APPEAL: to the Pakistan Government to Take Urgent Action on the Attempted Assassination Of Young Defender Malala Yousafzai

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Pakistan.

Description of the situation

The Observatory has been informed of the attempted assassination in Mingora, Swat valley, North West Pakistan,of Malala Yousafzai, a 14 year-old defender who has promoted the rights of girls.

In the afternoon of October 9, 2012, Ms. Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head in her school van. The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack.

According to the information received, Ms. Malala Yousafzai was reportedly shot by three unidentified gunmen from the TTP, in the bus taking children home from school after a mid-term exam. The incident occurred in the city of Mingora situated in the Swat valley, North West Pakistan, as the bus was coming from Khushal Public School. According to testimonies, the unidentified assailants got on the bus and asked the other children to point to Malala. Ms Yousafzai was shot in the head and a second shot injured her in the neck area. Two other girls were reportedly also wounded in the attack but are now out of danger.

Ms. Yousafzai was targeted for advocating the right of girls to education, and for exposing the daily violence and intimidation after the Taliban took control of the Swat valley. She had been writing a blog for the BBC in Urdu under the pen name “Gul Makai” since the age of 11. As the Taliban were driven out of the Swat valley in 2009, her identity was made public. She received the National Peace Award fromformer Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on December 19, 2011, and was nominated for the International Children's Peace Prize the same year by the Dutch organisation “Kids Rights”. Ms. Yousafzai was also a speaker for the Child Assembly in Swat, an initiative supported by UNICEF in 2011. She appeared on national and international television to express her views on the rights of children and girls.

On the day of the attack, spokesperson for the Pakistani Taliban, Ehsanullah Ehsan, confirmed to international media that they attacked her because “she [was] anti-Taliban and secular”, adding that she “would not be spared. She was pro-West, she [was] speaking against Taliban and she [was] calling President Obama her idol […] She [was] young but she [was] promoting Western culture in Pashtun areas”, he said. He reiterated the threats to kill her if she survives the attack.

Ms. Yousufzai was reportedly carried to Saidu Sharif Medical Complex in Mingora immediately after the incident and was later moved to Peshawar in an army helicopter. She is now fighting for her life and could be flown abroad for further treatment.

District Police Officer (DPO) from Swat region, Mr. Rasool Shah, said that a search operation has been initiated in the area, and a number of suspects had been arrested. A case was registered against the unidentified attackers under the Anti-Terrorism Act at the Saidu Sharif Police Station.

Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf condemned the attack and called her “a daughter of Pakistan.” On October 10, the Parliament of Pakistan unanimously passed a resolution condemning the attack.

The Observatory condemns the assassination attempt of Ms. Yousafzai, which is clearly linked to her human rights activities, and aims at silencing her. It expresses its deepest concern for her life.

Actions requested

The Observatory urges the authorities of Pakistan to:

i. Guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of Ms. Malala Yousafzai and, more generally, of all human rights defenders in Pakistan;

ii. Carry out an effective, thorough and impartial investigation into the above-mentioned threats, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them before a civil, competent and impartial tribunal, and apply to them the penal sanctions provided by the law.

iii. Conform in any circumstances with the provisions of the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted on December 9, 1998 by the United Nations General Assembly, in particular:
its Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually or in association with others, to promote the protection and realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels”;

- its Article 6 (c) which states that “everyone has the right, individually and in association with others to study, discuss, form and hold opinions on the observance, both in law and in practice, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and, through these and other appropriate means, to draw public attention to those matters”;

- and its Article 12.2 which states that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration”.

vi. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by Pakistan.

Addresses:

His Excellency Raja Pervez Ashraf, Prime Minister of Pakistan, Prime Minister House, Islamabad. Tel no: + 92 519213562 Fax: + 92 51 9221596 E-mail: pspm@pmsectt.gov.pkor nsethi@pmsectt.gov.pk

His Excellency Asif Ali Zardari, President of Pakistan, President's Secretariat, Islamabad. Tel: +92 51 9204801/9214171. Fax: +92 51 9207458 Email: publicmail@president.gov.pk

Mr. Rehman Malik, Minister for Interior, R Block Pak Secretariat, Islamabad. Tel: +92 51 9212026 Fax: +92 51 9202624 E-mail: ministry.interior@gmail.comor interior.complaintcell@gmail.com

Federal Minister for Human Rights, Ministry of Human Rights, Old US Aid building Ata Turk Avenue, G-5, Islamabad. Fax: +9251-9204108 Email: sarfaraz_yousuf@yahoo.com

Dr. Faqir Hussain, Registrar, Supreme Court of Pakistan, Constitution Avenue, Islamabad. Fax: + 92 51 9213452 E-mail: mail@supremecourt.gov.pk

Mr. Syed Mehdi Shah, Chief Minister of Gilgit Baltistan, Prime Minister secretariat, Gilgit. Telephone +92-5811-920573 Fax: +92 (05811) 50-201 Email: info@gilgitbaltistan.gov.pk

Ambassador Zamir Akram, Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the United Nations in Geneva, 56, Rue de Moillebeau, Case Postale 434, 1211 Geneva 19, Switzerland. Fax: +41-22-734-8085. Tel: +41-22-749-1930.

Please also write to diplomatic representations of Pakistan in your respective countries.

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Paris-Geneva, October 11, 2012

Kindly inform The Obeservatory of any action undertaken quoting the code (PAK 002 / 1012 / OBS 091) of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory, a FIDH and OMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aims to offer them concrete support in their time of need.

To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:

E-mail: Appeals@fidh-omct.org
Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1 43 55 18 80
Tel and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29