UN experts alarmed by sixth Palestinian child killing by Israeli forces in 2020, call for accountability
GENEVA (17 December 2020) – UN human rights experts today called for an impartial and independent investigation into the killing of a 15-year-old boy by Israeli security forces at a West Bank protest this month, saying they were deeply troubled by the overall lack of accountability for the killings of Palestinian children in recent years.
“The killing of Ali Ayman Abu Aliya by the Israeli Defense Forces – in circumstances where there was no threat of death or serious injury to the Israeli Security Forces – is a grave violation of international law,” said the experts. “Intentional lethal force is justified only when the security personnel are facing an immediate threat of deadly force or serious harm.”
UN experts alarmed by sixth Palestinian child killing by Israeli forces in 2020, call for accountability
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GENEVA (17 December 2020) – UN human rights experts today called for an impartial and independent investigation into the killing of a 15-year-old boy by Israeli security forces at a West Bank protest this month, saying they were deeply troubled by the overall lack of accountability for the killings of Palestinian children in recent years.
“The killing of Ali Ayman Abu Aliya by the Israeli Defense Forces – in circumstances where there was no threat of death or serious injury to the Israeli Security Forces – is a grave violation of international law,” said the experts. “Intentional lethal force is justified only when the security personnel are facing an immediate threat of deadly force or serious harm.”
GENEVA (16 December 2020) – A UN human rights expert today expressed dismay at the shocking treatment of human rights defenders and lawyers in China, saying they continue to be charged, detained, disappeared and tortured five years after the start of a crackdown on the profession under the guise of national security concerns. “Since the so-called ‘709 crackdown’ began on 9 July 2015, the profession of human rights lawyer has been effectively criminalised in China,” said Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders . The UN expert cited the recent arrest and enforced disappearance of human rights defender and lawyer Chang Weiping as emblematic of the Government’s ongoing efforts to silence lawyers who have been outspoken about the deterioration of human rights in China.
UN experts: Bangladesh should release artist jailed over cartoons
GENEVA (16 December 2020) – UN human rights experts today called on Bangladesh to immediately release celebrated cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore due to his deteriorating health condition.
Mr. Kishore was arrested in May after his cartoons “Life in the Time of Corona,” satirising the country’s response to COVID-19, were posted on Facebook in March and April 2020. He was charged under the 2018 Digital Security Act for spreading false news and misinformation on the country’s COVID-19 response.
“Criticism of government policy, including through political satire and cartoons, is permitted under the rights to freedom of expression and cultural rights, and should not be criminalised,” the experts said.
Rights of U.S. indigenous leader must be respected – UN experts
GENEVA (15 December 2020) – UN human rights experts today expressed concerns about charges brought against a U.S. indigenous leader and human rights defender who will appear in court later this week in connection with peaceful demonstrations against President Donald Trump’s political rally at the iconic Mount Rushmore earlier this year.
“Obviously we cannot pre-judge the outcome of the case against Nicholas Tilsen, but we are seriously concerned about his arrest and the charges brought against him in connection with the exercise of his rights as an indigenous person, particularly the right to assembly,” the experts said. “We call on the U.S. to ensure that Mr. Tilsen’s due process rights are respected during the criminal prosecution and recall the obligation to ensure equal protection of the law without discrimination.”