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Human rights violations

Human rights are ‘rights inherent to all human beings’ that a state is obliged to protect and promote.[1] A state violates human rights when it fails to take steps to promote and advance them. One way in which the state may fail in this regard is by not restraining itself in the use of force according to formal legal provisions. This may be reflected in, for example, the necessity to observe proportionality in the use of force in relation to the specific threat in question.[2]

 

If there are human rights violations in a country and strong rule of law mechanisms and culture are lacking, the risks of both violence and further violations of human rights during the electoral period increase significantly.[3] For example, during political rallies a lack of appropriate police guidelines and training with respect to crowd control and the use of force, in combination with a lack of sound and efficient accountability mechanisms, can lead to violence generated by the security services.[4]

Empirical cases:

  • Iran presidential elections 2009. The country’s human rights record has long the subject of international criticism. In this regard alleged violations include torture, degrading punishment. lack of due process and significant constraints on freedom of speech.[5] The 2009 elections were highly contested, and numerous protests followed announcement of the results.[6] Clashes between the security forces and protesters resulted in a number of citizens being killed, tortured and arrested.[7]
    Interrelated factors: social and political exclusion (external); conflict relating to changing power dynamics (external); lack of training of security sector agencies (internal); an inadequate system for the resolution of electoral disputes (internal); rejection of the election results (internal).[8] 
  • Côte d’Ivoire presidential elections 2010. The conflict in Côte d’Ivoire is marked by both human rights abuses and weak rule of law, in particular since 2002. These abuses have been characterized by excessive use of force by the security forces as well as harassment, extortion and intimidation of the population, with little or no implementation of accountability mechanisms.[9] 

    Abuses were especially acute during the contested 2010 elections, when the incumbent president was defeated but refused to recognize the results. Incidents of violence were particularly grave during the election and post-election period. They included intimidation of voters and violent repression of demonstrations as well as the alleged murder of at least 300 people.[10]
    Interrelated factors: poor socio-economic conditions (external); social and political exclusion (external); conflict relating to changing power dynamics (external);[11] the presence of non-state armed actors (external);[12] contested electoral law (internal);[13] rejection of the election results (internal).[14]

[1] Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), ‘What Are Human Rights?’, available at <http://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/Pages/WhatareHumanRights.aspx>, accessed 23 June 2011.

[2] Steiner, Henry J., ‘International Protection of Human Rights’, in Malcolm D. Evans (ed.), International Law, 2nd edn (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006), p. 772.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Alston, ‘Report of the Special Rapporteur’, p. 15.

[5] UN Human Rights Council, ‘Interim Report of the Secretary-General on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran’, 16th session, UN document A/HRC/16/75, pp. 4–14.

[6] Alem, Yasmin, Duality by Design: The Iranian Electoral System (Washington, DC: International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), 2011), p. 52.

[7] Alston, ‘Report of the Special Rapporteur’, p. 16; Human Rights Watch, ‘Post-Election Iran’, 2010, available at <http://www.hrw.org/en/node/83044>, accessed 8 July 2011; and Human Rights Watch, ‘The Islamic Republic at 31: Post-Election Abuses Show Serious Human Rights Crisis’, New York, 2010, p. 1.

[8] Human Rights Watch, ‘The Islamic Republic at 31’, p. 1; UN Human Rights Council, ‘Interim Report of the Secretary-General on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran’, p. 52; Alston, ‘Report of the Special Rapporteur’, p. 16; and Human Rights Watch, ‘Post-Election Iran’.

[9] Human Rights Watch, ‘Côte d’Ivoire: The Human Rights Cost of the Political Impasse, A Human Rights Watch Report’, 2005, pp. 1–2.

[10] UN Human Rights Council, ‘Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Situation of Human Rights in Côte d’Ivoire’, 16th session, UN document A/HRC/16/79, pp. 1–2; International Crisis Group, ‘Côte d’Ivoire: Is War the Only Option?’, Africa Report no. 171 (Dakar/Brussels: ICG, 2011), pp. 1–3; and Human Rights Watch, ‘Côte d’Ivoire: ICC Prosecutor Seeks Investigation’, Brussels, 2011, available at <http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/06/23/c-te-d-ivoire-icc-prosecutor-seeks-investigation>, accessed 11 July 2011.

[11] Human Rights Watch, ‘Côte d’Ivoire: The Human Rights Cost’; UN Human Rights Council, ‘Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Situation of Human Rights in Côte d’Ivoire’; Human Rights Watch, ‘Côte d’Ivoire: ICC Prosecutor Seeks Investigation’; and International Crisis Group, ‘Côte d’Ivoire: Is War the Only Option?’.

[12] International Crisis Group, ‘A Critical Period for Ensuring Stability in Côte d’Ivoire’, Africa Report no. 176 (1 August 2011e), <https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/west-africa/c%C3%B4te-divoire/critical-period-ensuring-stability-cote-d-ivoire>, accessed 2 May 2018

[13] UN News Centre, ‘ICC Prosecutor Seeks Authorization to Probe Côte d’Ivoire Violence’, 23 June 2011, available at <http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=38817&Cr=Ivoire&Cr1>, accessed 27 June 2012.

[14] ‘Ivory Coast Deadline for ICC Testimony’, BBC News, 17 June 2011, available at <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13815109>, accessed 23 September 2011; and Aljazeera.net, ‘“Hundreds killed” in Cote d’Ivoire Violence’, available at <http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2011/04/201141232021597365.html>, accessed 23 September 2011.

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  • Poor socio-economic conditions
  • Social and political exclusion
  • Conflict relating to changing power dynamics
  • Gender-based discrimination and violence
  • The presence of non-state armed actors
  • The presence of organized crime
  • Grievances relating to genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes
    • Human rights violations  
  • Environmental hazards
  • Unethical media reporting
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