Madam High Commissioner,
We echo your call for a human rights-based approach to avert the escalations of tensions and grievances into violence and conflict.
In Mali, FIDH condemns the seizure of power by the military and expresses concerns over the fragile human rights and security situation that could worsen should a transitional government not be established quickly. FIDH calls on the opening of a dialogue with all relevant national actors with a view to establishing an electoral calendar, to returning to the rule of law, and to ensuring that the fight against impunity continues.
In the Philippines, we regret the authorities’ continued narrative to justify serious human rights violations, such as drug-related killings by police and vigilante, arbitrary detention, and torture. To respond to the climate of impunity, we reiterate our call for the HRC to mandate an international independent investigation into all reported allegations of human rights violations.
We are also concerned that in some States, policies are so far off from a human rights-based approach that there is no space for independent voices. In the case of Egypt, human rights defenders and activists have been relentlessly targetted, enforcedly disappeared, tortured, and imprisoned on fabricated charges. We urge for the immediate release of all those detained on arbitrary grounds, including for criticising the authorities COVID-19’s reponse, and denounce the continued use of counter-terrorism laws and the cybercrime law to silence independent voices.
I thank you.