ICC ruling on jurisdiction in occupied Palestinian territory welcome step towards justice: UN expert
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GENEVA (9 February 2021) – A UN human rights expert said today the International Criminal Court s (ICC) ruling that it has jurisdiction over grave crimes committed in occupied Palestinian territory, including potential war crimes, is a major move towards ending impunity and ensuring justice. This is a significant step forward in the quest for justice and accountability involving the unaccountable 53-year-old occupation of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza, said Michael Lynk, the Special Rapporteur for the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967.
UN experts call for halt to contentious tourism resort in Bangladesh
GENEVA (9 February 2021) – UN human rights experts said today Bangladesh should suspend the construction of a large-scale tourist resort in the Chittagong Hills Tracts because it threatens to dispossess the indigenous Mro peoples of their traditional lands and cause serious environmental damage.
The Bangladesh Army and Sikder Group conglomerate company R&R Holdings Limited started construction in September 2020 on Mro land in the Bandarban district.
The experts said they were disturbed about irregular land leasing practices and the Army s denial of access for grazing and water resources on traditional lands the Mro depend on for culture and identity.
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Israel must end impunity for torture and ill-treatment – UN experts
GENEVA (8 February 2021) – UN human rights experts today urged Israel to ensure accountability for torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment universally prohibited under international law.
The call comes after the Attorney-General last month ended investigations into the Israeli Security Agency’s “enhanced interrogation techniques” used against Palestinian Samer Al-Arbeed, who was detained in 2019 on suspicion of involvement in a bomb explosion.
“We are alarmed at Israel’s failure to prosecute, punish and redress the torture and ill-treatment perpetrated against Mr Al-Arbeed. Addressing such abuse is not at the discretion of the Government or the judiciary, but constitutes an absolute obligation under international law,” the experts said.
Thailand: UN experts alarmed by rise in use of lèse-majesté laws
GENEVA (8 February 2021) – UN human rights experts today expressed grave concerns over Thailand’s increasingly severe use of lèse-majesté laws to curtail criticism of the monarchy, and said they were alarmed that a woman had been sentenced to over 43 years in prison for insulting the royal family.
On 19 January, Ms. Anchan Preelert, a 60-year-old former civil servant, was handed what is believed to be the country’s harshest sentence under lèse-majesté provisions, for reportedly having posted audio clips that were critical of the monarchy on her Facebook page between 2014 and 2015. Her case was first raised by the UN independent experts in 2016. She was initially tried in a military court and sentenced to 87 years in prison. Her sentence was halved when she confessed to the alleged violations after her case had been transferred to a civilian court in mid-2019. The decision is being appealed.