UNCHR calls for improvement in human rights

The UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) has called on Equatorial Guinea to guarantee basic freedoms in a resolution adopted on Friday. It called on the government in Malabo to ensure that people enjoy freedom of movement, association, information, opinion and expression, and the right to a free press. The Commission also urged the government to adhere to the Convention against Torture and the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination. However, it welcomed the government’s willingness to implement a national human rights action plan. During Commission hearings held earlier this month, Equatorial Guinea had appealed for technical assistance in fields related to human rights. The commission called on the international community to help the government strengthen national human rights institutions. A representative of Equatorial Guinea said the government had taken positive steps in the field of human rights in the past two decades. He said there were no severe abuses and that it was necessary to “respect and safeguard the dignity of the people of Equatorial Guinea, like all peoples”. However, a Mexican representative said the draft resolution should be implemented without waiting for technical assistance, which Equatorial Guinea had been receiving for years. There were deficiencies with respect to human rights in the country despite the assistance provided to the State, the delegate said.