Jun 19, 2018 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ today joined other NGOs in calling for the UN Human Rights Council to establish an international investigation into extrajudicial killings in the ‘war on drugs’ in the Philippines.The call came in a joint oral statement to the Council, delivered by Franciscans International on behalf of the group of NGOs. The statement, part of the general debate on a global update provided to the Council by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, read as follows:
“Mr President, we welcome the High Commissioner’s update. We are pleased to hear about positive developments that several States have made in granting access to Special Procedures. However, we deeply regret that this is not the case for the Philippines, a member of the Human Rights Council, which has refused access to the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, in spite of the thousands of killings in the government’s ongoing ‘war on drugs’, and the lack of independent and impartial investigations in the country.
We are further concerned that the lack of cooperation with Special Procedures has been further compounded by the Philippine President’s threats and verbal attacks against several mandate holders and the High Commissioner himself. In the absence of cooperation with Special Procedures, we call on the Council to establish an independent international investigation into extrajudicial killings in the ‘war on drugs’ in the Philippines.
As this was the last update of the High Commissioner to the Council, we would like to express deep appreciation for his hard work and dedication over his four year term, and the attention he has drawn to threats to human rights defenders and their work in the Philippines. We call on the Council to follow up on this work by mandating the OHCHR to monitor the deterioration in the situation of human rights and attacks on democratic institutions, as well as the Philippine government’s moves toward authoritarianism, and ask the OHCHR to report on this to the Human Rights Council.”
In 2016 the ICJ released a briefing paper on investigation of extrajudicial executions in the Philippines, which among other things called for an independent commission of inquiry, after having earlier written directly to President Duterte.
Jun 19, 2018 | Advocacy
The ICJ welcomes the proposal of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in its Recommendation 2121(2018) calling for the development of a Council of Europe Convention on the Profession of Lawyer.
The ICJ believes that such a Convention could make an important contribution to strengthening the rule of law and the protection of human rights in the Council of Europe region, building on existing Council of Europe standards and jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights.
The ICJ particularly welcomes PACE’s call for an effective control mechanism to be put in place under a new Convention, as recent developments in a number of Council of Europe Member States show a significant gap in implementation of Council of Europe standards on the independence and security of lawyers.
Lawyers, along with judges and prosecutors, are one of the pillars on which protection of the rule of law and human rights through the justice system rests.
Recognizing this, the ICJ, since its foundation in 1952, has worked to protect lawyers under threat and to develop international standards for the independence, role and integrity of the profession.
Successive ICJ Declarations, adopted by leading jurists from all regions of the world, have affirmed that the role of the legal profession is “paramount in safeguarding human rights and the Rule of Law” (2008 Declaration on Upholding the Rule of Law and the Role of Judges and Lawyers in Times of Crisis (ICJ 2008 Declaration).
In any legal system, the legal profession plays a pivotal role in ensuring access to justice and effective remedies and accountability for violations of human rights, as well as upholding the right to fair trial, right to liberty and freedom from torture and other ill-treatment in the criminal justice process.
In defending criminal cases, in advising and representing victims of human rights violations and their relatives or in challenging before the courts national legislation or policy that is contrary to human rights , lawyers give practical effect to human rights guarantees and rule of law principles.
The importance of this role has been recognized by international standards as well as in the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, which has emphasized the “specific status of lawyers [having] a central position in the administration of justice as intermediaries between the public and the courts”.
It is thus of fundamental importance that lawyers are able to fulfill their professional duties without interference. As the European Court of Human Rights has held, “persecution and harassment of members of the legal profession strikes at the very heart of the Convention system.”
Full text in ENG (PDF): Europe-Drafting-a-EU-Convention-on-the-Profession-of-Lawyer-2018-ENG
Jun 12, 2018 | Advocacy, Cases, Legal submissions
The ICJ and others intervened before the European Court of Human Rights in a case of thirteen undocumented children held in a hotspot in Italy.
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), the Dutch Council for Refugees and the AIRE Centre jointly intervened in the case of Trawalli and others v. Italy.
In this case, the European Court of Human Rights is called to rule, among other issues, on whether their detention and reception conditions were lawful and/or constituted an inhuman or degrading treatment under the European Convention on Human Rights.
In their third party intervention, the three human rights organizations submitted the following arguments:
a) Taking into consideration migrant children’s status as persons in situations of vulnerability and the principle of the best interests of the child, article 5 ECHR should be read in light of the rising consensus in international law towards a prohibition of detention of children on immigration grounds, in particular based on the consolidated and clear position of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. This applies to all instances of deprivation of liberty irrespective of their classification under domestic law.
b) In addition to the above, detention under article 5.1 ECHR will in any event be unlawful and arbitrary where it lacks a clear and accessible legal basis, outlining the permissible grounds of detention as well as the relevant procedural guarantees and remedies available to detainees, including judicial review and access to legal advice and assistance. In light of the obligations of EU Member States under EU law, the interveners submit that detention of asylum seeking children falling within the scope of the recast Reception Conditions Directive will result in a breach of the Convention standards also where it is not used as a measure of last resort, but rather is imposed without consideration of less onerous alternative measures and where the child’s best interests assessment has not been carried out and reflected in this decision.
c) Due to children’s extreme vulnerability, their detention for immigration purposes risks leading to a violation of Article 3 ECHR because of inadequate living conditions and/or to a violation of Article 8 ECHR because of a disproportionate and unnecessary interference with their development and personal autonomy, as protected under Article 8. In this sense, Article 8 must be regarded as affording protection from conditions of detention which would not reach the level of severity required to engage Article 3.
d) When the authorities deprive or seek to deprive a child of her or his liberty, they must ensure that he/she effectively benefits from an enhanced set of guarantees in addition to undertaking the diligent assessment of her/his best interest noted above. The guarantees include: prompt identification and appointment of a competent guardian; a child-sensitive due process framework, including the child’s rights to receive information in a child-friendly language, the right to be heard and have her/his views taken into due consideration depending on his/her age and maturity, to have access to justice and to challenge the detention conditions and lawfulness before a judge; free legal assistance and representation, interpretation and translation. The Contracting Parties must also immediately provide the child access to an effective remedy.
e) In order to fully comply with their obligations under the Convention, Contracting Parties must guarantee that asylum seeking children are accommodated in reception facilities which are adapted to their specific needs and provide adequate material conditions adapted to their age, condition of dependency and enhanced vulnerability. To do otherwise results in a failure by States to comply with their obligations under Article 3 ECHR and their specific obligations under EU law.
Italy-icj&others-Trawalli&others-Advocacy-legal submission-2018-ENG (download the intervention)
May 30, 2018 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ today made a submission for an upcoming report by the UN Secretary General on recent developments concerning human rights in the administration of justice.
In 2016, the UN General Assembly requested the Secretary General “to submit to the General Assembly at its seventy-third session a report on the latest developments, challenges and good practices in human rights in the administration of justice, including on efforts to ensure equal access to justice for all through the independent, impartial and effective administration of justice, and on the activities undertaken by the United Nations system as a whole”.
The UN is in the process of preparing the report, which will cover developments during the last two years since the previous report of the Secretary General.
The ICJ’s submission can be downloaded in PDF format here: UN-GA-AdminJustice-2018
May 28, 2018 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
Today, the ICJ and 22 other rights organizations submitted a paper to the 30th meeting of Chairs of the human rights treaty bodies (Chairpersons meeting) in New York (28 May-1 June).
This paper is presented to the 30th meeting of Chairs of the human rights treaty bodies (Chairpersons meeting) by non-governmental organizations that contribute to many aspects of the work of the treaty bodies, including by encouraging and supporting national partners in their use of the system.
It focuses on existing good practices in treaty body working methods and makes recommendations for further discussions.
The signing NGOs hope that this submission will provide a basis for an effort by the treaty body Chairpersons to take stock of some of the important changes to working methods that the treaty bodies have undertaken and lead to further discussion on areas where greater alignment of working methods would make a particularly meaningful contribution to NGOs’ efforts to engage with the treaty bodies and promote better implementation by States of their human rights obligations.
Universal-Amnesty-Submission-to-the-30th-meeting-of-chairs-of-the-human-rights-treaty-bodies-Advocacy-non legal submission-May-2018-ENG (Full text in PDF)
May 18, 2018 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
Speaking today at a special session of the UN Human Rights Council, the ICJ joined calls for an independent international inquiry into the use lethal and other force by Israeli security forces in Eastern Gaza.
The statement read as follows:
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) deplores apparent violations of international law by Israeli security forces during the past six weeks in Eastern Gaza near the border with Israel, in relation to demonstrations by Palestinians.
The ICJ is concerned at the many killings and serious injuries associated with the excessive, unjustified or otherwise unlawful use of force, including the killing of a number of children.
The ICJ recalls that international human rights law permits use of lethal force only when strictly necessary to protect life. The ICJ understands that Israel has taken the position that only the international law of armed conflict, and not international human rights law, was applicable, and that all lethal force used against protestors was justified. The ICJ insists that human rights law – and specifically, standards on the use of force in law enforcement contexts – was indeed applicable, and that the use of lethal force was in the circumstances wholly unjustified.
Excessive force, including lethal force, has apparently been used against unarmed persons who do not pose a threat to life. Irrespective of legal regime, such use of force is manifestly inconsistent with the principles of necessity and proportionality.
The ICJ joins the call for this Council to establish an independent Commission of Inquiry or similar investigation, to ensure accountability for serious violations of international law.
Update: The session concluded with the adoption (29 yes, 2 no, 14 abstained) by the Council of a resolution establishing a Commission of Inquiry.
