Assassination attempt of Ms. Malala Yousafzai

PAK 002 / 1012 / OBS 091

Attemptedmurder

Pakistan

October 11, 2012

TheObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme ofthe International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World OrganisationAgainst Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the followingsituation in Pakistan.

Descriptionof the situation:

TheObservatory has been informed of the attempted assassination inMingora, Swat valley, North West Pakistan,of Malala Yousafzai, a 14 year-olddefender who has promoted the rights of girls.

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

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

Ms.Yousafzai was targeted for advocating the right of girls to education, and forexposing the daily violenceand intimidation after the Taliban tookcontrol of the Swat valley. She had been writing a blog for the BBC inUrdu under the pen name “Gul Makai” since the age of 11. As the Taliban weredriven out of the Swat valley in 2009, her identity was made public. Shereceived the National Peace Award from former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on December 19, 2011, and wasnominated for the International Children's Peace Prize the same year by theDutch organisation “Kids Rights”. Ms. Yousafzai was also a speaker for theChild Assembly in Swat, an initiative supported by UNICEF in 2011. She appearedon national and international television to express her views on the rights ofchildren and girls.

Onthe day of the attack, spokesperson for the Pakistani Taliban, EhsanullahEhsan, confirmed to international media that they attacked her because “she[was] anti-Taliban and secular”, addingthat 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 Mingoraimmediately 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 furthertreatment.

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

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

TheObservatory condemns the assassination attempt of Ms. Yousafzai, which isclearly linked to her human rights activities, and aims at silencing her. Itexpresses its deepest concern for her life.

Actionsrequested:

The Observatory urges the authorities of Pakistan to:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Addresses:

· His Excellency Raja Pervez Ashraf, Prime Minister ofPakistan, Prime Minister House, Islamabad. Tel no: + 92 519213562 Fax: + 92 519221596 E-mail: pspm@pmsectt.gov.pk or nsethi@pmsectt.gov.pk

· His Excellency Asif Ali Zardari, President ofPakistan, 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: +9251 9212026 Fax: +92 51 9202624 E-mail:ministry.interior@gmail.com or interior.complaintcell@gmail.com

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

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

· Mr. Syed Mehdi Shah, Chief Minister of GilgitBaltistan, 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 ofPakistan in your respective countries.

***

Paris-Geneva,October 11, 2012

Kindly inform us of anyaction undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory, a FIDH andOMCT venture, is dedicated to the protection of Human Rights Defenders and aimsto 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 / +33 143 55 18 80

· Tel and fax OMCT + 41(0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29