Universal Periodic Review (The Third Cycle) – Stakeholders’ Report to the UN by MARUAH

27 March 2021

In October 2020, MARUAH submitted its Stakeholder’s Report for the third cycle of the Universal Periodic Review focusing on civil and political rights – Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Association, Censorship, Electoral System, Justice (incl minimum working age, corporal punishment, juvenile justice system & death penalty) and Discrimination (incl LGBTQIA, equality of races, women and income inequalities/job opportunities).

We also submitted recommendations in each section based on the SMART framework and draw upon the recommendations made by Human Rights Council to Singapore, our mid-term UPR report (2018), and the past UPRs we have submitted in 2011 and 2015.

Please click here to access the full report.

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[Joint statement] CSOs Condemn Targeting Killing of Afghan Activist and Call for Justice

3 January 2021

24 December 2020

We, the undersigned organisations, strongly condemn the killing of elections monitor and democracy advocate Mohammad Yousuf Rasheed in Afghanistan and urge the authorities to bring those responsible to justice.

On the morning of 23 December 2020, Rasheed, executive director of the Free and Fair Election Forum of Afghanistan (FEFA), was shot by unknown gunmen in Kabul when he was traveling to his office. He later died from injuries in the hospital.

The killing and ongoing threats of violence aim at creating fear and intimidation among those promoting peace and democracy in Afghanistan. In recent months, targeted killings and threatening of prominent figures, including civil society activists, journalists and politicians have been increasing disturbingly. The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) recorded 934 civilian casualties caused by targeted killings from January to September 2020, a 39 per cent increase compared to the same period last year.

We condemn this heinous crime and stand by the people of Afghanistan in support of their aspirations for sustainable peace and democracy. It is essential for the Government of Afghanistan to conduct fair and impartial investigations into these cases and end the impunity of those responsible for the attacks.

Endorsed by,

  1. Asia Democracy Network (ADN)
  2. Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL)
  3. Center for Monitoring and Research (CeMI)
  4. Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV), Sri Lanka
  5. Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), Sri Lanka
  6. Citizen Congress Watch (CCW), Taiwan
  7. Civil Network OPORA, Ukraine
  8. Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0), Malaysia
  9. Committee for Free and Fair Election (COMFREL), Cambodia
  10. European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations (ENEMO)
  11. Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN), Pakistan
  12. Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors (GNDEM)
  13. Jaringan Pendidikan Pemilih Untuk Rakyat (JPPR), Indonesia
  14. Komite Independen Pemantau Pemilu (KIPP), Indonesia
  15. MARUAH, Singapore
  16. National Democratic Institute (NDI)
  17. National Election Observation Committee (NEOC), Nepal
  18. Nepal Law Society, Nepal
  19. Neutral & Impartial Committee for Free & Fair Elections in Cambodia (NICFEC), Cambodia
  20. Odhikar, Bangladesh
  21. People Network for Elections in Thailand (P-NET), Thailand
  22. People’s Alliance for Credible Elections (PACE), Myanmar
  23. People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL), Sri Lanka
  24. Perkumpulan untuk Pemilu dan Demokrasi (PERLUDEM), Indonesia
  25. Transparency Maldives (TI Maldives), Maldives
  26. Transparent Elections Foundation of Afghanistan (TEFA), Afghanistan
  27. Women Caucus for Politics, Timor-Leste

Last update: 28 December 2020 (11.30am UTC+7)

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