In Saudi Arabia, women human rights defenders who challenge the structural discrimination in the country are now imprisoned and called “traitors” for campaigning for gender equality. ISHR and Nazra called on the Saudi and Egyptian authorities to immediately release all those detained for their legitimate human rights activities, to drop all charges against them, and to guarantee a safe and enabling environment for human rights defenders.
In a statement delivered at the 38th session of the UN Human Rights Council, ISHR and Nazra for Feminist Studies called on the Saudi and Egyptian authorities to immediately release all those detained for their legitimate human rights activities, to drop all charges against them, and to guarantee a safe and enabling environment for human rights defenders.
Since 15 May, at least 12 women human rights defenders have been arrested and detained. Many of them had been campaigning for ending male guardianship over women and for women’s right to drive. Some of them remain held incommunicado.
In Egypt, woman human rights defender Mozn Hassan was summoned this month for interrogation as part of the “NGO foreign funding case”- a case that aims to eradicate the human rights movement in the country. She is facing charges that carry sentences of life imprisonment. Hassan’s organisation, Nazra for Feminist Studies, documents sexual and gender-based violence, provides legal aid to survivors of sexual violence and works on empowering women’s political participation.
Last month, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders and representatives from all of the UN human rights treaty bodies have affirmed that all forms of abuse or undue restrictions against human rights defenders constitute violations of States’ parties obligations towards the realisation of rights set out in the Treaties.
“It is not a crime to expose human rights violations and protect fundamental freedoms. The judicial harassment, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance experienced by women defenders in Egypt and Saudi Arabia are egregious violations of international human rights law”, said Pooja Patel, ISHR Programme Director.
“Being a member of the Human Rights Council, States have an obligation to uphold the highest standard of human rights. It is about time that Egypt and Saudi Arabia comply with their obligations by immediately putting an end to the persecution of defenders”, said Salma El Hosseiny, ISHR’s Human Rights Council Advocate.
Watch the statement here:
Read the full statement here. The statement is supported by the Women Human Rights Defenders MENA Coalition.
Photo: Wikipedia Commons/Flickr Al-Jazeera
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