ICJ statement on the UN Human Rights Committee’s Concluding Observations on Pakistan

·       Ensure the National Commission for Human Rights is able to carry out its mandate independently and effectively;

·       Reinstate the moratorium on the death penalty;

·       Abolish mandatory death penalty and ensure the death penalty is provided only for the “most serious crimes” involving intentional killing;

·       Criminalize enforced disappearance and put an end to the practice of enforced disappearance and secret detention;

·       Ensure that all allegations of enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killings are promptly and thoroughly investigated; all perpetrators are prosecuted and punished with penalties commensurate with the gravity of crimes;

·       Review legislation relating to the military courts with a view to abrogating their jurisdiction over civilians as well as their authority to impose the death penalty;

·       Reform the proceedings of military courts and bring them into full conformity with Articles 14 and 15 of the Covenant to ensure a fair trial;

·       Ensure that all elements of the crime of torture are prohibited in accordance with article 7 of the Covenant;

·    Repeal all blasphemy laws or amend them in compliance with the strict requirements of the Covenant; and

·    Review policies and legislation on registration of international NGOs, including the vague grounds on which registrations can be cancelled.