Jul 3, 2020 | Advocacy, News
The ICJ published a legal memorandum concluding that the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MOTC) Order to block access to specific websites is not compliant with international human rights law.
The legal memorandum also sets out various remedial options under Myanmar law to question the lawfulness of the Order.
The ICJ focused its human rights analysis on the rights to freedom of expression and access to information and the right to health, which includes access to health information. These rights are well established under general and customary international law. The right to health is guaranteed under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Myanmar is a party.
The MOTC, presumably invoking Section 77 of the Telecommunications Law, ordered telecommunication service providers in March 2020 to take down 2,147 websites found by it to have disseminated “fake news,” adult content, and child sexual abuse content. It is not clear if any of the information under sanction relates to COVID-19, although the pandemic was mentioned elsewhere in one mobile service provider’s press release. Immediately after the release of the MOTC Order, it was discovered that the ban included ethnic news media websites, such as Rakhine-based Development Media Group and Narinjara News, thereby prompting speculation as to the true reasons behind the ban.
The ICJ emphasized the following in the legal memorandum:
- Blocking access to specific websites engages a wide range of human rights concerns, including but not limited to the person’s right to freedom of expression and right of access to information protected under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and customary international law. While lack of transparency about the State rationale and evidence was an obstacle to a full analysis, the permissible conditions that would justify sweeping limitations on this right do not appear to have been met.
- In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the MOTC Order also undermines the right to health of all persons in Myanmar. The right to health guaranteed under the ICESCR is reserved to all persons without discrimination and includes access to health information. The MOTC Order effectively hinders access to health information by blocking legitimate sources of information.
- To challenge the MOTC Order, the following domestic legal remedies are available: (i) filing a complaint with the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission; (ii) filing an application for a constitutional writ before the Union Supreme Court and/or (iii) filing a declaration suit under the Specific Relief Act.
Download
Myanmar-Memo-on-MOTC-Order-Legal-Memorandum-2020-ENG (PDF)
Contact
Jenny Domino, ICJ Associate Legal Adviser, e: jenny.domino(a)icj.org
Hnin Win Aung, ICJ Legal Adviser, e: hninwin.aung(a)icj.org
Related work
Publication: Myanmar’s ongoing Internet shutdown and hostilities threaten right to health during COVID-19
Statement: Government must lift online restrictions in conflict-affected areas to ensure access to information during COVID-19 pandemic
Report: Curtailing the Right to Freedom of Expression and Information in Myanmar
Publication: Four Immediate Reforms to Strengthen the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission
Publication: Strategic Litigation Handbook for Myanmar
Jun 30, 2020 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
Speaking at the UN Human Rights Council today, the ICJ urged action on longstanding and pervasive impunity for human rights violations in the Philippines and highlighted new threats posed by a pending new counter-terrorism law.
The oral statement, delivered in an interactive debate on the human rights situation in the Philippines based on a report prepared by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, read as follows:
“Madame President,
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) concurs with the High Commissioner’s finding that overemphasis by the Government of the Philippines on national security and public order has led to serious human rights violations (A/HRC/44/22, para 12). Such violations will only increase if the draft Anti-Terrorism Act is approved and implemented.
The draft law would, for example, allows detention without judicial warrant for up to twenty-four days. Such prolonged pretrial detention without judicial review This is inconsistent with the prohibition of arbitrary detention under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the right under the ICCPR of anyone arrested or detained on criminal grounds to be brought promptly before a judge. The Human Rights Committee has stressed that such judicial control of initial detention periods is not only essential to guarantee the right to liberty but also to prevent torture, other ill-treatment, and enforced disappearance.
In line with both the High Commissioner’s report and the 25 June 2020 statement by a large number of Special Procedures, the ICJ urges the Government of the Philippines to accept the findings and recommendations and rapidly implement corrective measures, in cooperation with the OHCHR, civil society, and the Commission on Human Rights, and to abandon or fundamentally revise the draft Anti-Terror Law. In the absence of clear, effective and measurable progress on accountability at the national level, this Council must stand ready to establish an independent international investigation (para 88(iii)).
Thank you.”
Jun 19, 2020 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ has responded to a call for input by UN human rights experts, for their upcoming reports on COVID-19 and human rights.
The written submission, in response the joint call for submissions questionnaire issued by a number of UN Special Procedures, highlights key issues in relation to access to justice and the operation of courts, the right to food and the right to housing, and impacts on LGBTi persons and persons living in poverty, in a number of countries where the ICJ is active.
The submission can be downloaded in PDF format here: ICJ-UN-SP-COVID19SUBMISSION-2020-EN
Jun 18, 2020 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
At the UN Human Rights Council, the ICJ today welcomed a pending resolution that would create an international Fact-Finding Mission on Libya.
The statement read as follows:
“The International Commission of Jurists welcomes the oral update by the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation in Libya.
The ICJ is seriously concerned by the escalation of conflict in Libya and the increasing number of violations and abuses of international law including unlawful killings and attacks on civilian objects committed since this session was suspended in March. Just last week, at least eight mass graves were found, mainly in Tarhuna, in which the bodies of women and children were found.
The ICJ welcomes the High Commissioner’s recommendation that the Human Rights Council establish an international investigative body and calls on the Council to adopt the resolution tabled by Libya establishing a Fact-Finding Mission to investigate and preserve evidence of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law committed by all parties in Libya.[1] The ICJ calls on States to ensure the Fact-Finding Mission has at least one full year to complete its work.
As the Berlin Conference conclusions stressed,[2] accountability for gross human rights violations must be a key component of the political process in Libya. States must increase efforts to guarantee accountability remains front and centre in all negotiations on the future of Libya and provide full support including cooperation and resources to the Fact-Finding Mission for Libya once established.”
[1] A/HRC/43/L.40.
[2] https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-de/aktuelles/the-berlin-conference-on-libya-1713868.
Jun 18, 2020 | Advocacy, Open letters
The Swiss Section of the ICJ sent today to the Swiss Parliament (National Council) a letter warning that, if approved, the current Draft Federal Law on Police Measures against Terrorism, tabled before them would clash with the country’s obligations under international human rights law. The ICJ supports this initiative of its Swiss Section.
The letter outlines several key concerns with the legislative proposal that could be used to unduly restrict aspects of freedom of expression, the right to liberty, and the rights of the child , in contravention of international law guarantees.
The National Council holds today a crucial discussion on the draft legislation.
Switzerland-Anti terrorism law-Advocacy-2020-GER (the full letter, in German, PDF)
Jun 18, 2020 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
Speaking at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva today, the ICJ urged action on excessive use of force, including unlawful killings, disproportionately targeting people of African descent and other minorities, by police throughout the United States of America, as well as in other countries.
The statement, delivered during an urgent debate on “current racially inspired human rights violations, systemic racism, police brutality and the violence against peaceful protest” that was requested by African countries, read as follows:
“Black lives matter.
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) condemns widespread incidents of unlawful and unnecessary use of force, including lethal force, by police throughout the United States of America, disproportionately targeting people of African descent and other minorities.
Many jurisdictions in the United States disregard, in law and in practice, universal standards including under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. These incorporate the requirements of proportionality and necessity and affirm that lethal force may only be used when strictly unavoidable to protect life. The ICJ is also concerned that doctrines of “qualified immunity” in practice result in impunity for extrajudicial killings and other serious human rights violations by police. The UN Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture, among others, have already called on the US to address these deficiencies in meeting their international legal obligations.
The United States is not alone in such abusive and racially discriminatory practices, which plague countries on every continent. While the Council is rightly giving long overdue attention to the United States, this must not serve as an excuse for any other State to fail to acknowledge and address similar violations within their own jurisdictions.
The ICJ supports calls for an independent international mechanism to address systematic racism in law enforcement in the United States and elsewhere.”
