[The following statement was published on the Gulf Center for Human Rights website on 2 March 2013.]
We, the human rights defenders from the Gulf countries and Yemen, convened at the second Gulf Platform for Human Rights Defenders held in Istanbul (1-2 March 2013), and organized by the Gulf Center for Human Rights, stress the following:
We declare our absolute solidarity with the human rights defenders in the region and our complete support without reservations, and while expressing our deep concern and firm rejections for the blatant violations for human rights which violate all relevant religious and international conventions, we condemn the systematic targeting of human rights defenders and their families with all oppressive means, including arbitrary arrests, imprisonment, torture, assassinations, enforced disappearances, withdrawal of nationality, politicized trials and wrongful convictions without evidence, and all other harassment measures attempting to obstruct the peaceful activism for human rights and to shun the demands for freedom, equality, social justice, and necessary reforms.
Additionally, we express our concern and condemnation for the reports confirming the concerted security coordination of the highest level between the Gulf countries governments in targeting the human rights defenders to ban their entry and commute between the Gulf countries, and the extradition of activists between authorities of the Gulf countries in violation of their local and international commitments and treaties. We hold the authorities accountable for all the atrocities and violations of human rights committed daily in the region and we demand that the individuals responsible for such acts to be investigated, prosecuted and brought to justice for the crimes committed, and we stress on the safety of all prisoners of consciousness held for the civil practice of freedom of thought, expression, and right to assembly.
The participants call the countries of the region to ratify the two conventions, the optional protocols, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the convention for Enforced Disappearances
Participants demand the governments of the Gulf countries to take the following measures:
- The immediate and unconditional release of all the human rights defenders and the forcibly disappeared individuals for practicing their rights in expression and peaceful assembly, and to drop all charges related to any practice of rights or liberty, to guarantee the physical and psychological wellbeing of all activists and detainees, and to halt all the unlawful trials.
- Enabling the human rights defenders from the freedom to commute between the Gulf countries without harassment, particularly for the lawyers to guarantee fair and legal trials for all activists and to ensure their rights to communicate with their natural judges under the supervision of the international human rights organizations.
- A stop to all forms of legal prosecutions, threats, intimidations, blackmailing, defamation, denunciation, and accusations of heresy for activists, human rights defenders, journalists, and members of civil society and allowing them to perform their duties with absolute freedom.
- The convened individuals have asked the United Nations to establish an office for the Commission for Human Rights in the Gulf region.
- The convened individuals have demanded the Security Council to submit the Yemeni file to the International Court of Justice to prosecute those individuals involved in committing crimes against humanity, whether during the previous years or currently in South of Yemen.