IPU Committee President Nassirou Bako-Arifari
Sat - 05 Jun 2021 - 11:39 PM ،،،
IPU Member Parliaments have committed to taking action to address alleged human rights violations suffered by MPs in a number of countries, including Egypt, Libya, Myanmar, Philippines, Turkey, Yemen and Zimbabwe. Many of the cases concern actual physical violence against parliamentarians, including against women and young MPs.
During the 142nd IPU Assembly, the IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians presented the cases of 170 MPs it had examined at its latest session to the IPU Governing Council.
This caseload, made up of 158 men and 12 women, represents only a snapshot of the 620 cases from some 40 countries currently being monitored by the Committee. Most of the abused MPs are from opposition parties.
The violations range from enforced disappearance, threats, acts of intimidation, torture, arbitrary arrest and death sentences. Some cases also involve serious threats and violence against prominent women parliamentarians.
In Yemen, the IPU is alarmed at reports that 46 parliamentarians have been arbitrarily sentenced to death by a Houthi-controlled court in Sanaa, in what appears to be a “fatwa”. The MPs were elected in 2003 parliamentary elections for a six-year term and remain MPs in accordance with the Yemeni Constitution.
“It is more and more dangerous to be a parliamentarian in some countries. This is a worrying trend. MPs must be allowed to do their job unhindered and without fearing for their lives.” said the IPU Committee President Nassirou Bako-Arifari.
The IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians is the only international mechanism with a mandate to defend the human rights of persecuted parliamentarians.
Its work includes mobilizing the international parliamentary community to support threatened MPs, lobbying closely national authorities, and sending trial observers. The Committee is made up of 10 parliamentarians, representing the major regions of the world, and elected by their peers for a mandate of five years.