June 19, 2018
38th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council
Oral Update by the High Commissioner – General Debate, Oral Statement Delivered by Mr. Yashasvi Nain on behalf of Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI)
Thank you, Mr. President. The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) welcomes concerns expressed by the High Commissioner on a number of Commonwealth countries. We share his concerns on escalating violent actions taken by the security forces against protestors in the Anglophone region of the Cameroon. Reportedly in last month government security forces have indiscriminately killed, arrested, and tortured people during military operations which have also displaced thousands of civilians.
We call on the government of Cameroon to adhere to its international obligations and release those who are illegally detained. We further urge the government to investigate allegations of violence and torture against Anglophones and prosecute those responsible.
CHRI urges both the Governments of India and Pakistan to review the recommendations made in the OHCHR`s report on the situation of human rights in Kashmir and to take steps to meet these concerns, which have been widely reported domestically over the past years.
Finally, CHRI condemns the recent arbitrary killings of scores of persons by the Bangladesh Government’s Rapid Action Battalion in the recent crackdown campaign against alleged criminals and suspected drug dealers. Those killed have included a ruling party member whose audio recording has gone viral. This so called ‘war on drugs’, resulted in more than 130 killings, in a two-week period last month. The government continues to shield the police force from accountability.
We call on the Bangladesh to immediately suspend its anti-drug campaign and end all killings associated with it, to return to upholding the rights of civilian to judicial process without fear of life or liberty as per its Constitution and international obligations. And we urge the Bangladesh government to order an independent investigation into these allegations of extrajudicial killings.
Thank you Mr. President.