ODVV Statements at26th Session of the Human Rights Council

Madam chairman,
We condemn all wars. Unilateral coercive measures are pre-cursers to wars and conflicts. Suffice to mention Iraq, Afghanistan, Yugoslavia, and so many others, the best present case to illustrate the point is Iran. Since 1979, the USA has imposed various unilateral coercive measures on Iran, as a political tool to further their foreign policy objectives, against all the prevailing international instruments that prohibits such use. The oil embargoes and asset freezes were extended to a ban over a variety of basic goods and necessities under the pretext of “dual-use items”. The hardship was exacerbated by the ban on investment and trade particularly that of the oil industry sector where the livelihood of millions of workers were depended upon and were pushed to a life of poverty against the most basic of all human rights principles and at a time when the eradication of poverty was a goal to be achieved by 2015. Punishing third parties that deal with Iran, together with the prohibition on the gasoline import, stifled basic economic activities and contravened the human right to development as well as disrupting transportation of food and pushing the prices up and many into unemployment. The worldwide restrictions on financial transactions , severely hindered the purchasing of medicine and surgical appliances , placing millions of people at risk and causing directly or indirectly death of many against the provisions of the UN charters and against all cherished rights to life and good health and food and housing and freedom from poverty and starvation as stipulated in the universal declaration of human rights , the Vienna declaration , the international convention on civil and political life , and the international convention on economic ,social ,and cultural rights . The latest justification for these illegal unilateral coercive measures is the nuclear programme where no evidence was presented to counter the total compliance of Iran with the non-proliferation treaty. The USA’s intelligence report of 2007 clearly triggers the legal principle of estoppels which bars them from relying on such justifications. The discriminatory nature of the actions falls within the jus cogens violation under article 53 of the Vienna Convention. These illegal coercive measures coupled with the intention to change the policies of the country, are in violation of the principle of non-intervention and we would strongly recommend the lifting of these measures.

Thank you Madam Chairman.
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Item 4: Necessity for further attention of international mechanisms to rights of Shia minoritiesMr. President

Religious believes has been enshrined in the Universal declaration of human rights where respect for religious diversity promotes societal harmony and enhances world peace. Yet the Shia minorities all over the world have been subjected to the lot of repressive and inhumane atrocities.
In some countries, as example: Bahrain, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the Shia minorities are being discriminated against in housing, employment, education and health service and deprived from any meaningful political participation.
During the last year, in many parts of the world, the Shia minority faced on the different kinds of discriminations and sufferings. Recently, being the disturbing news of the openly convened meeting of the Indonesian Anti-Shia Alliance where some participants wearing ski masks and the phrase “heresy Hunters” printed on their t-shirts calling for violence and sectarian purging.
Article 1 of the declaration on the right of persons belonging to national or ethnic and linguistic minorities, requires states to protect the existence and identity of minorities within their territories. The ICCPR stipulates that states shall not deny their religious minorities the right to practice their believes.
Unfortunately, the Shia minorities in Indonesia and Malaysia are neither protected nor allowed to exercise their religious rights.
In 2009, at this very place, Saudi Arabia promised to uphold rule of law and due process and respect as well as protect the right of the Shia minority, but as has been reported they have not only failed to implement any of their promises but in fact extended the persecution of Shia minority and ratcheted up their repressions and arbitrary arrests and unfair trials and ill-treatments.
This NGO believes that it is the duty of the international community to hold these states to account and appeal to this Council to employ all the available human rights instruments in the protection of Shia minorities all over the world.
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Item 5: Human Rights Bodies and MechanismsMr. President

International peace and security has repeatedly been put to challenge in today's world due to ethnic conflicts. More than one hundred wars have taken place in the world since the end of the Second World War, most of which have been ethnic conflicts.

Although in recent years the idea of the protection of minorities as a specific item have appeared in human rights studies and recorded in conventions and resolutions, but the way in which a general principle is reached for the protection of the rights of minorities is a question that has not been answered.

One of the most important existing problems in the way of solving minorities’ issues is the exploitation of political groups from the position of defending minorities' rights, where in most instances on the pretext of defending minorities rights will resort to extremist acts such as assassinations, spreading fear and committing violent acts.

While emphasizing oد the minority rights, we believe that the defense of the rights of minorities must not become a tool for extremist groups for their political objectives, and while this NGO deems violence against minorities as a violation of human rights, it stresses that any form of acts of terrorism and violence on the pretext of defending minorities rights will not only spread hatred among different groups of society but will cause further violation of the rights of minorities.

We believe that efforts to identify extremist and opportunist groups from the real defenders of minorities' rights can be a first step in the reduction of violence and an effort towards the protection of the rights of minorities.
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Item 6: The UPR mechanismWhile reminding that the weak, little effective performance, and the double standards of the "Commission on Human Rights" which ultimately led to its dissolution. It was an impetus for the Human Rights Council and the UPR mechanism to preserve its legitimacy and status among countries.
With the aim of monitoring, promotion and protection of human rights in all countries, through the equal treatment of all countries, the Human Rights Council set up the UPR mechanism as one of its most important monitoring tools.
The foundation stone of this mechanism was its universality, according to which the human rights commitments of all 193 countries of the world are reviewed and assessed through an interactive and mutual dialogue with the international community. This was the essence of the UPR mechanism. But the thing that is damaging the universality of this mechanism is Israel's failure to effectively participate in this process.
In the 25th Session of the Council in March, Israel's review turns to be moved around in the Council's programs.
This sort of behavior not only challenges the universality of the UPR, but it is also worrying that it might turn into a dangerous trend and model for others to behave similarly. This issue seriously threatens the performance of the Council and brings back memories of the Commission on Human Rights in the minds of the public, while the rights of other countries are violated within the most important human rights body in the world.
While expressing grave concern over this adopted trend, this NGO calls upon the Human Rights Council and the UPR mechanism to foresee more effective implementation guarantees for the equal participation of countries in this mechanism for the preservation of its credibility and respect of the rights of other countries.
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Item 6. Yemen UPRMr. President,

The Houthi minority in Yemen have been persecuted by consecutive governments in Sana and their allies over a number of years, particularly in the last decade.
Houthis have been discriminated against in every aspect of life and excluded from any meaningful participation in political or economic activities. And under the pretext of war on terror, they have been victimized more than any other sections in society.

Although Yemen has been suffering from historically unprecedented strife and all side of the community have endured tremendous hardship, the Houthis had to bear greater burden of the misery and destruction.
As a minority that has no power, no friends, no outside help or recognition, they would constitute the very victimized minority that this council and the international community should pay attention to.
We would call upon the government of Yemen to adhere to its international obligations and respect the Houthi minorities rights and endeavor to accommodate them in any ongoing or future settlement negotiation for a peaceful and inclusive Yemen for all Yemenis.

Thank you Mr. President

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Item 7: Violation of human rights in occupied territoriesMr. President
According to the Fourth Geneva Convention, the construction of Israeli settlements in the occupied territories of West Bank, Eastern Quds , and in the Golan Heights is illegal. Convention prohibits "an Occupying Power from transferring its civilian population into an occupied territory and it could be considered a war crime falling under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court".
Also the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights acknowledged on March 2014 that the construction of illegal settlements and settlers’ attacks against Palestinians are the major source of human rights violations in the occupied West Bank and East al-Quds.
More than half a million persons live in over 120 illegal settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories in 1967. We believe that Israel governments consider human settlers as human shield in their militaristic approach to peripheral environment and that is against human dignity.
Despite all efforts by international community, but still we witness indifference of Israel to international will, especially on halting illegal construction of settlements.
The condemnation of ominous process of settlements is one of the rare issues among all other issues in occupied territories of Palestine that created international consensus even between some Israel supporters.
Our NGO is worry about Palestinian conditions in the said areas. We want UN and international community to behave on a more active and concrete approach to solve this long lasting problem. If someone looks carefully, he finds out that the way Israel is behaving is the root cause of the most of today's Middle East problems.
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ITEM 9 : NECESSITY TO COMBAT DISCRIMINATION, ISLAMOPHOBIA AND XENOPHOBIA AGAINST MUSLIM MINORITIESMr. President , the Vienna and Durban Declarations comprehensively condemn and call for elimination of all forms of discrimination , xenophobia and islamophobia .but despite the efforts undertaken by the international community ,islamophobia and xenophobia is raging (persisting) around the world unabated and with impunity ,resulting in extreme violence and discrimination , in violation of the most basic human rights principles ,and negating the purpose of the Charter of the United Nation ,
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The negative consequences of islamophobia and xenophobia is contributing to abject and de-humanizing conditions of extreme poverty and everyday occurrence of violence whipped (not just by the extreme right groups but in fact) by the established political parties and governments and their media organisations, diverting their political impotency into criminalising muslims and immigrants .

Whereas interaction reduces prejudice and boosts tolerance, governments now are silencing speech and increasing social divisions and creating sense of crisis in which they can thrive in, and openly calling for the rolling back of the human rights To the extent of the claim that human rights are luxury they can not afford anymore.

We call upon this council to condemn all criminals masquerading as politicians from (Canada/UK to Australia ) to stop using islamophobia and xenophobia as means to get to office , and call upon their governments that human rights are not a luxury but is an obligation that they must adhere to and stop giving legal recognition to bigotry and passing discriminatory laws against muslim minorities. And Their law enforcement agencies can not and should not concoct evidence and harass with impunity .

We call upon this council , in the strongest of terms , to remind those states of their human rights obligations to the muslim communities (and stop hiding behind the veil of immigration control argument) , and urge this council as a matter of highest priority to combat this scourge - by all the appropriate and available means at its disposal
Thank you Mr. President .
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ITEM 9Mr. President , This NGO condemn all wars . Economic sanctions are pre-curser to wars and conflicts . Suffice to mention Iraq .

Since 1979 , the USA has imposed various sanctions on Iran, as a political tool to further their foreign policy objectives , against all the prevailing international instruments that prohibits such use.

The oil embargoes extended to a ban on basic goods and necessities under the pretext of “ dual-use items”. The hardship was exacerbated by the ban on investment and trade particularly that of the oil industry effecting the livelihood of millions of workers that were pushed to a life of poverty against the most basic of all human rights principles at a time when the Eradication of poverty was a goal to be achieved by 2015 .

Prohibition on the gasoline import , stifled basic economic activities and contravened the human rights to development as well as disrupting transportation of food and pushing the prices up as well as many into unemployment.

Restrictions on financial transactions hindered the purchase of medicine and placing millions of people at risk and causing directly or indirectly death of many against the provisions of the UN charters and against all the principles of rights to developmen as stipulated in the human rights declarations .

Economic sanctions are the greatest threat to development of nations and some of the racist and discriminatory nature of them violates the peremption norms under article 53 of the Vienna convention .
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SYRIA SITUATION, INTERACTIVE DIALOGUEMr. President,

To day, yet again we are witnessing the barbarity of what is happening in Iraq- the disastrous Legacy of the most obnoxious of course illegal occupation. The same terrorist groups were responsible for and carried savage, brutal and inhumane atrocities in Syria. Whereas the world is waking up to these notorious groups, the organization for defending victims of violence for the last few years has been warning this council on the dire situation in Syria- initiated by this terrorist groups- encouraged and supported by the same states that have always brought misery and destruction to the whole of the middle east. But unfortunately our warnings were unheeded by this council (and some states on based on their narrow political stand and not based on human rights principles),as it has done on the issue of shiia minorities rights and Islam phobia in Europe and north America.
The human rights council's oral report of 18th of March this year (2014) has documented a long list of rapes, tortures and summary execution of detainees like those in Haqrim and al Raqqah by theses terrorist groups- and believes that they amount to violation of international humanitarian laws and constitute war crimes (of murder).
Legitimate and peaceful demand by the people were hijacked by these terrorist groups and with the help of the enemies of the Syrian people wreaked havoc Syria, based on some obnoxious geopolitical calculations to the detriment of the Syrian people.
The situation in Syria could have been resolved peacefully. This NGO believe it is still possible to do so. We urge all sides in Syria to strive for a peaceful negotiation and a peaceful resolution to all their differences. We ask the government of Syria to extend its amnesty to all those who want to take part in a peaceful settlement and endeavor to facilitate their accommodation in the decision making mechanism that is required to achieve that aim. We also urge this Council to use its good offices and exert pressure on those states that are fuelling sectarian wars between what it was a peaceful existence of ancient and most civilized people of the world and once again warn this council of the danger that these notorious states are posing through Islam phobia and attacks on shiia minorities in the world.


Thank you Mr. President
Despite all the efforts of this council and clear resolutions and declarations that deem such acts illegal, unfortunately it is still being used by handful of states with impunity.

These sanctions coupled with the intention to change the policies of the target countries, are in violation of the principle of non-intervention and we would strongly recommend the lifting of all economic sanctions against whomever they are imposed upon.

thank you Mr. President