Johannesburg, 8 November 2012: Global civil society network CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation urges the government of Pakistan to take urgent action to address human rights concerns raised by UN Member States on 30 October 2012 during the 14th Session of Universal Period Review (UPR).
Pakistan is consistently regarded as one of the most dangerous places in the world for journalists. According to international watchdog groups, at least eight journalists have been murdered since the beginning of 2012, including three in the southwestern province of Balochistan. Most recently, on 29 September in Khuzdar, Balochistan, Abdul Haq Baluch, a reporter for ARY News TV and the Daily Awan and Tawar newspapers, was killed while on his way to Khuzdar Press Club in Balochistan by two unidentified perpetrators.
Under the new government elected in March 2008, women’s rights activists continue to face severe reprisals for carrying out their legitimate work. On 9 October 2012, Ms. Malala Yousafzai, 15, was shot in the head while on her way to school by members of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Malala, who is a vocal advocate for girls’ education in the Swat Valley and recipient of the Pakistan National Peace Prize, was attacked by TTP members for promoting “Western culture in Pashtun areas.”
Earlier this year on July 4, Ms. Farida Afridi, co-founder of the Society for Appraisal and Woman Empowerment in Rural Areas, was also murdered in broad daylight in Jamrud, Khyber Agency. At the time of reporting, those responsible for the attacks against Malala and Afridi have not been charged.
Furthermore, as noted by the governments of France, Namibia and the United States, Pakistan’s blasphemy laws under Section XV of the Pakistan Penal Code severely undermine the right to the freedom of thought and expression. The laws, which include excessively vague and overbroad definitions of blasphemy and lack adequate safeguards against abuse, are routinely invoked to silence independent religious dissent. On 16 August 2012, Ms. Rimsha Masih, 14, was detained in Islamabad on charges of blasphemy following accusations that she had intentionally defiled pages of the Koran. While currently released on bail, Masih could face the death penalty if convicted.
The endemic rate of enforced disappearances committed by security and paramilitary forces is also cause for serious alarm. Human rights groups have reported that over the past decade approximately 7,000 individuals have been arbitrarily arrested and detained in unknown locations without access to lawyers or family members. While the government-run Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances has pledged to consider over pending 500 cases of enforced disappearances, several governments, including Germany, Sweden and Belgium, highlighted the Commission’s limited authority to hold security or intelligence agencies accountable
In line with recommendations made by UN Member States during Pakistan’s examination during the 14th Session of the UPR, CIVICUS calls on the government of Pakistan to uphold its commitments under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by: (i) repealing or reforming the blasphemy laws under the Pakistan Penal Code to ensure that the right to freedom of religion, thought and expression of all persons is respected; (ii) developing a national policy for the protection of human rights defenders and bringing all perpetrators of attacks against human rights defenders to justice; (iii) introducing legislation prohibiting attacks against journalists and effectively investigate all instances of harassment and abuse against journalists; and (iv) providing the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances with the resources and mandate to investigate and prosecute all perpetrators of enforced disappearances including intelligence and law enforcement agencies.