Nov 29, 2016 | Advocacy, News, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ and 77 other civil society organizations and UN agencies called today on the EU institutions and Member States to do more to protect the rights of refugee and migrant children.
The call came in a statement released to mark the opening of the 10th European Forum on the Rights of the Child in Brussels.
The refugee and migrant crisis in Europe will soon enter its third year, with children playing an ever larger part and the impact on their lives all the more tragic.
Between January and September 2016, more than 664,500 children claimed asylum in Europe; nine in ten children arriving in Italy this year were unaccompanied; 23,000 children in Greece remain in limbo – their futures hanging in the balance, their education on hold.
More than 700 children are estimated to have died at sea trying to reach Europe this year alone. Last week a six-year old child died in a fire in the Moria camp on the Greek island of Lesbos.
The ICJ is deeply concerned at the failure to prioritize the protection of children’s rights. Children lack access to basic procedural rights, such as access to a guardian, access to a lawyer or access to information.
Children stranded in Greece have been out of school for an average of 20 months.
Many children have to wait for more than a year to reach family members in other EU Member States or even more when their parents or siblings are outside of the EU. In many cases they cannot reunite with their parents or siblings because it is simply too expensive for them.
The EU and Member States can do a lot more to protect children’s rights and address their particular needs and vulnerabilities.
78 partner organizations identify seven priority actions to protect refugee and migrant children today and prepare them for the future.
These actions include the urgent adoption of an EU Action Plan on children in migration, strengthened safeguards in the asylum legislation, increased funding for national child protection systems and building mechanisms to protect children across borders.
The reform of the common European asylum system, currently debated in the European Parliament, provides a unique opportunity to ensure children get access to guardians, education and family reunification.
EU action is also needed to end the detention of migrant and refugee children, and the identification of alternatives.
The full statement can be downloaded here:
eu-joint-statement-refugee-and-migrant-children-advocacy-non-legal-submission-2016-eng
Information about the November 2016 ICJ Geneva Forum on the role of judges and lawyers in relation to large movements of refugees and migrants (including special consideration of migrant and refugee children), is available by clicking here.
Nov 25, 2016 | Advocacy
The ICJ today joined a group of 60 organizations condemning a new law that would further repress civil society organizations and human rights advocacy in the country, and calling on the Government to stop efforts to silence civil society.The NGO statement follows urgent warnings from the UN Special Rapporteurs on Freedom of Association, on Freedom of Expression, and on Human Rights Defenders that, if implemented, the law would “devastate” civil society in the country.
The full NGO statement can be downloaded in PDF format here: egypt-ngolaw-openletter-2016
Nov 21, 2016 | Advocacy, News
The ICJ and five other human rights groups are calling on the Malaysian authorities to drop all charges against the Bersih organizers and activists, return all items confiscated from their offices and stop making further arbitrary arrests in connection with these events.
Download the statement here:
malaysia-bersih-5-statement-advocacy-2016-eng (full text in PDF)
Nov 19, 2016 | Advocacy
Ten years after the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA) ended Nepal’s bloody civil war, Nepali authorities must renew their commitment to ensure truth, justice and reparation for victims of the conflict who are still waiting for redress, the ICJ said today.
The CPA, signed by the Government of Nepal and the country’s major political parties, including the then Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) on 21 November 2006, called for a credible transitional justice process that would ensure victims’ rights to truth, justice, reparation and effective remedy in accordance with Nepal’s international human rights obligations.
“The hope and promise to conflict victims towards fulfillment of their rights to truth, justice and reparation that came with the signing of the CPA and the end of the conflict ten years ago have yet to be realized,” said Sam Zarifi, ICJ Asia director.
“Over the last ten years, various governments from all the different parties have blocked or hindered the transitional justice process, ignoring rulings by the Supreme Court that demanded compliance with international law and standards,” he added.
The full statement can be downloaded here:
nepal-statement-cpa-anniversary-advocacy-2016-eng (full text in PDF)
Oct 25, 2016 | Advocacy
The ICJ, Amnesty International, FIDH, Fortify Rights and Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada urge Thailand’s National Legislative Assembly (NLA) to reject currently proposed amendments to the 2007 Computer-Related Crime Act (CCA).
The full text of their statement can be dowloaded here:
thailand-cca-amendments-advocacy-2016-eng (in PDF)
thailand-cca-amendments-advocacy-2016-tha (Thai, in PDF)
Oct 22, 2016 | Advocacy
South Africa’s announced withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC) is a slap in the face for victims of the most serious crimes and should be reconsidered, African groups and international organizations with a presence in Africa said today.
The groups urged other African countries to affirm their commitment to the ICC, the only court of last resort to which victims seeking justice for mass atrocities can turn.
“South Africa’s intended withdrawal from the ICC represents a devastating blow for victims of international crimes across Africa,” said Mossaad Mohamed Ali of the African Center for Justice and Peace Studies. “As South Africa is one of the founding members of the court, its announcement sends the wrong message to victims that Africa’s leaders do not support their quest for justice.”
South Africa publicly announced on October 21, 2016, that it has notified the United Nations secretary-general of its intent to withdraw from the ICC.
However, there are significant questions as to whether South Africa abided by its domestic law in withdrawing without approval of its own parliament, the groups said.
“Modern day South Africa is testament to the importance of struggle for international justice, given the history of people of South Africa supported by the international community in defeating the scourge of apartheid and systematic racism. It is inconceivable that this country is now at the forefront of efforts aimed at undermining the international framework to tackle impunity,” said Arnold Tsunga, Director of ICJ’s Africa Regional Programme.
“We call on the government of South Africa to reconsider taking this enormous backwards step in the struggle for justice and to restore its place as a leader in promoting accountability for the most serious crimes and human rights abuses,” he added.
“South Africa’s purported withdrawal – without parliamentary approval or public debate – is a direct affront to decades of progress in the global fight against impunity,” said Stella Ndirangu, from the Kenyan section of the International Commission of Jurists.
“We call on the South African government to reconsider its rash action and for other states in Africa and around the world to affirm their support for the ICC.”
“We do not believe that this attempt to withdraw from the ICC is constitutional and it is a digression from the gains made by South Africa in promoting human rights on the continent,” said Jemima Njeri of the Institute for Security Studies’ International Crime in Africa Program.
“The South African government is sending a signal that it is oblivious to victims of gross crimes globally.”
South Africa’s announcement that it will withdraw from the ICC comes after the country’s court of appeal concluded the government violated its international and domestic legal obligations in not arresting ICC fugitive Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in June 2015, when he visited South Africa.
A government appeal was pending, but on October 21, 2016, the government indicated that it has withdrawn the appeal.
“The decision by Pretoria to withdraw from the Rome Statute is a response to a domestic political situation,” said George Kegoro of the Kenya Human Rights Commission.
“Impervious to the country’s political history and the significance of the ICC to African victims and general citizenry, the South African leadership is marching the country to a legal wilderness, where South Africa will be accountable for nothing.”
South Africa is the first country to notify the UN secretary-general of withdrawal from the ICC.
Contact:
Arnold Tsunga, Director of ICJ’s Africa Regional Programme, t: +27-716-405-926 ; e: arnold.tsunga@icj.org
south-africa-withdrawal-of-icc-advocacy-2016-eng (full text in PDF)
