A/HRC/42/30
rejects as untrue the allegations that the persons mentioned were subject to any punitive,
restrictive, reprisal or judicial measure because of their cooperation with the UN.
19.
Iraq
58.
On 2 October 2018, five special procedures mandate holders raised concern over
allegations of unlawful arrest, enforced disappearance and torture against Mr. Imad Al
Tamimi and acts of intimidation and threats against Ms. Israa Al Dujaili, human rights
defenders and volunteers for the non-governmental human rights organization Al Wissam
Humanitarian Assembly, which documents cases of enforced disappearances in Iraq for
their submission to the United Nations human rights mechanisms (IRQ 3/2018, and
A/HRC/40/60/Add.1, paras. 597, 600–601). The mandate holders raised concern about
other employees and volunteers of Al Wissam Humanitarian Assembly who have
previously been subjected to acts of intimidation and reprisal, in particular related to the
submission of cases and information to the Committee on Enforced Disappearances82 and to
the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, which they said may
represent a pattern (see below and IRQ 1/2016; IRQ 2/2018).
59.
On 14 July 2018, Mr. Al Tamimi participated in a peaceful demonstration held on
Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad and was reportedly abducted by members of the Special
Weapons and Tactics Unit (SWAT) in the vicinity of the “Medical City” in Baghdad. He
was forced into a black pick-up truck and taken to an unknown location for interrogation,
where he was subjected to acts of torture for the first two weeks of his detention. He
remained secretly detained until 7 September 2018 when he was released.
60.
On 27 August 2018, Ms. Al Dujaili went to a copy shop near Al Nasser Square in
Baghdad to collect posters advertising events organized by Al Wissam Humanitarian
Assembly for the 2018 International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. After
leaving the shop, men allegedly connected to the Iraqi National Intelligence Service (INIS)
questioned her about the posters, and she was verbally assaulted and threatened. Ms. Al
Dujaili sought refuge elsewhere for fear of retaliation.
61.
It was further reported that in December 2018, Mr. Riyad Al Karawi, a
representative of Al Wissam Humanitarian Assembly in Diwanyia, received threats and
harassment in relation to the documentation of cases for the Working Group on Involuntary
and Enforced Disappearances. Mr. Al Karawi also received threats and was intimidated in
the context of his participation in a number of demonstrations in November and December
2018 against enforced disappearances. Mr. Al Karawi fled Iraq at the end of 2018 for
security reasons.
20.
Israel
62.
On 31 May 2019, three special procedures mandate holders (ISR 8/2019) addressed
a letter to the Government about State publications appearing to stigmatize civil society
organizations for their engagement with international bodies, including the UN in the field
of human rights, and also noted reports of harassment of civil society organizations
engaging with UN human rights mechanisms. They refer to a May 2018 report83 published
by the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs which lists civil society organizations working
on human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), which the Ministry claims
promote boycotts against Israel, and calls for halting financial support from European
Union (EU) institutions to these organizations. In the report, the Ministry notes the
involvement of these human rights organizations in anti-Israel delegitimization and the
promotion of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
63.
Among the activities included under the umbrella of anti-Israel delegitimization
were support for the creation of a database on businesses that have enabled, facilitated and
profited from the construction and growth of Israeli settlements in the OPT, as requested by
82
83
GE.19-15332
A/71/56, paras. 55–58; A/HRC/33/19, para. 23.
http://eipa.eu.com/publicaffairs/wp-content/uploads/The-Money-Trail_English.pdf.
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