A/HRC/39/41
reported that on 13 April 2018 he was contacted by the MSA Chief of Staff and was
questioned and intimidated because of his cooperation with MINUSMA.
18.
Morocco
77.
In a decision of 15 November 2016 (CAT/C/59/D/606/2014) the Committee against
Torture found that Morocco was responsible for violations of Art. 1 and 12 to 16 of the
Convention against Torture in the case of Naâma Asfari v. Morocco, in which Mr.
Ennaâma Asfari, a Sahrawi human rights defender currently in detention, was the
petitioner. Since the decision by the Committee Mr. Asfari’s treatment in detention has
reportedly deteriorated. His wife has been denied entry into Morocco on four occasions. On
13 February 2018, Mr. Asfari was placed in solitary confinement until 13 March 2018. On
13 July 2018 the Committee’s Rapporteur on Reprisals and Follow-up wrote to the
Government emphasizing the need to refrain from reprisals (G/S0 229/3MAR(8)
606/2014). On 31 July 2018 the Government responded, and the Committee decided to
keep the follow-up dialogue on this case open, emphasizing the need for the full
implementation of remedies requested. Another meeting was suggested during the
Committee’s session from 12 November to 7 December 2018.
19.
Myanmar
78.
During a briefing by members of the Security Council on their mission to Myanmar,
it was reported that Myanmar security forces had threatened Rohingya villages with
reprisals if they talked with the Security Council delegation during the visit and told the
villagers that those who had done so were being looked for. A Security Council member
noted that it was unacceptable that anyone should feel intimidated about speaking with the
Council (see S/PV.8255, page 6).13 Reports indicate that Rohingya villagers from Pan Taw
Pyin, Rakhine State who met with the delegation on 1 May 2018, have been forced into
hiding after being targeted by Myanmar’s security agencies. Tatmadaw, including members
of Military Security Affairs, reportedly requested local authorities to submit a list of all the
villagers who had spoken with the delegation. While young villagers were interacting with
the delegation, members of the military reportedly took video footage of the youth and then
chased them and scolded them after the interviews. Villagers who participated in the
meeting reportedly fear intimidation, harassment, and arrests. Furthermore, before the
Security Council delegation visited Rakhine, authorities in Maungdaw township had
reportedly warned the Rohingya in the surrounding villages against telling members of the
Security Council anything adverse about the government or security forces.
79.
Ms. Yanghee Lee, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human
rights in Myanmar, reported to the Human Rights Council in March 2018 that she had
received information about violent reprisals committed by the armed forces against
civilians who she had met with following her visit to Rakhine State in January 2017 (see
A/HRC/37/70, para. 63). These include a killing, beatings, and rape. The Special
Rapporteur received credible information that the armed forces attacked a village in
Rakhine a couple of days after her 2017 visit as a reprisal against those in the community
who spoke to her. The armed forces reportedly gathered the village men and women
together, and subjected them to severe mistreatment, beatings and assaults, and in another
village, one man was killed.
80.
The Governing Body of the ILO reported on 7 February 2018 that it remained
concerned about two cases of apparent reprisal against complainants in forced labour cases
(see GB.332/INS/8, para. 15).14 The two cases were also raised by the Special Rapporteur
on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, in her March 2018 report to the Human
Rights Council (see A/HRC/37/70, para. 15).
81.
The ILO expressed concern about the detention on 18 August 2017 of Mr. Aung Ko
Htwe, who had been forcibly recruited into the army in 2005 at age 14 (see GB.332/INS/8,
13
14
GE.18-13325
UN Security Council, Briefing by Security Council mission to Bangladesh and Myanmar (28 April to
2 May 2018), 8255th meeting, S/PV.8255m 14 May 2018.
ILO, Follow-up to the resolution concerning remaining measures on the subject of Myanmar adopted
by the Conference at its 102nd Session (2013), 7 February 2018.
31