Jun 17, 2023 | Advocacy, News
“Business enterprises continue to use their clout to nullify the work of human rights and public interest advocates through abusive lawsuits (SLAPPs) and far more needs to be done by governments to protect against this practice,” said the panelists during the forum titled ‘Addressing SLAPPs Against Human Rights Defenders in South-East Asia: Challenges and Lessons Learned’ on 9 June 2023.
Jun 12, 2023 | Advocacy, News
“The evaluation of Thailand’s Eastern Special Development Zone Act B.E. 2561 (2018) (‘EEC Act’) in 2024 must be carried out with meaningful participation from all stakeholders, and ensure compliance with Thailand’s international human rights obligations,” concluded participants at a dialogue hosted by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Land Watch Thai, EEC Watch, and ENLAW Thai Foundation on 8 June 2023 in Bangkok.
May 26, 2023 | Advocacy, News
In response to news on 17 May 2023 of the fatal shooting of Bounsuan Kitiyano, a 56-year-old Lao human rights defender and a refugee recognized by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in a border town in northeastern Thailand, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and nine other organisations urge the government of Thailand to independently, effectively and promptly investigate this incident and ensure effective remedy to the victim’s family and loved ones.
May 20, 2023 | Advocacy, News
Since President Kais Saied’s institutional power grab of July 25, 2021, followed by his decree of September 22 of the same year, which implicitly repealed the constitutional order, and the adoption of a tailor-made Constitution a year later, the judicial system has been subjected to constant attacks aimed at crushing its independence and sweeping away the right to a fair trial.
May 2, 2023 | Advocacy, News
Authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) continue their sustained assault on human rights and freedoms, including targeting human rights activists, enacting repressive laws, and using the criminal justice system as a tool to eliminate the human rights movement. These policies have led to the closure of civic space, severe restrictions on freedom of expression, both online and offline, and the criminalisation of peaceful dissent.
For more than 10 years, UAE authorities have been unjustly detaining at least 60 Emirati human rights defenders, civil society activists, and political dissidents who were arrested in 2012 because of their demands for reform and democracy or their affiliation with the Reform and Social Guidance Association (al-Islah). Some from this group, commonly known as the “UAE 94” because of the number of defendants in their mass trial, were subjected to enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment. They were sentenced to between 7 and 15 years in prison during a trial in 2013 that failed to meet minimum fair trial standards.
Apr 25, 2023 | Advocacy, News, Publications
In a briefing paper released today, the International Commission of Jurists points out that, “while the right to clean and healthy environment is protected under the 2013 Fiji Constitution, it must be actioned, which requires a whole of government and a whole of society approach and technical and financial resources must be reflected accordingly.” This paper provides recommendations on how the environmental laws and policies in Fiji can be strengthened to protect women’s rights to a clean and healthy environment.
