[WSIS CS-Plenary] Tunisia : the paradox of nomination in the UN Human Rights Council

[Sasha Costanza-Chock]

> Tunisia : the paradox of nomination in the UN Human Rights Council While
> continuing harassment of human rights activists
> HRINFO
>
>
> Tunisia : the paradox of nomination in the UN Human Rights Council While
> continuing harassment of human rights activists
>
> Cairo, 7 May 2006
>
> Cairo, 7 May 2006 - The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information
> (HRinfo) condemned today Tunisian security for stopping the journalist and
> human rights activist, Naziha Rajiba (Om Zied), at the Tunisian airport
> for four hours and confiscating personal documents and a HRinfo study.
>
> Rajiba was returning from Cairo, where she participated in a conference
> commemorating World Press Freedom Day, on 3 May, titled "What do Arabs
> lose from continuing to imprisonment in publishing cases", organised by
> the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR), HRinfo, Cairo Institute
> for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), the New York based Committee to Protect
> Journalists (CPJ), and the Egyptian Press Syndicate.
>
> On Thursday 4 May Tunisian security stopped Rajiba at the Tunisian airport
> for four hours. Security officers tried to confiscate the book "The
> Authorized Biography of Nelson Mandela". Authorities confiscated a study
> prepared by HRinfo on fabricating sexual cases against journalists and
> activists in Egypt, Tunisia, and Bahrain, in addition to other personal
> documents.
>
> "It is a farce that the Tunisian government nominates itself to become a
> member of the newly established UN Human Rights Council at the same time
> as it continues to harass human rights activists and confiscate their
> personal papers," said Sally Sami, HRinfo program coordinator.
>
> It is expected that elections for the UN Human Rights Council will be held
> next 9 May.
>
> "The international community should hold the Tunisian government
> accountable for its oppressive behavior towards journalists and human
> rights council instead of giving it a seat in the UN HRC" Sami added.
>
> It is worth mentioning that the journalist and human rights activist,
> Naziha Rajiba (Om Zied), is a member of HRinfo’s consultative board and is
> a victim of dirty operations perpetrated by Tunisian security authorities
> embodied in their attempt to smear her reputation. The last of such
> operations targeted Om Zied’s family
>