Mr President,
FIDH is extremely concerned by the pattern of widespread and systematic human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran. This poor record is confirmed in all fields, in particular the situation of human rights defenders and other peaceful activists, the repression against Kurdish and Baha’i minorities and the use of death penalty. The ongoing repression against women human rights defenders, and the alarming increase of harassment against human rights activists belonging to minorities and against those working on minority issues was further deteriorated with the closure by police of the Defenders of Human Rights (DHRC) in Tehran, FIDH member of organization in Iran, on December 21, 2008. The months preceding this closure, Ms Sherin Ebadi, one of the Centre’s founding member, had been victim of reccurrent and increasing pressure and threats.
FIDH calls upon the Human rights Council to address this situation with utmost urgency, and hold a special session on the Human Rights situation in Iran, establishing a special rapporteur to monitor the dramatic evolution of the situation, engage in dialogue with the authorities with a view to their full compliance with their international obligations, and report back to the Council on the witnessed evolutions.
FIDH underscores the importance for this Council to sustain its critical attention to the situation of grave and systematic human rights violations in Burma/Myanmar. In February 2009, there were more than 2000 political prisoners, being detained in inhuman conditions. Ahead of elections, the emergence of the democracy is still a far away process as the path towards democracy and national conciliation is constantly undermined by the military regime’s harsh repression against any dissident voice.
FIDH is deeply concerned over the impunity that continues in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Civilians affected by recent violence in eastern DRC are still facing continuing insecurity and sexual violence has been - and continues to be - highly prevalent in a wide area in the East of the country.
Furthermore, the grave violations commited in DRC are not only linked to the armed conflict in the East, as demonstrated by the repression of the congolese authorites vis-à-vis to all contradictory voices, which come from political parties or civil society.
Thus FIDH request the Council to reestablish an independant expert on DRC, in order to ensure an effective follow-up of the Special procedures recommendations on the situation in DRC, in the field of the fight against impunity.
FIDH welcomes the issuance of a warrant arrest by the ICC for the Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir. FIDH considers that the judge’s decision is significant because it confirms the hypothesis according to which the whole state apparatus has been involved in the commission of crimes in Darfur. FIDH believes this is an opportunity to stop the ongoing crimes in Darfur. Nevertheless, FIDH is deeply concerned by the crackdown on Sudanese acitvists suspected of "supporting" the ICC. FIDH urges the Human Rights Council to condemn the retaliation measures taken by Sudan in order to protect the victims of such harassement.
I thank you Mr President