The ICJ, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch urge Pakistan’s government to stop the deplorable practice of state agencies abducting hundreds of people throughout the country without providing information about their fate or whereabouts.
The Protection of Pakistan Act 2014 signed today by the President will aggravate human rights violations in the country instead of helping to protect Pakistani people from attacks by armed groups, the ICJ says.
The ICJ today delivered an oral statement on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, expressing concerns about recent and pending legislation in Pakistan on the use of firearms and other force by law enforcement officials.
The joint statement, delivered at the UN Human Rights Council during the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur and on behalf also of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), expressed appreciation for the Special Rapporteur’s emphasis in his study on the issue, on the need for states to bring domestic laws on the use of force by law enforcement agencies, into line with international standards.
The statement noted that it was not clear whether the Protection of Pakistan Ordinance (PPO) 2013, which is currently in force, and the proposed Protection of Pakistan Bill (PPB) 2014 currently being debated in Parliament, were provided for review.
The statement explained how the PPO and PPB contain provisions that give law enforcement agencies overbroad powers to use firearms without independent accountability, in contravention of international standards. They increase the risk of use of excessive and lethal force and arbitrary deprivation of life.
The full statement may be downloaded in PDF form: Advocacy-HRC26-SREJEs-12062014.
The Report of the Special Rapporteur is available here.
The ICJ today called on the Pakistan Senate to reject a Bill that would grant the military and law enforcement authorities sweeping powers to detain individuals, in contravention of international human rights standards.
The assassination of Pakistani human rights lawyer Rashid Rehman highlights the perils facing human rights defenders in the country and the government’s ongoing failure to protect them, the ICJ said today.
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