Saudi FM and new UK counterpart discuss regional situation in phone call    Saudi Arabia, Syria sign 11 qualitative deals at Damascus Fair    Saudi skies witness rare Blood Moon total lunar eclipse    European leaders to visit US to discuss war in Ukraine, Trump says    South Korean worker describes panic and confusion during Hyundai ICE raid    The key to happiness    66% of 12.9 million extremist messages, monitored by Etidal in 90 days, incite violence    KSrelief launches relief and humanitarian projects during visit of Al-Rabeeah to Syria    OPEC+ to increase further oil output in October    Japan's Prime Minister resigns after election defeat pressures    Saudi Justice Ministry to host 2nd International Conference on Judicial Training in Riyadh    Over 47,000 transport violations detected during 340,000 TGA inspections in August    Amended Contractors Classification Law regulations set criteria for dividing major projects    Gamers frustrated as Hollow Knight: Silksong crashes stores on launch    'My mother was my shelter and storm': Arundhati Roy on her fierce new memoir    Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather Jr. set to meet in exhibition boxing match in 2026    HONOR to participate in Global Symposium for Regulators 2025 in Saudi Arabia    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Series laptops redefine learning, creating and gaming    Al Hilal sign Turkish defender Yusuf Akcicek on €22m deal until 2029    Al Qadsiah sign German midfielder Julian Weigl to strengthen defensive midfield    Al Ahli secure Flamengo starlet Matheus Gonçalves in long-term deal through 2027    Sholay: Bollywood epic roars back to big screen after 50 years with new ending    Ministry launches online booking for slaughterhouses on eve of Eid Al-Adha    Shah Rukh Khan makes Met Gala debut in Sabyasachi    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



UN calls for prompt, impartial investigations in Kazakhstan
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 12 - 01 - 2022

As the death toll from the recent unrest in Kazakhstan mounts to 164, the UN Office for Human Rights (OHCHR) on Tuesday requested "prompt, independent, impartial investigations" into the killings, and whether "unnecessary and disproportionate use of force was made by security forces".
Close to 10,000 people are now estimated to be held in detention following the riots. "We understand that the Ministry of Interior has announced that some 9,900 people are in detention as of the 11th of January. Now, this is clearly a huge number," said OHCHR spokesperson Liz Throssell, briefing reporters at the United Nations in Geneva (UNOG).
"Under international law, people have the right to protest peacefully and the right to express their opinions. And they shouldn't be detained simply for expressing their opinions", Ms. Throssell added.
"All those arrested and detained solely for exercising these rights should be released immediately", she added.
She said damage and destruction around the country's largest city of Almaty had been widely witnessed and reported, and although the UN has no clear breakdown of who is being detained, "clearly there will be some people who have been arrested and are likely to be charged," the OHCHR spokesperson said.
She added, that "at the same time, of course, we have to also stress clearly that there were also armed individuals who were taking to the streets of Almaty and other parts of Kazakhstan".
Ms. Throssell stressed that all detainees should have access to a lawyer, as part of their basic human rights.
"What is very important for us is that the ombudsperson, the Kazakh ombudsperson, is able to fulfil fully her mandate related to what is called the national preventive mechanism, and that relates to torture, by visiting places of detention", she said.
According to news agencies, protests began on Sunday when the government lifted its price cap on liquified petroleum gas (LPG), a popular fuel for cars and heating – although that hike was later reversed. Unrest appeared to spread rapidly to include longstanding political grievances.
A state of emergency, which was declared in several areas of Kazakhstan on 5 January (including in the main city of Almaty and the capital, Nur-Sultan) has been extended to the whole country.
A week after the start of the riots that shook the country, calm is gradually returning to Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan. A day of mourning is being observed throughout the country on Tuesday, while the telephone network, Internet and public transport are gradually being restored, OHCHR said.
Meanwhile, UN independent human rights experts on Tuesday, called on the Kazakhstan authorities and security forces to "halt their unrestrained use of force, including lethal force" directed at protesters and called for independent and human-rights based investigations into how the Government used force in recent days to quell protests.
In a statement, the Human Rights Council-appointed experts said they were profoundly concerned that Kazakhstan's President reportedly gave orders to security forces and army to "open fire with lethal force" against protesters he described as "bandits and terrorists".
The Special Rapporteur on counter-terrorism and human rights, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, who carried out an official visit to Kazakhstan in May 2019 - including to Aktau and Almaty - both areas where protests too place - said that Kazakhstan's overly broad use of the word "terrorism" in this context against protesters, civil society activists, human rights defenders, journalists and political parties, appeared to be aimed at instilling fear and was deeply concerning.
Her comments were endorsed by several other independent UN experts.
They cautioned against the inaccurate, rhetorical and overly broad use of the term, noting such use was inconsistent with international law and undermined human rights for all in Kazakhstan.
Misuse of the word "terrorism" undermines the security of all, and "cheapens" this term which has a specific meaning in international law, the statement continued.
The experts highlighted that the term should not be used "to silence those who do not share the Government's opinion, who are protesting about social and economic conditions, and expressing political views."
Acts of violence should be appropriately dealt with under Kazakhstan's comprehensive criminal code, they added, which is "adequately equipped to address these acts. The Government must protect the legitimate exercise of fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression, and peaceful assembly and association", they said.
"The expansive branding of protesters as terrorists is a way to use Kazakhstan's overly broad terrorism legislation that allows for the use of force, including a 'shoot to kill' policy, against any individual determined to be a 'terrorist'," the experts said.
"Such wholesale barriers to freedom of expression and assembly premised on terrorism are absolutely contrary to the strict provisions under international human rights law on the right to life."
The experts recalled that the use of lethal force must be used solely in self-defence and when all other means have been exhausted, including non-lethal force. They stressed that these principles were also applicable to foreign forces operating on the territory of Kazakhstan with its consent. — UN News


Clic here to read the story from its source.