INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL
SUPPORTING FAIR TRIAL and
HUMAN RIGHTS
Registration No. : 2795
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President Statement
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Dr. Abdul Hameed Abbas Dashti
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ICSFT Statement on Human Rights Day 2015 -“Our Rights. Our Freedom. Always.”
On the occasion of the Human Rights Day, 10th December 2015, our organization would like to reiterate its steady support for the right to freedom underpinned in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and consecutive international instruments that shape international human rights. We are dedicated to fight relentlessly to secure and ensure freedom from fear, freedom of speech, freedom of worship and freedom from want.
Today also marks the launch of a year-long campaign to celebrate the 50th anniversary the adoption of the two of the fundamental international human rights treaties: The International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Our organization reckons the fundamental principles enshrined in these treaties, as well as in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The International Bill of Human Rights forged by these three instruments sets the essential corner stone in acknowledging and protecting "the civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights of all human beings". These inborn rights of all cannot be wavered by any influential factors and should be compromised under no circumstances regardless if it is the religious belief, warfare or any new challenges we might encounter in the future.
Throughout years of constant exertion in protecting the basic human rights and freedoms in the Arab region, including but limited to Bahrain, Yemen, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, we have realized that the situation of human rights violations in those countries is rather distressing and dreadful, despite the efforts that have been put forward by the civil society and international community. Though several achievements have been made in the past, the fight for human rights is not even close to victory and we could not celebrate as of yet.
To illustrate, in Bahrain, the government constantly exploits the method of stripping nationality as a tool for political suppression. Recently, on 31 January 2015, a Royal Decree was issued stripping 72 Bahrainis of their nationality. The victims predominantly are former Member of Parliaments, political activists, human rights defenders, journalists, media personalities and scholars. Alike the previous decisions, the victims were not informed and the decision broke out on Bahraini News Agency. Up until now, the total number of stripped Bahraini nationalities is 115 and this atrocious act by the government has rendered the victims to statelessness, vulnerable to tremendous human rights violations of all kinds without national protection.
Severe human rights violations are also observed in Yemen, where the on-going conflicts have injured hundreds of thousands of civilians, displaced 1.4 million people, and left 21 million people in dire need of humanitarian aid. It is reported that the Saudi-led coalition force was intentionally targeting schools and healthcare facilities, which can be amounted to war crimes, causing profound and long-lasting miseries for both local Yemeni people and international humanitarian agencies on the ground.
In Saudi Arabia, the situation is nothing more than discouraging. The civilians are enduring ceaseless oppression from all perspectives. The recent death penalties against Shi'ite protesters are a serious deterioration of human rights condition in the kingdom.
The freedom of expression, association and belief is severely infringed and activists who advocate such right are subject to imprisonment, which is made possible by the discriminatory criminal justice system. Regardless of the government's claims, the facts are gradually unfolding in front of the beholders thanks to the unyielding efforts by the human rights organizations, both regional and international.
Likewise in Lebanon, stressed by the large inflow of refugees also finds itself amidst the whirl of various conflicts, and we have witnessed the deterioration of human rights situation for Lebanese people as well as the refugees residing within the country.
On this day of commemoration, aside from acknowledging the fundamental principles of human rights that we should all hold dear to, our organization would also like to highlight that the circumstances we are facing right now are far from the ideal that was envisioned by the United Nations and the treaty members who had invested remarkable efforts in creating the human rights protection mechanism. And we, today, as the heir of the founding fathers, should pledge to undertake the responsibilities and never accept any compromises or give up any parts of our birthrights as a human being.
ICSFT will continue to stand with all victims who bear the brunt of the ongoing violations. Of substance, we will continue our fight for justice and equality until the total elimination of human rights violations in the Arab region, and around the world.
