A/79/181 allegations of torture and other ill-treatment in the country. She calls on the Syrian Arab Republic to adhere to the provisional measures without delay. 6 7. The Special Rapporteur has also received communications and/or intervened on torture cases relating to conflict in, inter alia, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guinea, India, Iraq, Kenya, Libya, Mexico, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, the Syrian Arab Republic, Uganda and Yemen. 8. The general trend towards authoritarianism in this year of elections is worrying. Recent protests have been driven by a desire for political change, by the continuing cost of living crisis and by reaction to global events. In many instances peaceful protests have been policed with excessive force or violence. Over the past year there have been protests that resulted in violence in, inter alia, Angola, Argentina, Bangladesh, Belarus, Comoros, the Congo, Georgia, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, 7 Madagascar, Mexico, Mozambique, Nepal, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Senegal, Serbia, Somalia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Türkiye and the United States of America. 9. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the Model Protocol for Law Enforcement Officials to Promote and Protect Human Rights in the Context of Peaceful Protests, authored by the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association (A/HRC/55/60). 10. States are reminded of the call by the Special Rapporteur in her previous report (A/78/324) for a global agreement to regulate the trade in torture-capable weapons, tools and equipment widely used by law enforcement and other public authorities. Renewed diplomatic vigour is needed. She wrote to France after illegal torture tools were found on sale at an arms fair in Paris. 8 The mandate holder will continue to monitor arms fairs globally. 11. Torture and intimidation to quash dissent and political opposition continues. The Special Rapporteur has intervened in multiple cases. The death of Alexei Navalny while in custody in the Russian Federation was a bleak day for human rights. 9 The mandate holder remains deeply concerned about the admission of evidence in the Jimmy Lai case in Hong Kong, China, that was allegedly secured through torture in China. 10 While the release of Julian Assange is a welcome relief, the Special Rapporteur encourages the United States to update their espionage and extradition laws to include safeguards for journalists and whistle-blowers. 11 The decision by the highest court of Suriname to uphold the prison sentence of the former President, Dési Bouterse, for torture and extrajudicial executions was welcomed. 12 12. The repression of human rights defenders is a significant trend globally and the Special Rapporteur has received information on cases in, inter alia, Azerbaijan, Cambodia, China, Egypt, Eritrea, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Palestine, Myanmar, the Russian Federation, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, the United Arab __________________ 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 24-13237 See https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/07/torture-allegations-continue-syria-despiteicj-order-un-expert. References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999). See https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/06/ahead-major-security-trade-fair-paris-untorture-rapporteur-requests-france. See https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/02/russia-un-experts-call-accountabilitynavalnys-death-and-immediate-release. See https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/01/hong-kong-sar-un-expert-warns-againstadmission-evidence-allegedly-secured. See https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/06/1151436. See https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/01/suriname-un-experts-welcome-landmarkruling-against-former-president-desire. 3/21