Vietnam: Stop the arbitrary arrest and detention of environmental human rights defenders

Vietnam: Stop the arbitrary arrest and detention of environmental human rights defenders

Today, the ICJ and nine other human rights and environmental organizations express grave concern over the recent arbitrary arrest, detention, and silencing of several environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs) speaking out against harmful business operations supported by the government.

The arrest of environmentalist Hoang Thi Minh Hong, her husband and two staff members on 31 May 2023 on trumped-up charges of tax evasion is just another case in the increased targeting of EHRDs in Vietnam. 

Tajikistan: Lawyers explore ways to ensure independence and security of the legal profession

Tajikistan: Lawyers explore ways to ensure independence and security of the legal profession

Today, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), in cooperation with the Regional Office for Central Asia (ROCA) of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the Bar Association of the Republic of Tajikistan, has convened a roundtable discussion on the importance of preserving the independence and security of lawyers in Tajikistan.
At the final stage of the event, participants will formulate a robust set of recommendations. These recommendations will encapsulate the perspectives garnered throughout the event, strengthening the efforts to bolster the independence and security of lawyers in Tajikistan. The participants stressed the need for ongoing dialogue and collaboration involving the Bar Association and independent lawyers to address these issues.

Downloads
Agenda in English Round table on independence and security of lawyers in Tajikistan_eng

Sri Lanka: Joint statement on ongoing trial of Hejaaz Hizbullah

Sri Lanka: Joint statement on ongoing trial of Hejaaz Hizbullah

Lawyers for Lawyers, the Bar Human Rights Committee, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Committee (IBAHRI), International Commission of Jurists, the Law Society of England and Wales, and Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) are concerned about the ongoing violations of fair trial rights in the ongoing trial of Sri Lankan lawyer and human rights defender Hejaaz Hizbullah. Key witnesses have been subject to threat, coercion, intimidation and arrest.

The full statement can be read here.

ECtHR: V.M. v Poland Intervention in a case concerning immigration detention of children and family

ECtHR: V.M. v Poland Intervention in a case concerning immigration detention of children and family

On 19 June 2023, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), the European Council for Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), and the AIRE Centre have submitted a joint third-party intervention before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in the case of V.M. and Others v. Poland. The case concerns the detention of a child and her family seeking asylum in Poland. The application concerns the on-going detention of V.M. and her two minor children (born in 2012 and in 2015), Armenian nationals, at a guarded centre for foreigners, pending their asylum and deportation proceedings. The applicants were detained upon arrival. V.M., who was pregnant with twins at the time suffered a miscarriage three weeks after their detention took place.

Read the full text of the intervention here.

Afghanistan: At UN Human Rights Council, ICJ calls for urgent response to safeguard the rights of women and girls facing persecution

Afghanistan: At UN Human Rights Council, ICJ calls for urgent response to safeguard the rights of women and girls facing persecution

As the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council discussed the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan, the International Commission of Jurists called today on the international community to scale up efforts to address the ongoing widespread and systematic human rights violations abuses in the country.

Following on from their joint report on The Taliban’s War on Women, The ICJ and Amnesty International, addressed the Human Rights Council and convened a panel discussion at the UN. The event provided additional space for women human rights defenders and UN experts to offer insights about the atrocious plight of faced by women and girls in Afghanistan, including the crime against humanity of gender persecution. Participants advanced their expectations for an international response and recommendations towards accountability for the crimes committed in the country.

Translate »