Jul 13, 2011 | Events
The ICJ and other human rights group are organizing an interaction program titled “Impunity and the Non-Implementation of Judicial Rulings” to be held on the 13th annual International Justice Day.
The non-implementation of judicial decisions has been a major obstacle to the effective delivery of justice for victims of human rights violations, and has contributed to the current state of impunity in Nepal. The objective of the program is to bring together members of the judiciary, legislators, human rights defenders, prosecutorial authorities and other senior stakeholders to develop strategies to increase the effective execution of judicial decisions.
Mr. Khilraj Regmi, Right Honorable Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Nepal, will be the chief guest, and Dr. Yubraj Sangroula, Attorney General of Nepal, will be the keynote speaker of the program, jointly organized by the ICJ, the Informal Sector Service Center (INSEC), Judicial Officers’ Society (JOS) and Human Rights and Democratic Forum (FOHRID).
Jul 7, 2011 | E-bulletin on counter-terrorism & human rights, News
Read the 54th issue of ICJ’s monthly newsletter on proposed and actual changes in counter-terrorism laws, policies and practices and their impact on human rights at the national, regional and international levels.
Jun 17, 2011 | News
The ICJ welcomes the first-ever UN Human Rights Council resolution on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The resolution, introduced by South Africa and Brasil with 39 additional co-sponsors, expresses concern about violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and calls for the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights to prepare a study to document discriminatory laws and practices and acts of violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, in all regions of the world, and how international human rights law can be used to end violence and related human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The study will be followed by a panel discussion at the Human Rights Council at its 19th Session. The ICJ congratulates South Africa and Brasil on this historic achievement.
HRC Resolution Sexual Orientation Gender Identity-web story-2011 (Full text, PDF)
Jun 9, 2011 | Events
Human Rights Council Resolution 12/2 invites the Secretary-General to provide a ‘compilation and analysis of any available information’ of alleged reprisals and to formulate ‘recommendations on how to address the issues of intimidation and reprisals’.
NGO experience highlights the lack of protection for victims of reprisals and the resulting reluctance to report such cases. The absence of broader and more long-term recommendations on addressing reprisals compounds this lack of protection. This panel discussion seeks to explore ways in which various actors can raise awareness about and increase the effectiveness of the Council’s efforts to combat reprisals, including by improving protection for those concerned.
Jun 4, 2011 | Events
On 3 June, the ICJ and other human rights groups organized a parallel event at the Human Rights Council on “Combating Impunity: The Role of Judges and Lawyers in Times of Crisis”.
The panel comprised Spanish Judge Baltasar Garzón (photo), Wolfgang Kaleck (General Secretary, European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights) and Robert Husbands (OHCHR-Rule of Law and Democracy Section); Immaculada Barcia (Asian Legal Resource Centre) moderated the discussion. The meeting addressed the responsibility of jurists to protect and promote human rights vis-à-vis governmental attempts to interfere in and block investigations and prosecutions against former State officials even in the case of serious human rights violations.
Flyer-event-2011
Jun 3, 2011 | Events
The ECOWAS Court has played a commendable role in upholding human rights and the rule of law and in imposing remedies where violations have occurred.
However, its much applauded judgements and pronouncements has been followed by poor state compliance and a gap of effective implementation or enforcement measures. Failure to move from good judgements to effective implementation or enforcement thereof has continued to seriously hamper the effectiveness of the ECOWAS Court and to lessen public confidence in its role as a custodian of the rule of law and human rights in the West African sub-region.
In view of this, it is worth bringing together legal and human rights practitioners, academics and activists from West Africa to deliberate on mechanisms and strategies for an effective implementation and enforcement of judicial decisions from the ECOWAS Court. The symposium will be held in Dakar, Senegal, on 6- 7 June 2011.
Learning from positive and negative experiences from other African sub-regional courts, the discussions will focus on a wide range of topics, identify the role of sub-regional lawyers and human rights activists and put in place strategies for their active involvement in the effective implementation and enforcement of judicial decisions from the ECOWAS Court.
West Africa-judical decisions ECOWAS Court concept note-events-2011-eng (concept notes in English, PDF)
West Africa-judicial decisions ECOWAS Court programme-events-2011-eng (programme in English, PDF)
