Leadership Council for Human Rights

~ Feet in the mud, head in the sky ~

Friday, November 09, 2007

Head of U.N. rights branch condemns Georgia for use of force on protestors

In light on the recent government crackdown on protestors, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour issued a statement Thursday urging the Georgian government to uphold fundamental rights, Reuters reported the same day.

President Mikhail Saakashvili issued the 15-day state of emergency and shut down the independent media in an effort to stifle anti-government protests.

Over 550 demonstrators were hospitalized on Wednesday alone after riot police used force against them. Arbour was “particularly worried over reports of disproportionate use of force, including against Georgia’s Public Defender, the detention of opposition leaders and the beating of demonstrators.”

The article says: “Georgia, which has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, has an obligation to ensure that fundamental freedoms including the right to life and prohibitions on arbitrary detention and torture ‘cannot be suspended, even in times of emergency,’ according to Arbour.”

For the full article, click here.

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