NEW YORK (Oct. 17, 2024) — Last week, the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) submitted contributions to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) regarding Laos and Türkiye.
“Laos and Türkiye, though separated by geography, culture, and history, share a troubling commonality: a sharp decline in their commitment to democratic principles and international human rights law,” HRF Chief Advocacy Officer Roberto González said. “HRF’s submissions paint a harrowing picture of the reality unfolding in these nations — systematic suppression of dissent, violent crackdowns on human rights activists, and the stifling of free expression, particularly on social media.”
HRF’s submission on Laos highlighted the country’s worsening human rights situation, especially in regards to arbitrary detention, extrajudicial killings, and enforced disappearances. Since the last UPR cycle, Laos has repeatedly arbitrarily arrested, forcibly disappeared, or even killed activists who peacefully protest the regime’s human rights abuses. Many of those detained or still missing are members of Free Laos, a group of activists-in-exile based in Thailand who were either arrested upon returning to Laos to visit family or killed in the forests of Thailand. HRF also called upon the regime to repeal laws relating to cyber crime and disband the task force created to monitor social media, measures implemented solely to suppress dissent.
In its submission on Türkiye, HRF emphasized the ongoing erosion of the rule of law and democratic institutions throughout the country. Judicial harassment and increasing control over social media platforms pose serious threats to freedom of expression. Türkiye has the highest rate of prisoners and detainees among Council of Europe countries, with Kurdish speakers disproportionately subjected to torture and ill-treatment in custody. Furthermore, the regime continues to fail to adequately prevent femicide and violence against women, children, and gender minorities. HRF urged the regime to protect the rights of activists, journalists, LGBTQ+ organizations, and opposition groups to operate peacefully and safely, to ratify the Istanbul Convention, conduct independent investigations into violence against women, and enact laws against bias-motivated crimes.
