HR abuses against MPs reach a new high : IPU

Human rights abuses against parliamentarians reached a new high in 2017, according to Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) statistics.

Parliamentarians from Cambodia, Maldives, Turkey and Venezuela alone, where the political situation has been worsening in recent times, account for 35 percent of the cases.

The Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians reviewed a total of 116 MPs from 13 countries in Asia.

They are from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

This figure is a significant increase from previous years, with 78 MPs in 2014, 94 in 2015 and 110 in 2016, according to the IPU data UNB obtained from Geneva on Friday.

Opposition MPs account for 92 percent (107) of the complaints with 3 percent (4) from the majority.

The most common complaints in this region include violations of freedom of expression, arbitrary arrest and detention, followed by torture and ill-treatment.

There were several positive developments in the region. Notably, in Mongolia the government agreed to make publicly available judicial records related to the investigation into the 1998 assassination of Zorig Sanjasuuren, an MP and pro-democracy leader.

Several cases were closed in the region. The Committee closed a longstanding case in Myanmar following wide-ranging reforms and the release of all former members-elect under consideration in the case.

The Committee also closed the cases of three opposition MPs in Malaysia given that they had either been discharged or the charge under the Peaceful Assembly Act had been dismissed.

Finally, there was significant progress in the case against the suspects of the assassination in 2005 of Sri Lankan MP Pararajasingham. Trial for the case is set for this month.

In 2017, the committee adopted a total of 16 decisions concerning 99 parliamentarians in eight countries, and carried out to two on-site missions.

Cases of abuses against women MPs have also reached a record number this year, having tripled since 2014. El Salvador, Turkey and Venezuela account for this year's huge increase.

The IPU's annual review, launched ahead of International Human Rights Day, reports that, in 2017 the Organization's Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians examined the cases of 507 MPs in 41 countries.

These included 62 new cases involving MPs from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malaysia, Maldives, Palestine and Venezuela. In 2013, for example, there were a total of 266 cases under review.

The Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians seeks to protect and offer redress for parliamentarians whose human rights are at risk or have been abused.

Through a dialogue with the countries concerned, the Committee aims to promote concrete solutions that are in line with international and national human rights standards.

"The unprecedented number of cases the Committee is addressing is unacceptable. It is another alarming reminder that democracy, its institutions and MPs are increasingly under threat," said IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong.

"All of us in the parliamentary community need to do better to protect the principles and values of democracy as set out in the IPU's Universal Declaration on Democracy and guarantee the rights of all our colleagues."

The regional breakdown of the data shows that 39 percent of MPs affected by violations are from the Americas, 23 percent from Asia, 17 percent from Africa, 12 percent from Europe, 8 percent from the Middle East and North Africa, and 1 percent from the South Pacific.

Most of the MPs concerned are from the opposition, accounting for 76 percent of the cases.

In 2017, 42 new decisions were adopted by IPU. They express specific concerns, acknowledge progress and setbacks in the cases and call on the authorities of the countries concerned to take effective steps towards a satisfactory settlement of the cases.

They also call on all IPU members to take action to assist in finding solutions through an array of measures available pursuant to the principle of parliamentary solidarity.

During the year, the Committee conducted two on-site missions to Mongolia and the Philippines, and mandated two trial observations to Turkey.

The Committee closed 24 cases. 83 percent of them had been satisfactorily resolved.
The Americas, for the second year, was the region with the most parliamentarians affected by alleged violations.

The Committee considered the cases of 200 parliamentarians from seven countries in comparison to 155 in 2016. A sudden surge of new cases from Venezuela accounted for the increase.

Out of the 200 MPs, 72 percent (144) are from the opposition and 28 percent (55) from the majority.

Lack of fair trial, undue suspension or revocation of the parliamentary mandate, torture, mistreatment and other acts of violence were the most frequent types of alleged abuses.

UNB/LY