Jun 23, 2014 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ has delivered an oral statement on the independence of judges, prosecutors and lawyers in Venezuela, at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Referencing its report, Strengthening the Rule of Law in Venezuela, the ICJ discussed the failure by Venezuelan authorities to respect institutional guarantees for the independence and impartiality of the judiciary and prosecutors, as well as undue interference with individual judges, prosecutors and the legal profession. The ICJ highlighted the lack of security of tenure for most judges and virtually all prosecutors in Venezuela, and how the insecurity is amplified by cases of reprisal such as against Judge María Lourdes Afiuni Mora.
The ICJ urged Venezuelan authorities to take concrete measures to restore the rule of law and ensure the protection of human rights in Venezuela, in meaningful dialogue with civil society, and for other states to encourage Venezuela to do so.
The oral statement can be downloaded in full in PDF format here: ICJ-HRC26-Item4-Venezuela-OralStatement2-Advocacy-non-legal submission-2014
Jun 18, 2014 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ delivered an oral statement to the UN Human Rights Council, during the interactive dialogue with the Commission of inquiry on the Situation on human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic.
Jun 16, 2014 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ today made an oral statement at the UN Human Rights Council, in the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, responding to her report on her visit to the Russian Federation.
Jun 13, 2014 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ today delivered an oral statement on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, expressing concerns about recent and pending legislation in Pakistan on the use of firearms and other force by law enforcement officials.
The joint statement, delivered at the UN Human Rights Council during the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur and on behalf also of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), expressed appreciation for the Special Rapporteur’s emphasis in his study on the issue, on the need for states to bring domestic laws on the use of force by law enforcement agencies, into line with international standards.
The statement noted that it was not clear whether the Protection of Pakistan Ordinance (PPO) 2013, which is currently in force, and the proposed Protection of Pakistan Bill (PPB) 2014 currently being debated in Parliament, were provided for review.
The statement explained how the PPO and PPB contain provisions that give law enforcement agencies overbroad powers to use firearms without independent accountability, in contravention of international standards. They increase the risk of use of excessive and lethal force and arbitrary deprivation of life.
The full statement may be downloaded in PDF form: Advocacy-HRC26-SREJEs-12062014.
The Report of the Special Rapporteur is available here.
Jun 11, 2014 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ delivered an oral statement to the UN Human Rights Council today, in the interactive dialogue with the Working Group on business and human rights.
The statement, made jointly with FIDH, Franciscans International, and CIDSE, noted the lack of implementation of the existing UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights at the national level. It highlighted the systematic obstacles faced by many victims of human rights violations involving businesses.
The statement called on the council to continue building on the normative and institutional progress made by the Guiding Principles, and take decisive action to start a process towards the elaboration of a legally binding instrument in the area of business and human rights.
BHRstatement ICJ FIDH CIDSE FI-advocay-non legal submission-2014 (full text in pdf)
Jun 11, 2014 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ, together with the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) and on behalf of ARC International, today delivered an oral statement to the Human Rights Council during an interactive dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur on peaceful assembly and association.
The report of the Special Rapporteur addressed challenges faced by groups at risk, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons.
The statement welcomed the report by the Special Rapporteur.
It referred to the Nigerian Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act (which in fact criminalizes a much broader range of human rights-protected activities than its title would necessarily suggest), Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Act, and Ukraine’s draft law on “propaganda of homosexual relations”. All of these laws impede freedom of peaceful assembly of LGBTI persons. The Nigerian law also interferes with freedom of association, as it bans registration, funding and activities of “gay” organizations.
It also referred to Russia’s ban on “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations”.
It emphasised the detrimental impact of such laws on the work of LGBTI human rights defenders and the activities of health care providers. It stressed that laws directly targeting the freedom of peaceful assembly or association of LGBTI individuals solely because of their sexual orientation or gender identity are inconsistent with international human rights law.
UN-HRC26-AssociationLGBTI-OralStatement-advocay-non legal submission-2014 (full text in pdf)
The report of the Special Rapporteur is available here.
