[Voice of Hope January 26, 2024] (reported by our reporter Wen Simin) The 45th session of the fourth round of the Universal Periodic Review (Universal Periodic Review) of the United Nations Human Rights Council was held on January 22. It begins at the Palais des Nations (Palais des Nations) in Geneva, the European headquarters of the United Nations. The day before the review of human rights in China, a conference titled “China’s Deprivation of Universal Human Rights “, focusing on the persecution of Falun Gong and organ harvesting from living persons, was also held at the Palais des Nations . On the 22nd and 23rd, some Falun Gong practitioners from the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, France, the German-speaking and French-speaking areas of Switzerland held truth-clarification activities at the Place des Nations opposite the Palais des Nations.

The day before the United Nations Human Rights Council held the fourth round of the Universal Periodic Review ( UPR ) of human rights in China, a non-governmental organization with United Nations consultative status – “Association for Freedom of Conscience and Individual Collaboration” (French abbreviation CAP LC) organized , together with the organization “Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting ” (DAFOH), held an information meeting titled “China’s Deprivation of Universal Human Rights ” on January 22, specifically focusing on the ongoing persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and organ harvesting. question.

The Coordination of associations and individuals for Freedom of Conscience (CAP LC in French), a non-governmental organization with consultative status with the United Nations , together with Doctors Against Forced Organ Harvesting ( DAFOH ), held a meeting in On January 22, the day before the fourth round of the Universal Periodic Review ( UPR ) of China’s human rights by the United Nations Human Rights Council, a message titled “China’s Deprivation of Universal Human Rights ” was held at the United Nations Palais des Nations. Meeting.

1. This joint submission addresses the state of freedom of religion or belief and freedom of opinion and expression in Nigeria. In particular, it presents an overview of the country’s domestic legal framework and draws attention to specific concerns related to the criminalization of blasphemy. Additionally, the report examines the rise in acts of terrorism and mob violence against Christians and religious minorities, including Muslim minorities, and the related climate of impunity over the reporting period.

We are pleased to extend an invitation to you for a crucial conference addressing pressing human rights issues in China. The focus of this event revolves around the impending Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of China, with particular attention to the ongoing persecution and forced organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a unique mechanism of the Human Rights Council that requires each UN Member State to undergo a peer review of its human rights record every 4.5 years. The UPR provides an opportunity for each state to regularly
Report on the measures it has taken to improve the human rights situation in its country and to address challenges to the enjoyment of human rights; and
Receive recommendations for continuous improvement from UN Member States, based on input from various stakeholders and pre-session reports.
The aim of this side-event we are organising today is to highlight points 203 and 204 of Azerbaijan’s national report on landmines.

With an estimated 26,000 people a year becoming landmine victims, this indiscriminate weaponry poses one of the most challenging threats to human life and dignity and thus affects inalienable fundamental human rights.
The UN human rights machinery has a key role in addressing the negative impact of landmines, explosive remnants of war and other improvised explosive devices on the enjoyment of human rights of mine victims in the context of humanitarian mine action. It can also be instrumental in bringing to the fore the utmost importance of providing international assistance in mine action including protection and restoration of inalienable human rights of mine victims.
The side event intends to discuss humanitarian mine actions in light of this very role of the UN human rights machinery. It also aims to raise awareness on the importance of full and effective protection of fundamental human rights when related to humanitarian mine action. Other objectives of the event include exploring effective ways to address the humanitarian, socio-economic and environmental impact of landmines, explosive remnants of war and other IEDs; highlighting the importance of international cooperation and assistance in mine action which aims at eliminating the threat posed by mine contamination to the security of States and safety of their populations, facilitating post-conflict rehabilitation, including the return of refugees and IDPs to their homes, and contributing to sustainable peace and development.

UPHOLDING UNIVERSAL COMMITMENTS:

Addressing the damaging impact of landmines on the enjoyment of human rights

Side event within the 44 session of  the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review

Room XXII, E building, Palais des Nations, Geneva  13 November 2023 / 14.30-16.00

We, together with Human Rights Without Frontiers are deeply concerned about thousands of Ukrainian children who were taken away against their will from the Ukrainian occupied territories to Russia.

We live in an era where journalism transcends boundaries and sparks positive change, and a remarkable example of this has emerged through the ground-breaking reporting by The Punjab Feed, a fresh start-up. Their insightful coverage on the Sikhs of France has ignited a wave of European solidarity for the right to turban, fostering change on an international scale.

This remarkable journey began when The Punjab Feed’s ground report shed light on the challenges faced by Sikh individuals in France due to the 2004 law prohibiting conspicuous religious symbols in state schools. The story reached the hearts of many, resonating with the fundamental principles of human rights and freedom of expression.

Geneva, Sep 29 — The United Nations Human Rights Council Friday heard a joint statement by UNITED SIKHS and CAP Freedom of Conscience, a European nonprofit, regarding Sikh turban rights in France.

Both organisations collaborated on this significant endeavour as co-signatories to the oral statement presented by CAP Freedom of Conscience in Geneva, Switzerland.

The incorporation of the France turban issue in the joint statement, representing both UNITED SIKHS and CAP Freedom of Conscience, underscores the imperative nature of addressing this matter on the international stage.

68. JS2, JS5,JS9 and JS20 expressed concerns about discrimination, persecution, and limited access to justice faced by marginalized communities.115
JS2 highlighted the  discrimination and stigma experienced by Dalits, recommending immediate action through the enactment of an Anti-discrimination Act, representation, access to social services, and addressing discrimination in education and employment. JS5 focused on the persecution  of Ahmadi Muslims and called for stronger legislative and institutional responses, protecting religious practices, ensuring access to justice, and addressing violence and discrimination.  JS9 and JS16 were concerns about the limited justice access, violent attacks, and religious intolerance affecting various religious minorities.

Thousands  of Ahmadi  Muslims  in  Germany who  have fled  severe  religious persecution in Pakistan are awaiting a decision on their asylum  applications. They   belong   to  a religiously  and  politically  persecuted   minority  – the Ahmadiyya Muslim  Community. It  is  recognized   around  the  world   by  human   rights  groups  that Ahmadi Muslims  are  constantly,  ruthlessly  persecuted.

As the case of the 101 detained members of the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light in Turkey continues to gain momentum on the international level, their case is being brought  to EU government delegations at the United Nations Human  Rights Council.

In a side-event of the 54th session of the Human Rights Council in Germany, director of CAP Freedom of Conscience, Thierry Valle, has delivered an oral statement emphasizing the urgent need to grant asylum/humanitarian visas to the 101 members through EU consulates in Turkey as the only way available means to safeguard their right to freedom of religion and their right to life and freedom from inhumane or degrading treatment. 

We, together with United Sikhs welcome the efforts made by France to combat stigmatization and discrimination against minorities since its last UPR.

We remain concerned about France’s policies on freedom of religion and belief, which are leading to a climate of religious intolerance, community withdrawal, hate speech and hate crimes.

As stated in our latest contribution to the OSCE 23 Report on hate crimes, the French policy act as a catalyst for intolerance, in violation of international conventions such as the Durban Declaration.

We are deeply concerned about the recent transfer of 6 billion dollars in Iranian assets from South Korea to the Swiss Central Bank.

Although Reuters has reported that Iran’s use of the funds is explicitly limited to humanitarian aid, we are concerned about their misuse and are shocked that a nation that continually violates the fundamental rights of its citizens could benefit from such a substantial economic measure.

Since May of this year, over 100 Ahmadis from various countries where they were heavily persecuted, have been detained by the Turkish authorities in Edirne Immigration Detention Center. They want to apply for asylum in an EU country.

Those people from the Ahmadi Religion of Peace and Light do not want to stay in Turkey, another Muslim majority country, where people also consider them infidels and treat them as such.

Violence in Yemen in 2023 has seen an uptick , including an increase in targeted attacks  and violent speech towards religious minorities. On 25th May 2023, Houthi militia stormed a peaceful meeting of Bahais in Sana’a and arrested 17, including five women, and continue to detain 11 of them incommunicado. In 2 June 2023, the UN High  Commissioner on Human Rights reported how the Mufti Shamseddin Sharafeddin, appointed by leaders of the Houthi militant movement, accused the detained Bahais of being apostates and saying “they should be killed,” if they did not repent Similar hate speech and incitement has been recorded in Yemen towards Christian converts and others since the start of the conflict and was raised during the virtual 53rd Human Rights Council parallel event co-sponsored by the Slovak Republic Bureau of the Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief.

CAP Liberté de conscience and Human Rights Without Frontiers are deeply concerned about the Ukrainian children who were taken away against their will from the Ukrainian occupied territories to Russia in the framework of the war and whose parents are desperately in search of them.  Both NGOs strongly support the recommendations of the UN Secretary-General, who urges

Recognizing that the Universal Declaration on Human Rights has been and continues to be a source of inspiration for the 193 member states of the United Nations and non-governmental organizations, as shown in the Universal Declaration on Combating and Preventing Forced Organ Harvesting, presented by five NGOs during a World Summit in 2021;

We, together with the NGO Stop Amhara Genocide, have continuously alerted this Council that the Tigray conflict was an opportunity for the Ethiopian government to intensify the ethnic cleansing of the Amhara people started under TPLF regime.

We are deeply concerned about cases of violations of freedom of expression and the misuse of military justice to repress activists and “political dissidents” in Lebanon.

Amendments to the Criminal Code allow the Permanent Military Court to hear civil cases related to national security, with far fewer protections for the defendants.

The use of law and military justice to repress “political dissent” in lebanon: the Omar Harfouch case

CAP Liberté de conscience is deeply concerned about the escalating crisis and human rights violations that are devastating the Amhara region in Ethiopia.