At the launch of its annual report in Geneva on 26 March, Alkarama chastised Arab States for trying to undermine, not only the United Nations human rights system, but also Arab civil society, all this under the pretext of countering terrorism, a label that has become the weapon of choice for authoritarian regimes to stifle criticism.
From Mauritania to Oman, from Syria to Sudan, Alkarama has documented this year an increasing number of cases of human rights defenders and lawyers, journalists, bloggers and even ordinary citizens charged with terrorism-related offences for peacefully expressing dissenting opinions to those of their government. "Besides trying to impose a tight rein on UN experts and Special Rapporteurs, these authoritarian regimes have adopted another strategy – that of attacking NGOs and civil society directly, in the name of the fight against terrorism," said Rachid Mesli, Legal Director at Alkarama.
Among the countries that caused most concerns to Alkarama in 2014 figured Egypt, which according to Alkarama's estimates arrested this year over 20,000 people for political reasons, reinstated the death penalty after a moratorium imposed in 2011, and made itself complicit in the disappearance of hundreds of people and the torture of thousands of others, including children. "Sadly, the year 2014 has been in the continuity of 2013, with the confirmation that we are faced with a State of lawlessness and, what is more, a military one, where not only civil and political rights are violated, but also the most basic human rights – such as the rights to life and security," deplored Thomas-John Guinard, Regional Legal Officer for the Nile region.
In the Mashreq, Jordan also reinstated the death penalty after an eight years moratorium, with the hanging of 11 men in December 2014. Strong concerns were raised over the extension of the scope of the Antiterrorism Law, in June 2014, which already criminalises acts related to 'contesting the political system' or 'challenging the regime'. Moreover, "the authorities continue to block hundreds of websites under the pretext that they must obtain an 'authorisation', an excuse for the authorities to exercise its control over the media," explained Inès Osman, Regional Legal Officer for the Mashreq region.
Iraq was also a subject of great concern, with the State rejecting most recommendations made during its last review by the Human Rights Council in October 2014, including those related to establishing a moratorium on the death penalty with a view to abolishing it completely, or even that 'to put an end to extra-judicial killings, arbitrary detention and torture'.
In the Maghreb, referring to last week's attack on the Bardo Museum in Tunis, Mesli expressed strong concern that the authorities will use it as a pretext to take even more repressive measures. "In particular, we fear that these events be used to justify serious human rights violations and to ensure impunity for their perpetrators," especially at a time when the Tunisian Interior Ministry himself decided to postpone – 'for security reasons' – the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Code, which provided for the reduction of pre-trial detention and the right to see a lawyer from the outset of the custody.
Algeria was not exempt from criticism with its systematic repression of demonstrations, mass arrests of protestors, censorship of the media and its persistent refusal to shed light on the fate of the victims of enforced disappearances by the security services in the 1990s, even in cases where the Human Rights Committee specifically asked the State to open investigations. "Today, none of the Committee's decisions – issued following Alkarama's actions – have been implemented by the Algerian authorities, who have instead decided to engage in reprisals against the complainants," regretted Mesli.
In the Gulf, the most preoccupying issue was that of the numerous violations of fundamental rights committed in the name of national security and the fight against terrorism. "Those who dare to criticise the Emirs and Kings are automatically and constantly arrested, tortured and harassed, and so are their relatives," observed Radidja Nemar, Regional Legal Officer for the Gulf.
If the citizens of all Gulf States saw their rights further regress – in particular through the toughening of the already repressive laws on the freedoms of expression and association (such as in Kuwait) or the use of new methods to discourage activists 'undermining the image of the State abroad', including travel bans (notably in Saudi Arabia or the UAE) and the deprivation of nationality (in Bahrain and Oman) – "the country in which the situation is most concerning is Saudi Arabia," stressed Nemar. Speaking of Raif Badawi, the blogger sentenced to 1,000 lashes for allegedly 'insulting Islam' and 'breaking allegiance to the King,' Nemar underlined that "it must be understood that there are thousands of Raif Badawis in Saudi Arabia, people who, like him, are severely punished for having merely peacefully expressed their opinions and called for the respect of the rights of their fellow citizens."
Nemar also painted a bleak picture of the situation in the United Arab Emirates where, "under the glossy image of a progressive State is hiding a reality that the Western media fail to see: torture, incommunicado detention and political trials against dissidents and critical voices have reached such a momentum that, today, any person who dares to publicly criticise these practices is, in turn, arrested, secretly detained, tortured, and most of the time prosecuted for terrorism," she explained, reminding the audience of the listing, in November 2014, of numerous widely respected international NGOs based in Europe and the United States on the same level as terrorist organisations such as Al Qaeda, Boko Haram or ISIS.
By and large, both conflict-ridden countries and more stable ones saw a regression of their most fundamental rights in the name of the 'fight against terrorism'. On a more positive note though, Alkarama noted important progress in the Arab civil society's knowledge and understanding of human rights. "At the time of Alkarama's creation in 2004, there was, in the Arab world, an almost general ignorance of the UN human rights protection system," recalled Mesli. "So we are very pleased, today, to see that trend reversed, with the increasing interaction of local NGOs with the UN mechanisms, which has contributed to make their basic rights known to Arab citizens."
This steady development bodes well for the situation of human rights in the Arab World, where governments can no longer ignore the existence of rights. One must remain wary, however, of States who try to reduce the scope and effectiveness of the UN human rights system in the name of the fight against terrorism. This issue is all the more topical considering the adoption, yesterday of a Resolution on the Effects of Terrorism and the Enjoyment of Human Rights (A/HRC/28/L.30) – jointly presented to the Human Rights Council by Egypt, Jordan, Algeria, Morocco and Saudi Arabia – which contains several flaws and do not recognise that the fight against terrorism must comply with international human rights standards.
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