IPU calls for respect of parliamentary immunity and freedom of expression of DRC MPs

On the eve of Human Rights Day, the IPU has released its annual global snapshot of the situation of threatened parliamentarians. A record number of 739 parliamentarians from 44 countries all over the world suffered violations of their fundamental rights

The IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians reports human rights violations against 685 parliamentarians in 47 countries, almost one in four countries in the world. Many of the cases are new. This is another all-time high record for

At the 140 th IPU Assembly in Doha, Qatar, the global parliamentary community strongly condemned human rights violations against MPs worldwide. At the Assembly, the IPU Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, the only international body with an exclusive remit to support MPs in danger, recommended action in the cases of 187 parliamentarians in a dozen countries whose human rights have been violated.

The year 2016 has seen a sharp increase in the number of parliamentarians who have suffered violations of their fundamental rights or who have alleged such violations, according to IPU statistics that underscore once more the dangers MPs face across the world in exercising their mandate and their right to freedom of expression. Marking Human Rights Day 2016 (10 December), IPU released Human Rights Abuses of MPs—2016. This comprehensive overview of the cases being examined by IPU’s Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians shows an overall increase in violations of MPs human rights for the third year in a row.

Read this press release at http://archive.ipu.org/press-e/pressrelease201604191.htm

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) is deeply concerned by the arrest and detention of DRC opposition MP, Mr. Jean-Bertrand Ewanga, in light of serious allegations that they violate his parliamentary immunity and freedom of expression. IPU is calling for the DRC