ICJ releases the electronic version of its SOGI Practitioners guide

ICJ releases the electronic version of its SOGI Practitioners guide

The ICJ releases the electronic version of Practitioners’ Guide No. 4:  Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and International Human Rights Law.

Around the world, people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities are singled out for abuse.  In states with laws that criminalize same-sex sexual conduct, LGBT people are arrested, detained, tortured, and, in some cases, executed.

Even in states with no official penal sanctions, LGBT people are the target of violent hate crimes, harassment, and ostracism.  They live in fear of losing their jobs, their housing, and their families, all because of how they live and whom they love.

For the past five years, ICJ has worked on promoting the applicability of human rights law to violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Together with the International Service for Human Rights, ICJ facilitated the development of the Yogyakarta Principles.

This document, drafted by a distinguished group of human rights experts, articulates the human rights principles that apply to sexual orientation and gender identity, and identifies the legal sources of States’ obligations to protect, promote and fulfil rights.

Drawing on the Yogyakarta Principles, the ICJ wrote the Practitioners’ Guide to provide judges, lawyers, and activists a detailed understanding of the legal foundations for the protection of people victimized on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

The Practitioners’ Guide offers a comprehensive review of the principles of non-discrimination, equality, and privacy.  It then analyzes the scope and nature of the legal prohibition against some of the most severe violations – torture, deprivation of liberty, extrajudicial and arbitrary executions, and denial of the rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly.

Through the Practitioners’ Guide, the ICJ hopes to increase awareness of human rights principles that protect people of all sexual orientations and gender identities, as well as to encourage legal advocacy.

For the text of this Practitioners guide, see Sexual orientation, gender identity and international human rights law – Practitioners’ guide, no. 4

Fight against impunity must be continued on International Justice Day

Fight against impunity must be continued on International Justice Day

The ICJ says the fight against impunity and for international justice has made positive progress in the last decade, not least with the commencement of the first cases at the International Criminal Court.

Nevertheless, international justice continues to encounter obstacles in its development. The ICJ, the legal community and all the human rights movement must continue their efforts to attain universal justice and an end to impunity.


Fight against impunity must be continued-web story-2009 (full text, PDF)

Kazakhstan: the ICJ calls for withdrawal of disbarment proceedings against defence lawyer

Kazakhstan: the ICJ calls for withdrawal of disbarment proceedings against defence lawyer

The Kazakhstan authorities should withdraw the unfounded and abusive disbarment proceedings begun this week against prominent Kazakh defence lawyer Daniyar Kanafin, the ICJ said today.

The attempt to annul Mr Kanafin’s licence to practice follows public comments in which he criticised the Kazakh law on state secrets as contrary to international law. The National Security Committee has sought his disbarment on the grounds that these comments create a negative image of the Government and of Kazakh legislation in the eyes of the international community.


Kazakhstan-ICJ calls for withdrawal of disbarment proceedings-Press Release-2009-Eng (full text, PDF)

Kazakhstan-ICJ calls for withdrawal of disbarment proceedings-Press Release-2009-Rus (full text, PDF)

Translate »