Dec 10, 2019 | News
The ICJ mourns the loss of Professor Pedro Nikken, former President and Commissioner of the ICJ. Prof Nikken was elected ICJ President in January 2011, succeeding Mary Robinson (2008-2010) and followed by Nigel Rodley (2012-2017).
“Pedro Nikken left a tremendous legacy of respect for the rule of law and defense of human rights in his homeland of Venezuela, across Latin America and around the world,” said Prof Robert Goldman, the ICJ’s President.
“ Like so many others, I have lost a cherished friend and mentor whose company I will greatly miss,” he added.
Prof Nikken was a former Judge (1979-1989) and President (1983-1985) of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. He served as UN Independent Expert on El Salvador from 1992 to 1995 and from 1990-1992 he served as Legal Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on El Salvador’s peace process.
In 1995 he served as Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General to Burundi. He is former Dean and Professor (emeritus) at the Law School of the Universidad Central de Venezuela.
He was also former President and Permanent Counselor of the InterAmerican Institute of Human Rights. He was a Member (Chair N° 9) of the Venezuelan National Academy of Political and Social Sciences.
“Prof Nikken helped drive the ICJ’s work in pursuit of justice and accountability, particularly through regional human rights systems such as the Inter American Court of Human Rights, even as various governments tried to weaken the process and evade responsibility,” said Sam Zarifi, ICJ Secretary General.
“Pedro was indefatigable as a human rights defender and unsurpassed in the quality of his legal analysis, a rare combination of qualities that made him a role model for several generations of human rights lawyers around the world,” he added.
Pedro Nikken was born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1945. He graduated in 1968 from the Andres Bello Catholic University and obtained a diploma of higher studies in law at the Pentheon-Assas University (Paris II) and a doctorate in law from the University of Carabobo.
Dec 10, 2019 | Multimedia items, News, Video clips
Today, the ICJ launched the animated video titled “UN Committee Recommends Socio-Economic Rights Protections in South Africa” in commemoration of International Human Rights Day, at an event sponsored in collaboration with local partner Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR).
With support from the European Union (EU), the ICJ and LHR have been jointly implementing a project promoting the protection of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR) over the last three years.
The project included workshops co-ordinated by the ICJ and LHR on the protection of ESCR with magistrates, lawyers, paralegals and civil society organizations. As part of the project published a detailed Guide for the Legal Enforcement and Adjudication of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in South Africa to assist legal practitioners, including magistrates, lawyers, paralegals and civil society, in understanding and applying international and domestic legal standards relating to ESCR. The ICJ also joined other local and international organizations in making submissions to the UN Committee on ESCR, which ultimately informed the Committee’s recommendations to South Africa.
During the event 10 December event in Pretoria, the LHR launched the documentary “Everyone Lies to Popo Molefe”, which tells the true story of the community’s struggle to basic services. Members of the Popo Molefe community were guests of honour at the event, which was also attended by a representative of the South African Human Rights Commission.
“If we can have roads, water and electricity… We are struggling without electricity. This situation we are living in is not good. I wish the President could see this documentary,” Popo Molefe Community Leader Kgomotso Susan Nkolisa said.
The ICJ’s animation explains in simple terms the recommendations made by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural to the government on South Africa.
These recommendations are based on the international standards and protection of the rights contained within the International Covenant on ESCR ratified by South Africa in 2015.
The animation uses illustrative examples of South Africa’s obligations under the Covenant relating to housing, education and just and equitable wages, urging viewers to hold government accountable for the implementation of the UN Committee’s recommendations.
Watch the animation
Dec 10, 2019 | News
The pervasive practice of torture and other ill treatment can only be addressed if the States in the region ensure perpetrators are held accountable in line with international standards, said lawyers and activists from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The call came at a regional conference on the investigation and prosecution of torture and other ill treatment in South Asia, organized by the ICJ ahead of Human Rights Day.
“Governments in South Asia have done very little to support the victims and survivors of torture and other ill treatment, or to ensure their rights to truth, justice and reparation,” said Frederick Rawski, ICJ’s Asia Director.
“Despite the persistence of the practice, Governments have failed to follow their legal obligation to treat these crimes as the serious human rights violation they are,” he added.
Torture and other ill treatment are prevalent in South Asia, and in some countries widespread and systematic, with perpetrators enjoying impunity for the crime.
According to the ICJ, States in the region continue to deny the pervasiveness of torture, use torture as a deliberate tool to control and punish dissent, fail to enact specific legislation to criminalize torture, and where a special law exists, fail to implement it in good faith.
Consequently, there have been few concerted efforts to hold perpetrators of torture and ill treatment to account.
All too often, perpetrators get away with only disciplinary sanctions, and even when prosecutions happen, they do not result in convictions and commensurate penalties.
Suspects are often lower or middle-ranking public officials rather than their superiors, who are charged with lesser crimes than torture, such as assault, battery, coercion or abuse of office that carry relatively low punishments.
Prosecutions frequently fail because of the difficulties to prove torture, including securing witnesses for the prosecution, inadequate or conflicting medical evidence as well as threats of reprisals influencing victims and witnesses.
Even when such hurdles are overcome, immunities that protect public officials from prosecutions allow perpetrators to escape accountability.
Furthermore, military and intelligence agencies have extensive and unaccountable powers, including for arrest and detention, which facilitate the practice of torture and other ill treatment.
Under international law, States must ensure protection against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Whenever there are reasonable grounds to believe that torture has been committed, States are required to investigate allegations competently, impartially, independently, promptly and thoroughly.
While a comprehensive set of reforms, both in law and policy, is required to prevent and combat torture and other ill treatment – ensuring accountability for perpetrators would be a first step, said the ICJ.
Contact:
Frederick Rawski (Bangkok), ICJ Asia Pacific Regional Director, e: frederick.rawski(a)icj.org
Reema Omer, ICJ International Legal Adviser for South Asia (Lahore), t: +923214968434; e: reema.omer(a)icj.org
Dec 10, 2019 | News
Today’s decision from the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Turkish human rights defender Osman Kavala must be immediately complied with by releasing him from detention, the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) and the ICJ said today.
In the case of Kavala v Turkey, the European Court of Human Rights held that the detention of Mr Kavala, in connection with his role in the Gezi Park protests of 2013, violated the right to liberty (Article 5.1) and the right to a speedy judicial review of detention (Article 5.4) under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The Court also found that his detention involves a restriction on rights for an improper purpose (Article 18). As a consequence of these findings, the Court specifically held that ‘the government must take every measure to put an end to the applicant’s detention and to secure his immediate release’.
The Turkish government has a legal obligation to comply with the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights. The IBAHRI and ICJ urge the authorities to abide by their obligations under the ECHR by immediately releasing Mr Kavala.
Mr Kavala has been in detention since 18 October 2017 pending trial on charges connected to the Gezi Park protests. The Gezi Park protests began in May 2013 as an effort by a group of environmentalists to save a park in central Istanbul from being rezoned, but soon grew into nationwide demonstrations. Police quelled the protest in Taksim Square with the use of tear gas and water cannons.
Mr Kavala’s trial, along with 15 other defendants, is ongoing before Istanbul 30th Assize Court. The defendants are charged under Article 312 of the Turkish Criminal Code (an attempt to overthrow the Turkish government or an attempt to prevent it from fulfilling its duties), Article 151 (damage to property), Article 152 (qualified damage to property), Article 174 (possession or exchange of hazardous substances without permission), Article 153 (damaging places of worship and cemeteries), Article 149 (qualified robbery), Article 86 (intentional injury), crimes under the Law on Firearms, Knives and Other Tools no. 6136, and crimes under the Law on Protection of Cultural and Natural Assets no. 2863.
The IBAHRI and the ICJ have jointly sent international observers to attend all hearings of the trial. The organisations will jointly release a trial observation report upon conclusion of the trial.
Contact:
Róisín Pillay, Director, Europe and Central Asia Programme, t: +32 2 734 84 46 ; e: roisin.pillay(a)icj.org
Dec 10, 2019 | News
Part of the active ‘International Cooperation Initiative’ between the ICJ and the Geneva Bar Association, a full house conference, attended by Geneva Lawyers, took place tonight at the Palais de Justice of Geneva. The theme was the criminalization of helping migrants for humanitarian motives.
Massimo Frigo, Senior Legal Adviser of the ICJ’s Europe and Central Asia Programme presented this complex issue with regard to the existing protocols of European directives and the reluctance of EU states to respect them.
The conference Le délit de solidarité en droit Suisse, européen et mondial was the first of many collaborations to come on subjects of common interest between the ICJ and the Geneva legal community.
Dec 9, 2019 | Advocacy, News
From 7 to 8 December 2019, the ICJ, in collaboration with UN Women, organized the 2019 Workshop of Judicial Committee Members on Eliminating Discriminatory Attitudes Against Women. It was held in Biratnagar, Nepal, and gathered thirty members from judicial committees in Province 1.
Judicial committees were created under Nepal’s Local Governance Operation Act, which was passed in 2017. The law laid out areas of competence of the judicial committees that gives them the potential to significantly impact the lives of women at the community level.
On the first day of the workshop, the discussions were aimed at strengthening the understanding of the members of judicial committees on women’s human rights, and the importance of eliminating gender stereotyping in their work to enhance access to justice for women. On the second day, there were more discussions on the mandate of judicial committees in Nepal and how they can take on the role of promoting and protecting women’s human rights in the country.
As ICJ’s International Legal Adviser, Ms. Boram Jang, pointed out, “Judicial committees are the first points of contact for women in Nepal when they want to access justice.”
It is because of this vital role they hold that the ICJ and UN Women have decided to focus on strengthening the capacity of judicial committee members to better understand the root causes of discriminatory attitudes towards women.
“Women victims and survivors should be able to rely on a justice system free from myths and stereotypes, and on a judicial committee whose impartiality is not compromised by these biased assumptions,” said Boram Jang.
According to Ms. Subha Gale, Programme Analyst of UN Women, “When we deprive women of their ability to access justice, we take away all their rights.”
The keynote speech during the workshop was given by Ms. Bandana Rana, Vice-Chairperson of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW Committee). In her speech, she noted how Nepal has moved forward since it adopted its new Constitution, which recognizes the important role women play in the country’s development.
Ms. Bandana Rana also reminded the participants at the workshop how gender stereotypes foster narratives that are harmful for women in society. She said, “If we want to bring change, we must change these narratives. If we want equality among men and women, we must start by teaching our sons – not just our daughters – about equality and non-discrimination.”
Contact
Laxmi Pokharel, National Legal Advisor, International Commission of Jurists, t: +977 9851047588, e: laxmi.pokharel(a)icj.org
