporting and following up on the cases of enforced disappearances. This includes cases that were reported to the UN as well as national authorities.
In its visit report and public statements, the Committee on Enforced Disappearances expressed great concern about numerous allegations of reprisals against families, relatives and representatives of the disappeared, as well as victims, human rights defenders, lawyers, civil society organizations and other individuals actively participating in the search and investigation process. In this regard, the Committee recalled that no one who participated in the conversations or contributed information to the Committee should be subject to reprisals and that States parties have a primary responsibility to prevent such acts from being committed against individuals and groups who seek to cooperate, cooperate or have cooperated with the Committee (CED/C/IRQ/VR/1 (Recommendations), paras. 89, 96–97, 100).45

Engagement with UN body

Type of attempted engagement

Meeting with UN officials during country visit / with locally present UN officials
Submission of information to UN

Reprisal information

Throughout the reporting period, civil society organizations and human rights defenders working in the field of protection against enforced disappearance, as well as family members of disappeared persons, generally stated that they faced threats, intimidation, harassment and extortion for reporting and following up on the cases of enforced disappearances. This includes cases that were reported to the UN as well as national authorities.
In its visit report and public statements, the Committee on Enforced Disappearances expressed great concern about numerous allegations of reprisals against families, relatives and representatives of the disappeared, as well as victims, human rights defenders, lawyers, civil society organizations and other individuals actively participating in the search and investigation process. In this regard, the Committee recalled that no one who participated in the conversations or contributed information to the Committee should be subject to reprisals and that States parties have a primary responsibility to prevent such acts from being committed against individuals and groups who seek to cooperate, cooperate or have cooperated with the Committee (CED/C/IRQ/VR/1 (Recommendations), paras. 89, 96–97, 100).45

Types of reprisals suffered

Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?: Yes

Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?: No

Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?: No

Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?: No

#EndReprisals