May 19, 2019 | News
Ahead of the 2020 review of the human rights treaty body system, the ICJ, together with a number of NGO partners, have made a joint submission to the UN Secretary-General ahead of his third and last biennial report to the UN General Assembly later this year on the status of the human rights treaty body system and the progress achieved in realising greater efficiency and effectiveness in the work of the treaty bodies.
The joint NGO submission focuses on:
- the objectives and principles for the 2020 review;
- visibility and accessibility;
- membership;
- working methods and inter-committee coordination; and
- the growth of the treaty body system and adequate funding.
The full submission is available
here.
May 15, 2019 | News
The ICJ today condemned a series of the acts of violence directed against the Muslim community in the aftermath of the Easter attacks on 21 April in Sri Lanka directed at churches and other places.
In the most recent attacks on 13 May, at least one person was killed in anti-Muslim mob violence in Nattandiya. In addition, various attacks have resulted in the looting and destruction of mosques, Muslim-owned businesses and houses in several parts of the island including Negombo, Chilaw, Kurunegala and Gampaha.
The ICJ called upon the State authorities to conduct independent, impartial and effective investigations into the attacks and bring all perpetrators to justice in line with international standards. Furthermore, the ICJ urges the Government of Sri Lanka to send a clear public message that acts of violence against any religious minorities are not tolerated.
“Attacks perpetrated against religious minorities are more likely to occur in a climate of impunity” said Fredrick Rawski, ICJ’s Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific. “The fact that Sri Lanka has a history of serious violations of human rights of religious minorities makes it even more urgent that the Government act to safeguard the human rights of all persons and take immediate measures to protect members of religious minorities from further violence.”
Delayed action or inaction on the part of law enforcement authorities during and in the immediate aftermath of the attacks has further exacerbated the situation. Given the recurring patterns of mob violence against religious minorities in Sri Lanka, a handful of arrests will not suffice. It must be followed up by independent and impartial investigations and, where warranted, prosecutions as part of an effective preventive strategy to counter such collectively organized violence.
Under international human rights law, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Sri Lanka is a party, States have a duty to protect freedom of religion, which includes persons from religious minorities against abuses committed against them by any person or group.
The Government of Sri Lanka must take appropriate security measures in response to the worst terror attack in recent years. However, it must ensure that the volatile situation is not made worse by inaction to prevent anti-Muslim violence and vigilantism. Moreover, the State must ensure that any counter-terrorism measure is adopted and implemented in line with its international human rights law obligations and does not explicitly or implicitly target a particular community.
May 13, 2019 | Human Rights Council, News, Work with the UN
The ICJ has joined with more than 35 other international and African NGOs, calling on states to address the ongoing deterioration of the human rights situation in Tanzania, at the upcoming session of the UN Human Rights Council in June.
Read the letter here.
May 8, 2019 | News
The recommendations published today follow the Conference on the Independence of the Legal profession held by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), the Council of Europe (CoE) Office in Baku and the Azerbaijan Bar Association (ABA) in Baku, on 15-16 November 2018.
The Conference created much-needed space for a dialogue on the issue of independence of lawyers in Azerbaijan with both national and international stakeholders, as lawyers from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, the Russian Federation, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Uzbekistan shared their experiences and good practices in addressing challenges to the independence of lawyers. Drawing on the discussions at the Conference, and taking into account key findings of the ICJ report of 2016 “Defenceless Defenders: Systemic Problems in the Legal Profession of Azerbaijan” as well as more recent legislative and administrative developments, the ICJ makes recommendations aimed at strengthening the role and independence of lawyers and improving access to justice in Azerbaijan. The recommendations are informed by international law and standards on the role of lawyers and cover four main aspects: adequacy of the number of lawyers to ensure access to justice; the examination procedure for qualification as a lawyer; professional ethics of lawyers and disciplinary proceedings against lawyers.
Click to read the recommendations
May 6, 2019 | Agendas, Events
Today, the ICJ, together with the General Prosecutor’s Office of Uzbekistan, UNODC and OHCHR are holding the first regional meeting of prosecutors from Central Asia and the Russian Federation to discuss international law and standards in the field of extradition, mutual legal assistance, the rule of law and human rights.
The workshop aims to facilitate exchange of experiences regarding the law and practice of extradition in European and Central Asian countries. Presentations at the workshop will analyse international law and standards on effective criminal justice co-operation and the protection of human rights in extradition, and their application in practice..
The workshop will present cases of mutual cooperation in the field of criminal law from national courts as well as from international mechanisms such as the European Court of Human Rights, the UN Committee against Torture and the UN Human Rights Committee.
The workshop is taking place in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and is hosted by the Prosecutor General’s Office of Uzbekistan.
More than twenty prosecutors from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan the Russian Federation Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are participating in the event that includes international experts from UNODC, ICJ, including ICJ Commissioner and Emeritus Spanish Supreme Court Justice, José Antonio Martin Pallin, and Italian Prosecutor Lorenzo Salazar.
