ODVV Statements at23rd Session of the Human Rights Council

Item 3: General DebateIn 1986 the "Declaration on the Right to Development" was ratified by the UN General Assembly which deems the right to development as an undeniable human right.
International sanctions against Iran over the recent months on the pretext of nuclear activities and with a concentration on the economic and financial aspects, have reached an unprecedented intensity, in a way that not only economic activities, but all social lives of the people have been affected.

The majority of UN declarations and resolutions stress on realisation of human rights. The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action reaffirms "the right to development, as established in the Declaration on the Right to Development, as a universal and inalienable right and an integral part of fundamental human rights." The Declaration also states that it is an "inalienable human right according to which each and every person has a right to economic, social, cultural and political development where all human rights and fundamental freedoms are fully realised, to participate and cooperate and enjoy these developments."
The “Human Rights and Unilateral Coercive Measures resolution” clearly states that trade, blockade, prevention from transaction and blocking assets are deemed criminal from human rights aspects.

Mr. President
ODVV believes that for the purpose of the enjoyment of the right to development a study on the influence of sanctions on the violation of the human rights, and the prevention of access to development and international information dissemination in this regard and the expansion of legal frameworks and improvement of existing international mechanisms for the elimination of problems as a result of, are all some of the necessary solutions that the Council must consider.
................................................................................................................................................................
Item 4: General DebateIslamophobia in today's world is not necessarily a phenomenon associated to the subject of religion, but on the contrary it’s a purposeful attack against human rights and peace.
In Myanmar, the phenomena resulted in a series of bloody attacks last year.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar has pointed out, in the last two years we have witnessed a rise in violence between Muslim and Buddhist communities, as a result of which many people have been made homeless, and killed.

The ODVV deems the recent incidents in Myanmar as examples of genocide and ethnic cleansing, and calls upon the Human Rights Council to take effective measures through the holding of a special session.

Also, ethnic and religious clashes in countries such as Syria, Iraq, Bahrain and Pakistan are also causes for concern of the ODVV. Now a lot of Christian and Kurdish minorities are getting attacked and killed in Iraq and Syria by extremist elements who might in appearance be Muslims, but deep inside they ignore the most basic teachings of Islam.

We expresses its strong opposition to any forms of extremism, particularly religious and ethnic extremism. While stressing on the need for the sensitization of UN human rights institutions towards Shia-phobia, the ODVV calls upon the international community to intervene and prevent the growth of Salafi extremism in the region. We recommend the Special Rapporteur on religious intolerance to prepare a report on the religious minorities conditions in Syria, Myanmar, Iraq, Bahrain and Pakistan; and to find the root causes of the existing violence, and to present member states solutions for ending the sufferings of Muslim (Shia and Sunni) minorities in these countries.
.................................................................................................................................................................
Item 6: General Debate Reiterating the importance and the practicality of the UPR mechanism, the Organization for Defending Victims of Violence believes that now is the right time to conduct pathology on this process.
The aim of this mechanism is monitoring and protection of human rights, based on equal treatment of all countries. Undoubtedly the strength of the UPR is in its universality, which is the foundation of this mechanism and it cannot allow countries be absent from the second round.
Now, without any given explanation and in a unilateral decision, Israel has failed to cooperate with the UPR mechanism which can bring about a dangerous precedent for the UPR and respect of human rights throughout the world.
The ODVV believes that Israel’s refusal to participate in the UPR process is a hefty blow to the universality of this mechanism. Unfortunately Israel is the founder of a process where if serious measures are not adopted, the UPR mechanism will very easily lose its credibility within a few years.
The 29 January 2013 decision of the Council to postpone the second round of Israel’s UPR is not satisfactory and there is a fear that it will be the basis for future noncooperation. This NGO strongly stresses that while the Council must define examples of continued noncooperation, it must create a strong mechanism for the confrontation with “failure in continued cooperation” such as referral to other international credible bodies like the UN General Assembly for violating nations.

Also the ODVV recommends that a resolution that stresses on the necessity for positive full cooperation between states and the UPR mechanism be adopted.
.................................................................................................................................................................
Item7: General DebateMr. President,
Half way into 2013, and the world is still witness to the continuation of Israel's violation of human rights in the Palestinian Occupied Territories. I would like to highlight only a few of these violations.
Israel continues to demolish Palestinian homes and properties. More than 200 Palestinian structures have been demolished, displacing almost 400 Palestinians from their homes and affecting more than 500 others.
“The Israeli policy of settling civilians in occupied territories constitutes a war crime under the Rome Statute
Israel continues to seriously ignore and violate the right to life of Palestinians. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs documented more than 1,000 injuries and Amnesty International reported 8 protesting Palestinian civilians killed by Israeli fire in the West Bank in 2013.
Among the most serious and alarming human rights violations of Israel is the violation of Palestinian children's rights. A report by the Internationals Solidarity Movement in Hebron documents 47 detentions or arrests of children age fifteen and under by Israel soldiers in 2013.
The Israeli prison administration authorities manifested their policies of medical negligence and torture against Palestinian prisoners which resulted in the death of two prisoners (Abu Hamdiya and Jaradat) in Israel Hospitals.
The systematic violations of Palestinian prisoners also include subjecting the prisoners to cruel, inhumane conditions like solitary confinement, deprivation of family visits and academic education.
The ODVV believes that more effective mechanisms must be created at the international level to prevent the violation of the rights of the Palestinians, and to force Israel to observe international commitments .
................................................................................................................................................................Item 9: General DebateMr. President:
Regretfully nowadays, a new wave of anti-Muslim intolerance and antagonism, intensified by economic recession is sweeping US and Europe. Unfortunately, as we had mentioned before in our previous statements, in a blinkered world of “us and them” some extremists have found in Muslim citizens the “others”.
While considering the importance of dialogue among civilizations and expansion of relations and cooperation between the Islamic World and other cultures and civilizations, ODVV reiterate its commitment to continue efforts in engaging with the other US and European counterparts in projecting the true tenets of Islam, and countering common challenges.
We are of the view that the culture of peaceful coexistence and inter-communal and interreligious tolerance that the international community is trying to achieve, is under threat from marginal and extremist fanatics and from the pervasive xenophobic discourse of a minority of extremist politicians.
ODVV reject all acts and attempts of distortion to associate Islam with terrorism. Nothing could have been farther from the truth. Islam is a religion that implies peace by its very nomenclature. Such stereotyping leads to discrimination and poses grave and multidimensional challenges to global as well as regional peace, security and stability.[1]
ODVV, alongside with all Muslims, calls upon the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to set up an observatory at her office aimed at monitoring and documenting acts that led to incitement to religious hatred, hostility and violence.

[1] . parts of the Declaration by the Annual Coordination Meeting of Ministers of Foreign Affairs of OIC Member States on Countering Islamophobia UN Head Quarters, New York - 24 September 2010