Oct 6, 2023 | Cases, Uncategorized
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), together with the AIRE Centre (Advice on Individual Rights in Europe), the Dutch Council for Refugees and the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) submitted today a third party intervention in the Communicated case No. 193/2022, before the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
The case concerns immigration detention of an 11-year-old girl from Afghanistan together with her older sister and parents, pending transfer to another EU Member State according to the EU Dublin Regulation.
The interveners focus in their submission on the prohibition of immigration detention of children, including when accompanied by family members, the right to be heard, access to information and legal representation and age assessment in the migration context.
The full intervention can be read here.
Jul 17, 2023 | Cases, News
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) applauds the European Court οf Human Rights judgement of 6 July 2023 in the case of Tuleya v Poland which effectively affirms the need for Poland to change course in its approach on the independence of the judiciary in the country.
The ICJ calls on the responsible Polish authorities to promptly implement the judgement and reverse the measures taken in recent years with a view to strengthening the rule of law in the country.
Nov 23, 2022 | Cases, News
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) calls on the Egyptian authorities to immediately quash the convictions of torture victims who were convicted of “terrorism-related” charges and sentenced to terms of imprisonment ranging from five years to life as punishment for exposing their ordeal and their torturers.
Oct 18, 2022 | Cases, Legal submissions, News
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), European Council for Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), the AIRE Centre and the Global Campus of human rights have submitted a joint third party intervention before the European Court of Human Rights in the case of a A.D. v Malta, concerning the detention of a child seeking asylum in Malta.
Mar 1, 2021 | Cases, News
Today, the ICJ will argue in a case before the Johannesburg High Court that the rights to housing and work for persons who work to informally reclaim waste must be protected in line with international law and standards.
Today the International Commission of Jurists will be appearing as an amicus curiae in the matter of Ryckloff-Beleggings (Pty) Ltd v Ntombekhaya Bonkolo and Others. In this matter, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa represents over 100 informal waste reclaimers who are opposing an application for eviction from their homes by, Ryckloff-Beleggings (Pty) Ltd, the owner of the property.
The ICJ, represented by Lawyers for Human Rights, is asking the Court to fully consider the impact of any eviction order it grants on the rights to housing and work of the reclaimers and the right to health of both the reclaimers and the broader community, particularly in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Timothy Fish Hodgson, Legal Adviser on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights at the ICJ said:
“It is inhumane to render people homeless as a result of eviction from their homes, but when doing so also strips them of their ability to make a living, the impact on their dignity is even greater. South Africa has a duty to ensure the protection of the reclaimers’ rights to housing and work.”
Many of the informal reclaimers in this matter have lived on the property for long periods of time and they argue that the eviction will result in them being rendered homeless. Many make a living by collecting, sorting, recycling, and selling valuable materials disposed of as waste at and near their homes.
The land upon which they live is not just their home, but also allows them to make a living. In the South African context job opportunities are scarce with an official unemployment rate as high as 32.5 percent.
The ICJ brief calls on the Court to take account of international human rights law relating to the right to work, and South Africa’s international legal obligations and its own domestic law in terms of the right to housing.
In the event of their eviction being permitted by the Court, the reclaimers seek the provision of alternative accommodation which will not deprive them of their ability to make a living, a request which the ICJ contends is consistent with the requirements of international human rights law.
Thandeka Chauke, ICJ’s legal representative in this matter and an Attorney at Lawyers for Human Rights said:
“Especially in light of the economic devastation brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is essential that Courts act as guardians of the human rights of the marginalized in our society. Informal reclaimers’ role in our society should be recognized and they should not be stripped of their homes and livelihoods without sufficient effort being made by government to come to their aid.”
For the ICJ’s heads of arguments, click on ICJ_Amicus_Curiae_Heads_of_Argument_Ryckloff.
For more information about the case, click here.
CONTACT:
Timothy Fish Hodgson, Legal Adviser on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights, e: timothy.hodgson@icj.org
Tanveer Rashid Jeewa, Communications and Legal Officer, e: tanveer.jeewa@icj.org
