The United Nations has blacklisted 42 countries, out of 193, for retaliating against human rights advocates and journalists who are either imprisoned, persecuted, or under official monitoring.
According to a recent report, these activists also experienced retaliation and intimidation for working with the UN on human rights.
The annual report by the UN Secretary General recounts how people—primarily victims of human rights breaches, human rights advocates, and journalists—have faced reprisals and intimidation from State and non-State actors during the previous year, highlighting a number of troubling trends. People were detained, targeted by restrictive legislation, and monitored both online and offline.
“People who attempted or were seen to be attempting to cooperate with the UN were also affected.” Individuals and organisations in one-third of the countries identified in the report either refused to cooperate or consented to report their instances anonymously for fear of retaliation,” according to the report.
“Despite encouraging improvements, such as pledges and shared commitments by member states to avoid retaliation, this report demonstrates the extent to which persons are pursued and prosecuted for raising human rights concerns with the UN.” And we know that, as frightening as this figure is, many cases of retaliation go unreported,” said UN Assistant Secretary General Ilze Brands Kehris, who oversees human rights.
Afghanistan, Andorra, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Brazil, Burundi, Cameroon, China, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, Laos, Libya, the Maldives, Mali, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, the Philippines, the Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, the State of Palestine, Thailand, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Vietnam Nam and Yemen.
