Two days ago, Amnesty International, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN), Human Rights Watch (HRW), Reporters without Borders (RSF), and the World Organization against Torture (OMCT), met with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Navi Pillay, to discuss the ongoing situation in Tunisia.
The NGOs emphasized the importance of the recent developments in Tunisia and their potential impact on the region as a whole. The NGOs also discussed the significant role the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has to play in monitoring and protecting Human Rights on the ground during this critical time. In the meeting, the NGOs put forward several recommendations and requests to the High Commissioner and her office, including:
• A high level visit by the High Commissioner in the near future and for OHCHR presence on the ground.
• An international commission of investigation (a national commission with an international component), supported and monitored by the OHCHR.
• To urge Tunisia to extend a standing invitation to the Special Procedures
• To provide support and technical assistance to the electoral process.
High Commissioner Pillay confirmed the commitment of her office to address the situation in Tunisia and issued a press statement yesterday that referred to the meeting it had with the seven NGOs and confirmed that she will dispatch “a team of highly experienced staff to Tunisia to carry out an assessment of priorities on the human rights front”.
CIHRS also took the opportunity to present a letter to the High Commissioner outlining additional recommendations, including to:
• Support the creation of an independent and impartial national truth and reconciliation committee with the full mandate to uncover and investigate the numerous violations documented during the 23 years of the rule of the former President of Tunisia.
• Support the call for an immediate joint mission to be formed between the United Nations and African Union Special Rapporteurs on freedom of opinion and expression, arbitrary arrests and detentions, and extrajudicial executions to visit Tunisia to investigate violations and open an independent inquiry on the use of excessive force by the Tunisian authorities during the past month’s events.
• Support the call for a Human Rights Council Special Session in order to address the current situation in Tunisia and offer technical assistance to ensure the holding of free and fair elections as well as to carry on independent and impartial investigations and ensure immediate accountability for perpetrators of alleged gross human rights violations.
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