IPU COMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS PUSHES FOR RESOLUTION ON CASES

Members of IPU’s Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians will undertake missions to Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Turkey in the coming months in a push to secure more progress on cases involving the human rights abuses of 72 MPs in the three countries.

The Committee, which concluded a five-day session in Geneva today (18/1), adopted decisions on human rights cases involving MPs in eight countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

In Burundi, cases involving the murder, assassination attempts or politically motivated criminal proceedings against 20 MPs have seen little movement. In a decision taken at the closing session, the IPU Committee stated its President and Malian MP, Kassoum Tapo, would undertake a follow-up visit to Burundi. The resolution on Burundi also expressed concern at the continued delay in the establishment of the much-needed Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the country in the aftermath of a long-running ethnic conflict.

In the DRC, IPU is working on cases involving allegations of human rights abuses of 43 MPs and in Turkey, nine MPs imprisoned on security grounds.

Among the 12 resolutions adopted by the IPU Committee included renewed calls on Israel to end its practice of administrative detention. The Committee had been encouraged by Israel’s release of 20 Palestinian MPs from administrative detention in recent months. But the renewed arrest of six members of the Palestinian Legislative Council last November on the same grounds has again left a significant number of PLC members in Israeli jails.

The IPU human rights body also urged the Sri Lankan authorities to ensure swifter progress in the investigation of the murders of two MPs, Joseph Pararajasingham and Nadarajah Raviraj. No culprit has been held to account to date for the two killings in 2005 and 2006.

IPU’s Committee on the Human Right of Parliamentarians is currently working on 83 cases involving the human rights abuses of 233 MPs in 39 countries across the world. These involve disappearances, harassment, intimidation, unlawful arrests and other politically motivated abuses.