Statement at the 53rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council
Adoption of the UPR report of Benin
Delivered by Cristina Figueira Shah
Thank you, Mr President.
Mr President, Coalition des Défenseurs des Droits Humains-Bénin (CDDH-Bénin), West African Human Rights Defenders Network (WAHRDN), Réseau des Femmes Leaders pour le Développement (RFLD) and CIVICUS welcome the government of Benin's engagement with the UPR process, and its commitment to implement the recommendations to guarantee freedom of expression and the protection of journalists and human rights defenders.
We regret that Benin only accepted 9 of the 21 recommendations it received during this cycle and has noted all recommendations to reform the Digital Code, which unduly restricts freedom of expression. Since its last review, Benin implemented none of the two recommendations relating to civic space.
We remain concerned by repressive provisions negatively affecting freedom of expression, notably in the 2018 Digital Code and the Criminal Code, which has been used against journalists, HRDs and bloggers.
Despite the decriminalisation of press offences in 2015, journalists continue to be arrested and imprisoned. On 13 January 2023, journalist Maxime Lissanon was arrested after the publication of a Facebook post related to the legislative elections of 8 January 2023, and was subsequently charged with ‘incitement to rebellion’. On 20 December 2022, police arrested editor of online radio station Crystal News, Virgile Ahouansè, and charged him with ‘publishing false information aimed at disturbing the peace’ for an investigative story alleging extra-judicial killings at a school in Porto Novo. On 14 June 2023, the Court of Repression of Economic Offences and Terrorism (CRIET), a special court dedicated to prosecuting economic and terrorism-related crimes, sentenced the journalist to a suspended prison sentence of 12 months.
Furthermore, in October 2022, the right to strike, which had already been undermined by the adoption of Law No. 2018-34 of 5 October 2018, was further undermined by the promulgation of a new law, expanding the sectors that are prohibited from strike action. Violating these strike bans can lead to prison sentences between three and 24 months, while solidarity strikes are prohibited.
Mr President, CDDH-Bénin, RFLD, WAHRDN and CIVICUS call on the Government of Benin to take concrete steps to address these concerns, including by revising the Digital Code as to ensure the respect of the freedom of expression, to adopt a law on the protection of HRDs and to ensure that the application of counterterrorism legislation respects human rights.
We thank you
Civic space in Benin is rated as "Repressed" by the CIVICUS Monitor
