ICJ highlights need for UN action on impunity in Sri Lanka

ICJ highlights need for UN action on impunity in Sri Lanka

At the Human Rights Council, the ICJ highlighted deepening impunity for gross human rights violations in Sri Lanka, and the need for a UN investigative mechanism.

The oral statement was made in the interactive dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, at which the current Rapporteur presented the report of his predecessor, Pablo de Greiff, on a visit to Sri Lanka in 2017.

The statement read as follows:

“The ICJ welcomes this opportunity to discuss the report of your predecessor’s 2017 visit to Sri Lanka.

We share the report’s assessment that “none of the constituent elements of a transitional justice policy are fully in place.” Indeed, the situation has only further deteriorated since 2017, further entrenching the denial of justice to victims.

Sri Lankan courts remain unable and unwilling to address the impunity of security forces for crimes under international law. We echo the report’s observation ‘in its current state, the criminal justice system in Sri Lanka is inadequate and flawed’.

This will only worsen if the proposed 20th Amendment to the Constitution is passed. The President, himself credibly accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity during his tenure as Defence Secretary from 2005-2015, would have unilateral power to appoint the judges of the superior courts, the Judicial Service Commission, Attorney General and the Inspector General of Police. This would further undermine any independence and impartiality in the already institutionally weakened judiciary.

Given the abject failure of Sri Lanka to implement a credible accountability mechanism, and its ongoing betrayal of the rule of law, the ICJ calls on the Council to establish an international accountability mechanism, and we urge you Mr Special Rapporteur to closely monitor and analyze the country situation in coordination with other mandate holders.

Thank you”

At UN, ICJ highlights human rights approach to COVID-19

At UN, ICJ highlights human rights approach to COVID-19

At the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, the ICJ has urged States to ensure human rights and avoid discriminatory impacts, and for businesses to respect their human rights responsibilities, in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The oral statement, delivered in a general debate on the update of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, read as follows:

“In our latest report, Living Like People Who Die Slowly: The Need for Right to Health Compliant COVID-19 Responses,[1] the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) calls on States to ensure that their individual and collective responses to the COVID-19 pandemic comply with international human rights law, including the right to health.

Any abuse of pandemic measures to repress human rights defenders, dissenting voices, or civil society more generally, is unacceptable. Respect for freedom of expression, including the right to information, is essential to effectively addressing the pandemic.

The particularly acute impact of COVID-19 on already-marginalized people heightens the importance of equal access to health facilities, goods and services. The report documents disproportionate impacts on non-citizens, older persons, women and girls, LGBT persons, persons deprived of their liberty, persons with disabilities, sex workers and healthcare workers.

Businesses, and particularly private actors in the healthcare sector must meet their responsibility to respect human rights. This will be crucial in the development, production and distribution of any COVID-19 vaccine.

Madame President, the ICJ emphasizes the continuing importance and applicability of the 1984 Siracusa Principles on the Limitation and Derogation Provisions in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,[2] and the recognition in the WHO International Health Regulations that implementing measures must be fully consistent with human rights.”

[1] https://www.icj.org/icj-new-global-report-shows-that-the-right-to-health-must-be-central-to-state-responses-to-covid-19/ (1 September 2020).

[2] https://www.icj.org/siracusa-principles-on-the-limitation-and-derogation-provisions-in-the-international-covenant-on-civil-and-political-rights/ and UN Doc E/CN.4/1985/4, Annex.

 

The full range of materials produced by the ICJ concerning the COVID-19 pandemic can be accessed at: https://www.icj.org/human-rights-in-the-time-of-covid-19-front-and-centre/

ICJ welcomes report of UN Mechanism on Myanmar

ICJ welcomes report of UN Mechanism on Myanmar

In a statement to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, the ICJ has welcomed the report of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM)

The oral statement was delivered in an interactive dialogue with the IIMM, and read as follows:

“The ICJ salutes the Mechanism in setting up the necessary infrastructure for its operation despite the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the lack of genuine and independent domestic investigation and prosecution of serious human rights violations in Myanmar, the efficient establishment of the Mechanism is welcomed.

The ICJ shares its concern over the Government of Myanmar’s lack of cooperation with the Mechanism. The ICJ recalls Myanmar’s obligation to ensure accountability for serious human rights violations occurring in Myanmar, including, but not limited to, the acts against ethnic Rohingya that were the subject of the report of the Government-appointed Independent Commission of Enquiry.

Given the Mechanism’s mandate to gather and preserve evidence of any serious human rights violations committed in Myanmar from 2011 to the present, the ICJ underscores the need to investigate the widely reported accounts of killings, serious physical injury, mass displacement and destruction of property in various parts of Rakhine and Chin states in the context of the ongoing conflict between Myanmar and the Arakan Army. The Myanmar Government still refuses to hold a ceasefire despite the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Rakhine. The parties to the conflict must be held accountable for any violation of international human rights and humanitarian law.

The ICJ would like to ask: how can States and inter-governmental organizations strengthen support for the mandate?”

For more information, contact: Kingsley Abbott, kingsley.abbott(a)icj.org

Russian Federation: ICJ and ECRE intervened before European Court in case of extradition of a Kyrgyz national of Uzbek ethnicity

Russian Federation: ICJ and ECRE intervened before European Court in case of extradition of a Kyrgyz national of Uzbek ethnicity

The ICJ and ECRE intervened today before the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of the extradition of a Kyrgyz national of Uzbek ethnicity back to his country of origin where he would be at risk of torture or other forms of ill-treatment .

In their submissions, the ICJ and the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) analysed thenon-refoulement obligations of the Russian Federation under international human rights law in relation to the consideration of evidence to assess the substantial grounds to believe that a concerned person will face real risk of a serious human rights violation; and the use of diplomatic assurances purportedly to protect against torture and other serious human rights violations in light of international law.

The two NGOs also provided the Court with an update on the legal framework governing extraditions from the Russian Federation to Central Asian States, in particular Kyrgyzstan, as well as Russia’s extradition practice. They concluded that the analysis of the law and practice revealed a number of critical human rights deficits.

They submitted that the lack of respect for the procedural aspect of the principle of non-refoulement, the consequent ineffectiveness of domestic remedies in this regard, in the Russian Federation, and the abysmal record of Kyrgyzstan in upholding its obligation to respect and protect the prohibition of torture or other ill-treatment mean that extraditions from the Russian Federation to Kyrgyzstan entail a high risk of violations of both substantive and procedural aspects of the principle of non-refoulement.

These submissions are an update of the third party intervention submitted by the ICJ before the Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights on 22 September 2016. The Chamber had ruled that no risk of breach of the principle of non-refoulement existed in the case but the judgment is now subject to the review of the Grand Chamber.

ECtHR-TK and others v Russia-GC-ICJECRE-Final (download the third party intervention)

Zimbabwe: ICJ launches mechanism to protect whistleblowers in corruption cases

Zimbabwe: ICJ launches mechanism to protect whistleblowers in corruption cases

The ICJ, in collaboration with the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), today launched a whistleblowing application (tip off) mechanism in Harare.

It is common that people reporting corruption, tipping off and submitting key evidence prefer to stay anonymous, as they may have an often, well-founded, fear of reprisal by the parties involved. In such instances it is imperative for the ZACC to adopt a protective solution that guarantees user anonymity. This tip off mechanism will enable ZACC to receive information and evidence securely while the user of the mechanism remains anonymous. In turn ZACC will be able to use the information received to investigate and prosecute cases of corruption. Additionally, the application will also have a case management dashboard which will aid evaluation of ZACC’s efficiency in handling corruption cases.

Corruption undermines the rule of law by impeding access to justice through diversions of public resources for private gain. As such, the ICJ, through the support by the EU, is working towards increased transparency and integrity in the justice delivery system in order to increase access to justice for all. The whistleblowing application is not undertaken in isolation, as it builds on other initiatives to combat corruption under this programme, which include the Anti-Corruption Campaign, establishment of an anti-corruption court, capacity building, and various research initiatives.

“Corruption remains a key challenge confronting Zimbabwe. If unabated, corruption undermines democracy and the rule of law leading to violations of human rights. Its destructive effect on development disproportionately affects the poor. The participation of the public, in augmenting government efforts in combating corruption is therefore critical. It is our hope that through this awareness programme, ordinary members of the public will be able to recognize corrupt behaviour and feel empowered to take a stand against it. Further, we hope that the mechanism will sustain the momentum against corruption and increase the demand for improved accountability and transparency in various sectors in Zimbabwe thereby contributing to reduction of corruption,” said Blessing Gorejena, ICJ’s Zimbabwe Project Team leader.

Once officially launched, the whistle-blowing mechanism will be available to the public. It will be promoted and encouraged by publicizing stories of successful prosecutions and other actions as a result of information provided by whistle-blowers, as well as reporting on the effective protection of such persons from any form of reprisal or other harm.

The project is facilitated through the support of the European Union.

Contact:

Blessing Gorejena, Senior Legal Adviser and Team Leader of ICJ Zimbabwe Project, t:0772151989, e: blessing.gorejena(a)icj.org

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