The ICJ today joined other civil society organisations in calling for the UN Human Rights Council to renew the mandate of the Commission of Inquiry on Burundi and to initiate suspension of Burundi’s membership in the Council, and other measures of justice and accountability.
The call came in an open letter to all Member and Observer States of the Human Rights Council.
The letter in English: HRC36-OpenLetter-Burundi-2017-EN
In a statement to the UN Human Rights Council today, the ICJ called for the appointment of a Special Rapporteur on the situation for human rights in Venezuela, given the ongoing human rights and rule of law crisis in the country.
The statement, which was delivered during a general debate on country situations of concern, read as follows:
“In Venezuela, extrajudicial and arbitrary executions, torture, arbitrary detention, prosecution of civilians by military tribunals, and persecution and attacks against opponents, dissidents and human rights defenders have become systematic and widespread practices.
Demonstrations and protests are violently suppressed by state security bodies and groups of armed civilians close to the government.
These gross human rights violations remain subject to impunity.
The possibility of exercising fundamental freedoms of expression and assembly, as well as political rights, is non-existent.
Following a series of decisions by the Supreme Court of Justice and the Government, the rule of law has ceased to exist, there is no separation of powers, the legislative branch has been stripped of its constitutional powers and the judiciary has become an instrument of the Executive Branch.
The National Constituent Assembly has usurped functions that do not belong to it, such as legislating and dismissing officials.
The International Commission of Jurists considers that, given the very serious human rights situation and the breakdown of the rule of law, it is imperative that the Human Rights Council appoint a Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Venezuela.”
ICJ reports:
Venezuela: the Supreme Court of Justice has become an arm of an authoritarian executive
Venezuela: rule of law and impunity crisis deepens
Venezuela: dismissal of Attorney General a further blow to the rule of law and accountability
Venezuela: Human rights and Rule of Law in deep crisis
Strengthening the Rule of Law in Venezuela
The ICJ today called for international legal regulation of private military and security companies, in an oral statement tot he UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, and welcomed recent steps towards this goal.
The statement, made during general debate on thematic concerns, read as follows:
The ICJ welcomes the opportunity to comment on the “Report of the open-ended intergovernmental working group to consider the possibility of elaborating an international regulatory framework on the regulation, monitoring and oversight of the activities of private military and security companies on its sixth session.” (A/HRC/36/36)
The ICJ notes with satisfaction the consensus reached among States to commence elaborating the content of “an international regulatory framework” in efforts to protect human rights and ensure accountability for violations and abuses relating to the activities of private military and private security companies (para. 28).
The ICJ joins the Working Group on Mercenaries’ call for an international legally binding instrument “to ensure consistent regulation worldwide and adequate protection of human rights of all affected” by activities of PMSCs ((A/HRC/36/47, para. 67). This instrument would provide common standards on regulation and prevention as well as on measures to ensure access to effective remedies and reparations by the victims of abuse, areas where the working group has identified gaps of protection.
Broad-based participation by all stakeholders is critical for the success of the process, its legitimacy, the adequacy of its content as well as for the effectiveness of its implementation. The ICJ calls on the Chairperson Rapporteur ensure wide participation, especially from civil society from the developing countries.
The ICJ calls on this Council to support the renewal of the Open Ended Intergovernmental working Group as recommended in the report (A/HRC/36/36) and to actively participate in its deliberations.
On 13 September, the European Committee of Social Rights decided on the admissibility of the collective complaint submitted by the ICJ and Forum for Human Rights, against the Czech Republic.
The Committee assessed the admissibility conditions set out in the Protocol and the Committee’s Rules and the Government’s objections on admissibility and declared the complaint admissible. The Czech Government has now two months to make written submissions on the merits of the complaint.
The complaint argues that the Czech Republic fails to ensure equal legal protection and participation of children below the age of criminal responsibility in the pre-trial stage of juvenile justice procedures.
The ICJ and FORUM submit that serious systemic flaws in the Czech juvenile justice system deprive a specific group of particularly vulnerable individuals – children below the age of criminal responsibility – of an adequate level of social protection and leave them at risk of inappropriate or unfair procedures leading to arbitrary punitive measures, in violation of Article 17 of the European Social Charter, both alone and read in conjunction with the principle of equality in the preamble to the Charter.
Europe-ECSR-ICJvCzechRepublic-ChildrenJustice-AdmissibilityDecision-2017 (download the Committee’s decision)
In a joint statement released today, the ICJ joins several other organisations in calling on the Supreme Court of the Maldives to rescind the indefinite suspension of 56 lawyers.
The lawyers had signed a petition to the Supreme Court calling for the independence and reform of the judiciary.
The statement, made jointly with Maldivian Democracy Network, Front Line Defenders, Transparency International and FORUM-ASIA, can be downloaded here: Maldives-Advocacy-Lawyers-2017
The ICJ joined 17 other organizations in calling for robust and human rights compliant international standards to regulate the use of “Unmanned Aerial Vehicles” , developed through fully inclusive and consultative processes.
Universal-DroneStandards-Advocacy-2017-ENG (full PDF)
Civil Society Statement Ahead of Cour de Cassation Hearing on Immunities for State Officials in the Case of Bashar al-Assad
Palestine/Israel: Israel must immediately stop its criminal forcible displacement in Gaza
ICJ Submission on draft General Comment No. 27 on Children’s access to justice and effective remedy
HRC59: ICJ Statement in the interactive dialogue on the High Commissioner’s report on Venezuela – addressing arbitrary detention and repression of civic space