Sep 12, 2012 | Events
The ICJ, Impunity Watch and other NGOs sponsored today a parallel event to the UN Human Rights Council on the occasion of the presentation of the first report to the Council by the new Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence.
The parallel event was held 2012 in the margins of the UN Human Rights Council’s 21st regular session. Panelists included the Special Rapporteur, Pablo de Greiff, victims’ representatives from Guatemala and Burundi, Bejamin Mateo Jeronimo and Aloys Batungwanayo, and the Executive Director of Impunity Watch, Marlies Stappers. The event was moderated by Alex Conte of the ICJ.
HRC21-Impunity-ParallelEvent-2012 (download invitation flyer, in PDF)
Sep 11, 2012 | News
To be more visible to a wider audience and ensure that its wealth of legal resources and advocacy work are made accessible, the ICJ undertook to modernise its visual identity and main communications tool in 2012; a year that coincides with the organization’s 60th anniversary.
The new ICJ logo and visual identity has been developed by the well-known Swiss artist and designer Roger Pfund, who has shown his commitment to the protection of human rights through past collaborations with organisations such as Amnesty International (Switzerland), Human Rights Watch and the Geneva Call.
The new brand retains the flame and globe found within the ICJ’s previous logos, but gives them a more modern style. The new logo also reinforces the significance of the ICJ acronym.
The new ICJ website has been developed by HURIDOCS – an international NGO that supports human rights organizations by helping them efficiently utilise information technologies and documentation methods. The Atelier Roger Pfund worked on the design of the new website.
One of the main features of the new website is its sophisticated search tool, which allows visitors to easily filter and navigate through the vast collection of ICJ publications, submissions and other expert documents.
“The ICJ is extremely privileged to have worked with Roger Pfund and HURIDOCS. The result has fully met our expectations,” said Wilder Tayler, ICJ’s Secretary General. “Both partners have invested a lot of time and expertise in this collaboration and have carried out a significant proportion on a pro bono basis, for which we are very grateful.”
ICJ’s new visual identity will be progressively implemented until the organization’s 14th World Congress in December.
Contact: Olivier van Bogaert, ICJ Media & Communications;
T +41 22 979 3808, M + 41 79 269 01 93
E olivier.vanbogaert(at)icj.com
Sep 11, 2012 | Events
During the 21st session of the UN Human Rights Council (10-28 September 2012), the ICJ and the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights will convene a high-level discussion on ensuring human dignity during detention.
The parallel event will be held in the Palais des Nations in meeting room XXI on Tuesday 25 September 2012 from 14h to 16h.
The event will discuss the need and options for an international instrument clarifying and enhancing the human right legal framework applicable to persons in detention. Panelists include Professor Manfred Nowak, former Special Rapporteur on torture and former member of the Working Group on enforced disappearances; Judge Theodor Meron, Judge on the Appeals Chambers of the ICTY and ICTR; Professor Shaheen Sardar Ali, Vice-Chair of the Working Group on arbitrary detention; and Ian Seiderman, Law and Policy Director of the ICJ. The event will be moderated by Hina Jilani, member of the Panel on Human Dignity and Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
The event is open to all persons with access to the Palais des Nations.
HRC21-DetentionEvent-Flyer-2012 (download flyer)
HRC21-DetentionEvent-ConceptNote&BackgroundPaper-2012 (download concept note and background paper)
Sep 11, 2012 | Events, News
On 9-10 September 2012, the ICJ participated in a conference on “the independence of the judiciary in Egypt in light of the constitutional reform process and international standards”.
The conference, organized jointly by the ICJ, the Hisham Mubarak Law Centre and the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights, was attended by international and national experts, including Justice Ian Binnie, a former judge of the Supreme Court of Canada, Justice Ketil Lund, a former judge of the Supreme Court of Norway and Wilder Tayler, Secretary General of the ICJ.
The conference addressed the following topics: the independence of the judiciary; the statute for judges; the High Judicial Council; the Supreme Constitutional Court; military and security courts and the independence of the judiciary; and the independence and impartiality of the office of the public prosecutor.
Egypt-Concept Note Independence of Justice conference-events-2012 (full text, PDF)
Egypt-ICJ Statement on Military Tribunals-events-2012 (full text, PDF)
Sep 7, 2012 | News
The ICJ calls upon the Bahraini authorities to immediately and unconditionally release 13 human rights defenders and political activists convicted by the Criminal Court of Appeal in Bahrain.
On 4 September 2012, they were convicted on charges relating to “conspiracy to overthrow the government”, “espionage” and “violation of the Constitution”. The sentences against the defendants ranged from 5 years to life imprisonment.
The ruling of the Criminal Court of Appeal upheld the convictions and sentences of the detainees handed down last year by the National Safety Court and the National Safety Court of Appeal, two exceptional military courts established under the royal decree of 15 March 2011, which declared the “state of emergency”. On 30 April 2012, the Bahraini Cassation Court ordered their retrial before a civilian court.
“The retrial by the Criminal Court of Appeal failed to remedy the failures of the original trials and to meet international standards of fair trial, including the right to be presumed innocent and to equality of arms. The Prosecution failed to provide any credible evidence against these detainees and their right to defence has been severely undermined at all stages of the proceedings,” said Said Benarbia, Senior Legal Adviser of the ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme. “The retrial relied heavily on the findings of the first two trials, including “confessions” that the defendants claimed were obtained through torture and other ill-treatment.”
The Bahraini authorities should ensure that these allegations of torture and ill-treatment are promptly, independently and effectively investigated.
The Bahraini authorities should also ensure that the rights of human rights defenders and political activists to freedom of expression, association, and assembly are fully respected.
“Instead of subjecting these defenders and activists to various forms of harassment, intimidation and unfair trials, the Bahraini authorities should initiate comprehensive, meaningful and lasting constitutional and legal reforms that establish the rule of law and that fully protect the rights of Bahrainis to take part in the conduct of public affairs and to choose the form of their government,” Benarbia added.
For more information:
Saïd Benarbia, Middle East & North Africa Senior Legal Adviser, ICJ, t +41 22 979 3817; e-mail: said.benarbia(at)icj.org
Sep 7, 2012 | News
Comunicado de prensa sobre la estrategia de desprestigio que sufren jueces y fiscales que luchan contra la impunidad.
Los días 3 al 6 de septiembre de 2012, la CIJ llevó a cabo entrevistascon el Pleno de la Corte Suprema de Justicia, la Fiscal General, abogados litigantes, fiscales, jueces, con la Asociación de Jueces y Magistrados del Organismo Judicial (AJMOJ), Colegio de Abogados y con diferentes organizaciones de la Sociedad Civil, con el objeto de recabar información acerca de la estrategia de desprestigio que sufren jueces y fiscales que luchan contra la impunidad en Guatemala y de las actuaciones judiciales que se están llevando a cabo para investigar y castigar los crímenes cometidos durante el conflicto armador o.
Guatemala-pronunciamento CIJ-press release-2012-spa (full text in pdf)
