A report presented by the U.N. Secretary General at the ongoing Human Rights Council session in Geneva has listed Pakistan among 40 countries where individuals and organizations are facing alleged intimidation, reprisals for cooperating with the United Nations on human rights.
The report, Cooperation with the United Nations, its Representatives and Mechanisms in the Field of Human Rights, spans the period from May 1, 2022 to April 30, 2023. Referring to Pakistan, it notes that the Center for Social Justice (CSJ)—a civil society organization advocating for human rights—had submitted in July 2022 a joint report on the situation of minority and religious groups in Pakistan.
Even prior to the report going public, it said, a leading daily in Pakistan on Aug. 21 published a report claiming the CSJ’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the country was “not accurate, was against national interests, and defamed the country on issues such as blasphemy laws and forced conversions.” This, read the report, was followed-up by the same newspaper publishing an article on Sept. 12, 2022 in which it asked the Interior Ministry to act against the CSJ for its involvement in “negative propaganda against Pakistan.”
The CSJ, per the U.N., subsequently closed its office in fear of reprisals by state and non-state actors, with one of its staff members resigning due to safety concerns. The same month, on Sept. 27, the Lahore Office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms sent a notice to CSJ convening a hearing and requesting documentation for its periodic renewal of registration. The notice, per the report, referred to CSJ’s report to the UPR and the U.N., claiming CSJ had exceeded its mandate.
After two more notifications from the Registrar—on Oct. 8 and 21—the CSJ filed a petition in the Lahore High Court and was granted interim relief on Dec. 16, 2022. A hearing aimed at issuing a restraining order against the Registrar’s Office attempts to coerce the CSJ never took place and was postponed indefinitely. Special procedures mandate holders, read the report, expressed concerns at the reported acts of intimidation and harassment against CSJ allegedly in reprisal for its participation in the UPR process. “They stated that the attempted restrictions on CSJ’s scope of activity not only violated international standards on freedom of association, but also risked deterring other civil society actors from engaging in human rights advocacy, including with United Nations bodies and mechanisms,” it added.
The report has emphasized that human rights defenders and other civil society activists are increasingly under surveillance and continue to face legal proceedings, travel bans and threats, even being given prison sentences for cooperating with the U.N.’s human rights mechanisms. U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the global body had a collective responsibility to prevent and address intimidation and reprisals, guided by the principle of “do no harm” and a victim- and survivor-oriented approach.
“Considerable progress has been made in shedding light on and addressing the issue, including through initiatives on civic space under ‘Call to Action for Human Rights’,” he said, adding the U.N. was committed to strengthening its efforts to prevent reprisals. “We will further strengthen our response to reprisal cases and ensure appropriate systems are in place to identify, document and report on incidents, including those in the annual reports. We will reinforce the dissemination of information on what reprisals are and how to report incidents, in particular for U.N. bodies where reprisals are repeatedly reported,” he added.
The reported noted that the alleged reprisals were encouraging a growing number of people to either choose not to cooperate with the U.N. due to concerns for their safety, or only do so if their identities remained anonymous. Highlighting this, it said victims and witnesses in two thirds of the countries listed in the report had requested anonymous reporting of reprisals compared with a third in last year’s report.
Apart from Pakistan, 39 other states are listed in the report: Algeria, Afghanistan, Andorra, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Burundi, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, France, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Maldives, Mali, Mexico, Myanmar, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Qatar, the Russian Federation, South Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Venezuela, Yemen, and Palestine.