Sep 11, 2012 | Advocacy, Legal submissions
During the 21st session of the UN Human Rights Council (10-28 September 2012), the ICJ made an oral statement relating to the report of the UN Secretary-General on reprisals against persons cooperating with the UN and its mechanisms.
In a general debate concerning reports of the UN Secretary-General, including his report on reprisals against human rights defenders (HRDs), the ICJ delivered an oral statement on 11 September 2012 concerning impunity for attacks against HRDs in Sudan.
The ICJ’s statement called on the Human Rights Council to urge Sudan to:
- Protect the rights of HRDs, including those cooperating with the UN;
- Initiate a prompt, thorough, and independent investigation into incidents brought to the attention of the Council;
- Hold criminally accountable those responsible and ensure access to a remedy and reparations for the victims of such attacks;
- Guarantee the safe return and reintegration in Sudan of the human rights defenders concerned; and
- Repeal all laws that describe human rights activities as spying and espionage.
Sudan-HRC21-Item2-OralStatementReprials-2012 (download statement)
Apr 17, 2012 | Advocacy, Cases, Legal submissions
The ICJ and Amnesty International presented a third party intervention in the case El Masri v. the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia before the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights.
In the third party intervention, the ICJ and AI outlined developments on the principle of non-refoulement, on enforced disappearances, on the international law of state responsibility and on the right to truth.
Macedonia-written submission-legal submission-2012 (full text in English, PDF)
Mar 23, 2012 | Advocacy, Cases, Legal submissions
On 22 March the ICJ together with 8 other organizations submitted and amicus curie brief in support of an action by the American Civil Liberties Union to obtain information under the US Freedom of Information Act about the CIA’s use of drones to carry out targeted killings around the world.
CIATargetedKillingsMemos-AmicusBrief-Joint-USA (download the joint amicus brief)
Sep 28, 2011 | Advocacy, Legal submissions
The Senior Legal Advisor for the SOGI Project provided expert testimony at the Inter-American Court’s hearing in Bogota, Colombia.
The case concerns the decision by the Supreme Court of Chile to remove Karen Atala’s three daughters from her custody because she had begun living with another woman.
The expert testimony focused on the best interest of the child principle and how courts have held that discrimination on the basis of parental sexual orientation violates this fundamental principle of child custody decisions.
Sep 20, 2011 | Advocacy, Legal submissions
It is expected that the draft General Comment will be considered by the Committee during its 47th session in November 2011.
Comment concerning implementation of article 14 on rights to redress- legal submission-2011 (full text, PDF)
Sep 14, 2011 | Advocacy, Legal submissions
The ICJ published today its observations on the 1 June 2011 recast of the European Union “Directive on common procedures for granting and withdrawing international protection”.