UN Human Rights Committee's Concluding Observations on: Sri Lanka, Burundi, Haiti, Malta, Montenegro, Israel
GENEVA, Switzerland, October 27, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The UN Human Rights Committee will be holding a news conference to discuss the outcome of its 112th session on Thursday 30 October at 13:30 in Press Room III, Palais des Nations. Members will respond to questions on their concluding observations, follow-up to past recommendations to States, and their adopted General Comment on liberty and security of person.
The Committee will share with the UNOG-based press corps advance copies of its Concluding Observations, strictly embargoed until 13:30 on 30 October.
Among the issues discussed:
Sri Lanka: Continued application of Prevention of Terrorism Act; impunity for human rights violations by State and non-State actors; extrajudicial killings; enforced disappearances; situation of IDPs; sexual and gender-based violence against women.
Burundi: Allegations of violations of right to life by State agents and failure to investigate and prosecute; gender discrimination; prison overcrowding; reprisals including physical attacks and death threats against human rights defenders and journalists.
Haiti: Impunity for grave human rights violations; violence against women and LGBT persons; prolonged pre-trial detention; extra-judicial killings by police; protection of children against exploitation ("restavek"), abusive adoption and trafficking; forced evictions and closure of camps for people displaced by 2010 earthquake.
Malta: Measures taken to combat racism and xenophobia; criminalisation of abortion; detention of irregular migrants, including asylum-seekers; ill-treatment, excessive use of force by police and soldiers in migrant detention centres; freedom of expression and religion.
Montenegro: Investigation of human rights violations during the war; trafficking in persons; steps to prevent forced and early marriage, discrimination against Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians; procedure for displaced persons and refugees to apply for residence status.
Israel: Punitive demolition of houses in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem; discriminatory planning regime in the West Bank; Israeli settlements; excessive use of force by the Israeli forces, including during military operations in the Gaza Strip.
Committee members will be available for questions arising from the discussion on follow-up to earlier concluding observations including: Hungary; Togo; Bulgaria; Turkmenistan; Guatemala; Portugal; Turkey; Paraguay; Hong Kong, China; Macao, China and Angola. The report can be found here:
http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/TreatyBodyExternal/FollowUp.aspx?Treaty=CCPR&Lang=en
They will also be available for questions on the Committee's adopted General comment on article 9 of the ICCPR which deals with liberty and security of person, including the issues of arbitrary and unlawful detention. An advance unedited version of the Comment will be posted in English on the OHCHR website by the end of the session.
The Human Rights Committee will publish its concluding observations here on 30 October:
http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=811&Lang=en