Jun 24, 2021 | Agendas, Events, News
On Friday 2 July, the ICJ, alongside IBAHRI, OHCHR and other partners, organize an online event to launch the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association: “Access to justice as an integral element of the protection of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly”.
This side event aims to bring together the UN Special Rapporteur, civil society representatives, UN bodies and State representatives to discuss their intersecting roles in promoting access to justice as an integral element of the protection of rights to freedom of peaceful assembly. The event will further examine specific challenges related to access to justice in relation to peaceful assemblies. Finally, it will expand on the important role of lawyers in the context of peaceful assemblies.
The event will also examine how the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur can address impunity for violations of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly; explore how the international human rights community can support the work of national legal networks to protect and promote the right to freedom of peaceful assembly; and, discuss practical measures necessary to follow up the reports recommendations.
Format: The side event will be held online with experts from civil society, state and UN bodies. Space will be provided for interactions with participants from the floor.
Date: 2 July 2021 – 47th UN Human Rights Council Session
Time: 14:00-15:30 Geneva, Switzerland
Language: English, French and Spanish Translation will be provided
Panelists:
- Clement Voule, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association
- Jomary Ortegon, Colectivo de Abogadxs José Alvear Restrepo (CAJAR), Colombia
- Alana Greer, Community Justice Project, USA
- Femi Falana SAN, Human Rights lawyer, Nigeria
- Human Rights Lawyer, Belarus
Moderator: Baroness H. Kennedy QC
Register here.
Jun 21, 2021 | Agendas, Events, News
Children should never be detained in immigration context. Immigration detention of children is never in their best interests and is not justifiable, said experts during a transnational workshop on Alternatives to detention vs. alternative forms of detention of migrant children held by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and partners on June 17 and 18.
“Instead of detaining children, case management should be used instead, and a community assistance and placement model should be used for families and children as an effective alternative to detention. Unaccompanied children should be placed within the mainstream care system,” Karolína Babická, legal adviser at the ICJ said.
During the workshop experts and practitioners from seven EU countries and international experts explored good and bad practices of alternatives to detention. In particular, the principle of the ‘best interests of the child’ was discussed as well as procedures for age assessment, and specific alternative arrangements for the care of children in migration, such as the return houses in Belgium, and regular reporting.
The group further explored ways to include unaccompanied migrant children in the mainstream child-care system rather than under the management of immigration authorities. The case-management and community placement model by the International Detention Coalition (IDC) was discussed in detail.
It was agreed that children must have access to procedural rights, including the right to be heard and to participate, access to information and to legal assistance and legal aid, access to interpretation, effective remedy and a guardian. Best interest of the child assessments as well as age assessment must be done through a rights-based approach, following child-friendly procedures and safeguards.
Any alternatives to detention applied by states should be monitored and regularly evaluated to ensure these do not constitute alternative forms of detention.
The workshop took place as part of the CADRE project and will be followed by second and third workshop as well as by on-line conferences and national trainings during the second year of duration of the project.
See the agenda here: Agenda CADRE Transnational workshop_17-18 June_final
Jun 18, 2021 | Agendas, Events, News
On 22 June, the ICJ, Human Rights Watch, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, the Center for Reproductive Rights and the International Planned Parenthood Federation, with the co-sponsorship of the Kingdom of Spain, organize an online event on the 10th anniversary of the Council of Europe’s Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (Istanbul Convention).
This side event at the margin of the 47th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council has convened expert speakers to illustrate the situation of human rights protection to combat and prevent violence against women in Europe, how the Istanbul Convention has crucially contributed to this goal and the obstacles to its effective implementation.
Preventing and combating violence against women, as well as its causes and consequences, are a priority of the UN Human Rights Council. While UN standards are central to achieving this goal, regional standards have to date provided a key contribution in this field. The Council of Europe’s Istanbul Convention is the most far-reaching international treaty specifically designed to counter violence against women.
On 11 May 2021, the Istanbul Convention turned 10 years old. It is now time to take stock of the achievements that this Convention has contributed to as well as the challenges ahead, including countering the spread of misinformation about the Convention and ensuring states continue to champion its principles and standards.
Women and girls are still suffering the aftermaths of the COVID-19 crisis. The pandemic effects have shown a worrying increase on violence against women. The universalization of the Istanbul Convention is more important than ever because the pandemic has unveiled the “permanent shadow pandemic” that women and girls are suffering around the world.
When: Tuesday June 22nd, 13:00 – 14:00 CEST
Where: Zoom
Language: English
Panelists
- María Isabel Sanchís, Senior Advisor, Office of the Commissioner on Violence against Women of the Government of Spain
- Dubravka Šimonović, UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences
- Dame Silvia Cartwright, former Governor General of New Zealand, former CEDAW member, Commissioner of the International Commission of Jurists
- Professor Feride Acar, former chairwoman of CEDAW and GREVIO
- Hillary Margolis, Senior Researcher, Women’s Rights Division, Human Rights Watch
Moderator Massimo Frigo, UN Representative, ICJ
To confirm your participation and receive connection details, please RSVP to Massimo Frigo, email: Massimo.Frigo@icj.org .
Event-Invitation-Side Event-IstanbulConvention-UN-HRC47-final-2021-eng (download the event leaflet)
Jun 4, 2021 | Agendas, Events, News
As part of its work to raise awareness and deepen the understanding about the importance of civil liability for the objective of improved accountability of business-related human rights abuses and access to justice and reparations, the ICJ is partnering with the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights to organize an online symposium.
The symposium is open to practitioners, policymakers, civil society, academics, and students working on these subjects. It will feature two panel discussions on Zoom on 7 June 2021 and 14 June 2021.
Past decades saw an emerging trend towards reliance on civil liability claims to address business-related human rights abuses (e.g., Lungowe v Vedanta and Okpabi v Shell in the UK; Choc v Hudbay Minerals and Araya v Nevsun in Canada; Akpan v Shell in the Netherlands; Jabir and others v KiK Textilien in Germany).
The ICJ and the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights’ symposium will discuss the wider implications of recent jurisprudence and identify the remaining gaps in the law.
The discussions will focus on a range of issues, including 1) the contours of rules on the duty of care; 2) prospects for supply chain liability under the law of civil remedies; 3) parent company liability and complicity under civil law; 4) prospects of access to justice.
Please follow the links below to register separately for each panel. The symposium will also involve a series of blogs by experts in the field to be published by Opinio Juris starting 21 June 2021.
Panel 1 ‘Duty of care and parent company liability’
Day and time: 7 June 2021 at 14.00 – 16.00 BST
To register for Panel 1, please click here
Panel 2 ‘Access to justice and civil claims for business-related human rights abuses: Challenges and opportunities’
Day and time: 14 June 2021 at 14.00 – 16.00 BST
To register for Panel 2, please click here
This symposium is co-convened by Dr Carlos Lopez and Dr Ekaterina Aristova. Please get in touch with the organisers if you have any questions. The symposium is part of the project on civil liability for human rights violations led by the Bonavero Institute and funded by the Oak Foundation.
Jun 4, 2021 | Agendas, Events, News
Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, in collaboration with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), is organizing an online Summer School on the “Family life and rights of migrant children in the European Union” on 23-25 June, 15-16 and 19-20 July 2021.
It will provide training on the right to private and family life of migrant children within the international and regional framework of human rights and EU law, and current challenges in protecting the rights of migrant children, including in the context of Covid-19. The lectures of the Summer School will also touch upon the EU’s Pact on Migration and Asylum of 2020 and the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child 2021-2024.
The Summer school will be held in English and is open to professionals, academics, and students who would like to deepen their knowledge of the topic. Participants will be provided with relevant teaching materials which were developed in the FAIR project coordinated by the ICJ on fostering migrant children’s access to rights.
Enrolment must be made by application submitted online by 15 June 2021 and is limited to 40 participants. An early bird discount applies to candidates who register before 6 June 2021, while an exemption from enrolment fees applies to 5 foreign students who are beneficiaries of international protection (refugees and subsidiary protection holders).
See more details and the full agenda here: MARS summer school_brochure
Jun 2, 2021 | Agendas, Events, News
On Thursday 3 June 2pm CET, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) together with Saskia Bricmont, Greens/EFA MEP, will hold an online event on immigration detention of children in the EU, the current situation and implementation of the legal framework in EU countries. The event will consider ways forward and alternatives to detention, including in light of the new proposals of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum and EU strategy on the rights of the child.
The event is organised on the occasion of the launch of the CADRE project (“Children’s Alternatives to Detention protecting their Rights in Europe”), seeking to promote the expansion, implementation and improvement of viable and effective alternatives to detention for migrant children in full respect of their rights in the EU, co-ordinated by the ICJ in partnership with seven national and international partners:
See the full agenda of the event here: CADRE_public launch event agenda
To register please fill in the form online here. Registration closes 3 pm CET 2 June.
