General comments made by other relevant stakeholders

3. General comments made by other relevant stakeholders

806. Human Rights Watch noted that the universal periodic review came at an opportune time when the newly elected government had engaged in a number of human rights reforms. It welcomed the repeal of laws that limit the freedom of the press and the restoration of rights exercised by workers organizations, and urged Pakistan to implement the recommendations aimed at restoring all freedoms suspended during the imposition of the state of emergency. This includes blanket indemnity granted by President Musharraf to himself for suspending the Constitution, and that in spite of this recommendation, elections on 18 February and an elected government assuming office, the country has yet to return to constitutional rule. It regretted that Pakistan has not clearly announced a decision to implement the recommendation that it reinstate the dismissed members of the judiciary and recommended that Pakistan, in the future, fully involve civil society in consultations with the universal periodic review process. It also stated that the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan had expressed discontent with the position taken by the Government during the review that certain recommendations fall outside the scope of universally recognized rights, and do not conform to national commitments. It supports their recognition that safeguards and restrictions to the imposition of the death penalty is a universal and recognized human rights principle and that the Government is misleading itself by denying that the vulnerability of women accused of Zina is not a violation of their rights. Lastly, it regretted the absence of recommendations on disappearances and noted the secrecy surrounding counter-terrorism operations. It welcomed Mexico’s recommendation for Pakistan to adhere to international human rights, humanitarian and refugee laws in its fight against terrorism.

807. The International Commission of Jurists called for the prompt implementation of all recommendations, including recommendations 4, 5, 14, 15 and 16. It noted that Pakistan had yet to address the consequences of the rule of law crisis which culminated in the 2007 state of emergency. It noted that the new Parliament had not yet decided on a method to clearly revoke constitutional amendments made by the Musharraf Government as well as the emergency decrees made under them. The International Commission of Jurists stated that while the Working Group recommended re-establishing an independent judiciary, the governing coalition had been unable to reinstate all the justices and judges deposed during the state of emergency. It highlighted that action against terrorist suspects must comply with the principles of the rule of law and international human rights standards. It further reminded Pakistan of the accessory and substantive nature of the right to equality before the law and to equal protection of the law, and suggested that the Council disregard the contents of paragraph 108 of the universal report of the Working Group on Pakistan.

808. Amnesty International welcomed the substantive exchange that took place in connection with the review of Pakistan and the positive commitments made by the Government. It encouraged it to pursue its work towards the abolition of the death penalty. It welcomed Pakistan’s announced intention to accede to the Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, by the Government’s commitment to the rule of law and by its undertaking to investigate and remedy any alleged human rights violations in pursuit of the war on terror. It urged Pakistan to immediately resolve all acts of enforced disappearance; to ensure the immediate release of all persons held in secret detention or their transfer to official places of detention open to independent monitoring; and to bring to justice officials found responsible. It encouraged the Government to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture and implement them in domestic law. It stressed the need to restore judges who had been removed under the emergency rule and the establishment of a transparent procedure for the appointment and removal of judges to ensure that tenure is secure and free from conflicts of interest, undue influence and intimidation. It noted that Pakistan rejected some recommendations on the grounds that they do not refer to universally recognized human rights while many of these recommendations deal with issues addressed in

United Nations human rights instruments ratified by Pakistan. It encouraged Pakistan to reconsider the recommendations referred to in paragraph 108 of the report of the Working Group and to respond to their substance rather than their form.

809. The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum-Asia), in a joint statement with the International Movement against Discrimination and Racism and Pax Romana, expressed grave concern and disappointment about the constant denials of Pakistan during the review on its human rights record. It stated that the new Government should recognize the oppression, and in some cases indifference in others, exercised by the military-led government in the very recent past. It underlined that while Pakistan stated during the session of the Working Group that there was no form of caste-based discrimination and no Dalits in the country, new research points to the fact that caste-based discrimination is indeed a reality for approximately 2 million people in Pakistan, and the majority of bonded labourers in agriculture, and strongly urged Pakistan to acknowledge this form of discrimination; to prevent the exploitation of bonded labourers; and take effective measures, in line with other affected countries, in order to eliminate this form of discrimination.

810. The European Centre for Law and Justice noted with satisfaction that the important question of religious freedom and the rights of minorities was examined during the interactive dialogue. It noted that, as mentioned by a number of States, the three main issues linked to freedom of religion in Pakistan are the prohibition of religious groups, the existence of blasphemy laws and the frequency of physical violence against religious minorities. Recalling the relevant articles in the Pakistani Criminal Code, the European Centre for Law and Justice noted that although all religions benefit from legal protection according to the Criminal Code, none was as important as the protection afforded to Islam. The European Centre for Law and Justice stated that, in actual fact, the blasphemy law is a repressive tool given to the State religion against the expression of minority political and religious views. The European Centre for Law and Justice concluded by hoping that a general process of revision of the judgements of persons currently imprisoned for blasphemy be undertaken.

811. The Asian Legal Resource Centre welcomed the acknowledgement by Pakistan of the importance of the March 2007 lawyers’ movement and civil society’s role in the struggle for an independent judiciary. It noted the repeated calls for reinstatement of the judges in the report of the Working Group and the fact that the lack of an independent judiciary is equivalent to the suspension of fundamental rights in the country, as there is no effective legal redress available at present. It has recently identified 52 illegal detention centres in Pakistan, where people have been held incommunicado, tortured, disappeared or subjected to summary executions. It welcomed the repeated recommendations to ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. It expressed its serious concern with regard to Pakistan’s denial of the existence of caste-based discrimination. It however welcomes the call to Pakistan in the report of the Working Group to take concrete and effective measures to protect human rights defenders. It shared its disappointment with the Government’s attempts to undermine the review process as a whole and the review of Pakistan, by trying to disregard valid recommendations, notably concerning the Hadood Ordinances, blasphemy laws and the death penalty. It hoped that Pakistan refrains from such actions and commits to addressing all the issues raised.

812. Interfaith International stated that several statements were made during the review of Pakistan to remove restrictions on the freedom of religion or belief, to amend legislation which discriminates against persons belonging to minority religions, to protect freedom of religion and belief in general, and urged Pakistan to take serious note of these recommendations. It referred to several recommendations made with regard to women’s rights, gender equality and opposing violence and discrimination against women, and called upon Pakistan to implement these recommendations seriously. It also recalled observations made during the review on the need of separating the powers of the judiciary from the executive and ensuring the independence of the judiciary. Interfaith International stressed that such matters should be given high priority and serious efforts should be made to satisfy the political, civil, economic, social and cultural aspirations of the Pakistani people.

813. International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia-Pacific expressed its deepest concern on the rejection by Pakistan on recommendations which according to it are not universally recognized human rights. It noted the rejection of recommendation 23 (b) and 30 (d) relating to the non-recognition of marital rape, but welcomed the statement made by Pakistan that it would address marital rape through its criminal justice system, including the proposed domestic violence law. It urged Pakistan to ensure that the perpetrators of marital rape are punished through the effective implementation of the law and hoped that Pakistan’s statement would be accompanied by an acceptance of recommendations 23 (b) and 30 (d). It also noted Pakistan’s rejection of recommendation 62 (e) despite the recommendation of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 2007 to ensure that Qisas and Diyat law has no application in cases of violence against women and urged Pakistan to ensure that domestic law complied with the recommendation of the Committee. Regarding recommendations 23 (b) and 62 (b), it noted that the criminalization of non-marital consensual sex and adultery had been recognized by the Human Rights Committee as a violation of human rights law and noted that it is a practice which particularly discriminates against women and sexual minorities. It called on Pakistan to accept these recommendations.

814. The Islamic Human Rights Commission expressed concern that women’s health rights appear to be neglected in Pakistan. It expressed its deep concern about the outcome of the draft Bill on the National Human Rights Commission, which has not moved since February 2005. It recalled that a number of provisions in the Bill have given rise to criticism, such as the requirement that the members of the National Human Rights Commission must be former government employees, an issue which could have an impact on their independence. Other aspects include methods of appointment of commissioners, their salaries and the funding of the National Human Rights Commission. Finally, it stated that the recent ratification and signature of three core human rights instruments is a significant step forward by Pakistan in fulfilling its pledges and commitments to promoting human rights.