Abrogate execution of religious minorities in Pakistan

The international community has asked Pakistan in its third Universal Periodic Review (UPR) to abrogate death penalty in the name of blasphemy and uphold its commitments with United Nations covenants sanctioned by the country.

It asked for ensure protection of religious minorities and other vulnerable groups like journalists. It suggested strengthening the National Commission for Human Rights and ensuring impartial investigations against the people who violate human rights.

Over a hundred delegations participated in the Universal Periodic Review. On an occasion the International Commission of Jurists’ Asia Director Frederick Rawski said that Pakistan’s third UPR had drawn world’s attention to the failures of human rights in the country. “As a member of the Human Rights Council, Pakistan is expected to uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights, something it has clearly failed to do,” it said.

ICJ said, “The government lifted the informal moratorium on the death penalty and carried out nearly 500 executions in less than three years – among the highest execution rates in the world; Parliament enacted laws allowing military courts to try civilians for certain terrorism-related offences in secret trials; and the authorities started a new wave of crackdowns on NGOs, journalists and human rights defenders, including subjecting them to enforced disappearance,”

It said, “Pakistan should make use of this process by accepting the recommendations made during the review and adopting a concrete, action-based national human rights plan to ensure their effective implementation.”