UN rights experts urge Pakistan to end sectarian violence, protect minorities

(March 05, 2012) A group of independent United Nations human rights experts urged the government of Pakistan last week to take decisive measures to end sectarian violence and protect religious minorities after a second incident of targeted killings in two weeks. At least 18 Shia Muslims were killed on Tuesday after they were ordered off a bus in the northern district of Kohistan, the three experts said in a joint press release. “These killings are extremely shocking and constitute acts that require the strongest response,” said Rita Izsák, the Independent Expert on minority issues. “They have sadly become a recurrent practice in Pakistan, and we urge the Pakistan government to identify and prosecute the perpetrators and do everything possible to establish strengthened security measures.” The experts expressed their condolences to the families of those killed and to all the people of Pakistan who suffer from such acts of terror. “These targeted killings once more display the appalling degree of religious hatred in a country where there seems to be a failure to protect the security of religious minorities,” said Heiner Bielefeldt, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief. Christof Heyns, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, stressed that the Government has an obligation to take all necessary measures to protect the right to life. The three welcomed the condemnation expressed by Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani.