May 5, 2021 | News
The ICJ today condemned the dismissal of all five of the justices serving in El Salvador’s Supreme Court Constitutional Chamber by the country’s newly elected Legislative Assembly, backed by El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele.
The dismissal on 2 May was justified on vague allegations of arbitrariness and dereliction of functions particularly relating to judicial decisions taken striking down government action related to the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Legislative Assembly also dismissed El Salvador’s Attorney General.
The ICJ stressed that the dismissal violated core tenets of the independence of the judiciary, by which judges are subject to dismissal only “for reasons of incapacity or behaviour that renders them unfit to discharge their duties.” (United Nations Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary). Any decision must also be subject to a fair hearing of individual judges, with full due process guarantees.
The dismissal process was carried out without any individualized hearings, and without a clear expression of a legitimate basis for the dismissal.
The ICJ is concerned that this summary dismissal will undermine the independence of the judiciary, including by intimidating other judicial authorities in the country.
The dismissal of judges and the Attorney General was followed by the immediate appointment and swearing in office of other judges in replacement. This decision violates the procedural rules of selection and appointment, which are essential to safeguard the independence and impartiality of the judges serving in the Constitutional Chamber.
The decision to dismiss the judges was taken by a qualified majority of legislators, shortly after the new legislative assembly started its functions, in a swift procedure that lasted just a few hours.
The ICJ urges the government of El Salvador to restore respect to fundamental rule of law principles to prevent the arbitrary use of power and impunity.
The country is particularly vulnerable to impunity for human rights violations, where an independent judiciary is not in place to assess the lawfulness of government actions.
The ICJ calls on the responsible authorities of the Inter-American Commission for human rights and the United Nations human rights system to address the situation as a matter of priority.
Oct 10, 2017 | Multimedia items, News, Video clips
Selected by a jury of 10 global human rights organizations, including the ICJ, Mohamed Zaree is a devoted human rights activist and legal scholar whose work focuses on human rights advocacy around freedom of expression and association.
Mohamed Zaree is also known for his role as the Egypt Country Director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), which works throughout the Arabic speaking world.
He assumed this role after government pressure on CIHRS prompted them to relocate their headquarters to Tunis in 2014.
The Egyptian government has been escalating its pressure on the human rights movement.
Human rights NGOs and defenders are confronted with a growing wave of threats, harassment, and intimidation, legal and otherwise.
Despite this, Mohamed Zaree is leading CIHRS’ research, human rights education, and national advocacy initiatives in Egypt and is shaping the media debate on human rights issues.
During this critical period for civil society, he is also leading the Forum of Independent Egyptian Human Rights NGOs, a network aiming to unify human rights groups in advocacy.
Zaree’s initiatives have helped NGOs to develop common approaches to human rights issues in Egypt.
Within the context of the renewed crackdown on Egyptian human rights organizations, he has become a leading figure in Egypt’s human rights movement.
He is currently facing investigation under the “Foreign Funding Case” and is at high risk of prosecution and life imprisonment. The “Foreign Funding Case” highly restricts NGO activities.
Despite this, Mohammed Zaree continues to engage the authorities in dialogue wherever possible, arguing that respect for human rights will increase stability in Egypt.
He has been under a travel ban since May 2016 but remains present and active in Egypt and represents CIHRS inside the country.
“Mohamed Zaree is a leading voice for justice in Egypt. Honoring him with the Martin Ennals Award is a recognition of the courageous and tireless work done by Egyptian human rights defenders, individuals and NGOs, in their fight against all forms of intimidation, harassment and repression waged by the Egyptian military and government against them,” said Said Benarbia, Director of the ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme.
FreeThe5KH (Cambodia) and Karla Avelar, the two other finalists, received Martin Ennals Prizes.
FreeThe5KH are five Human Rights Defenders who were recently released after 427 days of pre-trial detention.
They are awaiting trial and are banned from travel.
There were widespread international calls for their unconditional release, and a stop to judicial harassment of human rights defenders in Cambodia.
This comes in the context of an increasingly severe crackdown on civil society and the political opposition in Cambodia.
Karla Avelar, a transgender woman in El Salvador, founded the country’s first organization of transgender women – COMCAVIS TRANS.
She grew up on the streets, suffering discrimination, violence, sexual exploitation, rape, and attempted murder.
She works to change national legislation and the authorities’ practices, by publicizing violations suffered by LGBTI people.
Her advocacy helped prompt the authorities to segregate LGBTI prisoners for their own safety, and provide HIV treatment.
Background
The “Nobel Prize of Human Rights”, the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders (MEA) is a unique collaboration among ten of the world’s leading human rights organizations to give protection to human rights defenders worldwide.
Strongly supported by the City of Geneva, the award is given to Human Rights Defenders who have shown deep commitment and face great personal risk.
Its aim is to provide protection through international recognition.
The Jury is composed of the following NGOs: ICJ, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, Int’l Federation for Human Rights, World Organisation Against Torture, Front Line Defenders, EWDE Germany, International Service for Human Rights, and HURIDOCS.
Contact:
Michael Khambatta, Director, Martin Ennals Foundation, t: +41 79 474 8208, e: khambatta(a)martinennalsaward.org
Olivier van Bogaert, Director, ICJ Media and Communications, and ICJ Representative on the MEA Jury, t: +41 22 979 38 08, e: olivier.vanbogaert(a)icj.org
The Award will be presented by the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights at 18.15 on 10 October at the University of Geneva. The ceremony can be watched live on Martin Ennals Award Facebook page
Watch the movie on Mohammed Zaree
Apr 26, 2017 | News
Mohamed Zaree (Egypt, photo), FreeThe5KH (Cambodia) and Karla Avelar (El Salvador) will compete for this prestigious award given to human rights defenders who have shown deep commitment and face great personal risk. The ICJ is member of the MEA Jury.
Selected by the International Human Rights Community (members of the jury are the ICJ, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First, International Federation for Human Rights, World Organisation Against Torture, Front Line Defenders, EWDE Germany, International Service for Human Rights and HURIDOCS), the final nominees for the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders (MEA) are known:
- Mohamed Zaree is the Egypt Country Director for the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), responsible for CIHRS’s legal research, media outreach and national advocacy. CIHRS’s work was influential in the Arab world particularly Egypt, which resulted in death threats to its director. This forced the CIHRS executive director and regional staff to move abroad to continue their work. Mohamed chose to stay and is now banned from travel. He is a legal scholar coordinating research to challenge laws designed to limit NGOs activities working on human rights, such as freedom of expression and assembly. He is widely seen a unifying figure bringing together the human rights community in Egypt to advocate with a common approach.
- FreeThe5KH are five Human Rights Defenders who have been in pre-trial detention for almost one year. This is linked to their work with the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC). International bodies like the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and UN Special Rapporteurs have repeatedly called for their immediate and unconditional release, and a stop to judicial harassment of human rights defenders in Cambodia based on their legitimate human rights work. This comes in the context of an increasingly severe crackdown on civil society and the political opposition in Cambodia.
- Karla Avelar, a transgender woman in El Salvador, grew up on the streets of San Salvador, suffering discrimination, violence, exploitation, and rape. She was imprisoned when she defended herself, and then regularly abused by fellow prisoners with the knowledge and even participation of the prison authorities. With three others, she founded COMCAVIS TRANS, which was created to represent, defend, and promote the human rights of LGBTI persons, with a focus on those living with HIV, as she does. She works to change legislation and the authorities’ practices, by holding them publicly to account.
Mohammed Zaree said: “Our hopes were high following the Egyptian revolution in 2011; we don’t know how the situation has instead deteriorated to such an extent. Today, we are battling human rights violations that are worse than before 2011, and challenging the normalization and acceptance of these atrocities.”
“Killing almost 1000 citizens in few hours, arresting almost 40,000 others, innocents dying in Egyptian prisons; is not the norm and we will not allow it to become so. We human rights defenders are fighting these abuses at risk of indefinite imprisonment,” he added.
The main award of the human rights movement, and as such labelled as the Nobel Price for human rights, the Martin Ennals Award aims to protect human rights defenders through increased visibility.
The Award will be presented on 10 October 2017 at a ceremony hosted by the City of Geneva.
Contact
Olivier van Bogaert, Director Media & Communications, ICJ representative in the MEA Jury, t: +41 22 979 38 08 ; e: olivier.vanbogaert(a)icj.org
Michael Khambatta, Director, Martin Ennals Foundation, t: +41 79 474 8208 ; e: khambatta(a)martinennalsaward.org
Background information
Egypt-MEA Finalists 2017 MZaree Bio-2017-ENG (Mohammed Zaree bio, in PDF)
Cambodia-MEA 2017 Finalists FreeThe5KH Bio-2017-ENG (FreeThe5KH backgrounder, in PDF)
Salvador-MEA 2017 Finalists KAvelar Bio-2017-ENG (Karla Avelar bio, in PDF)
Jun 20, 2015 | News
La CIJ pide que el Ministerio Público lleve a cabo una investigación rápida y eficaz en el caso del asesinato de la defensora de los Derechos Humanos de las personas lesbianas, gays, bisexuales, trans e intersex (LGBTI).
La CIJ expresa su profunda preocupación por los ataques y discriminación que sufren defensores y defensoras de los derechos humanos de la comunidad LGBTI en El Salvador.
Es necesario, para prevenir la impunidad, que las autoridades investiguen los más de 500 asesinatos que, según las organizaciones que defienden los derechos humanos de la comunidad LGBTI, han ocurrido desde el año 1996.
Especial conmoción ha causado el asesinato de Francela Méndez, mujer trans y activista defensora de los derechos humanos de la comunidad transgénero en El Salvador, quien formaba parte de la red salvadoreña de Defensoras de Derechos Humanos. Francela fue asesinada el pasado 30 de mayo cuando se encontraba en casa de una amiga, quien también murió en el ataque.
Ante esta situación, la CIJ exige que el Ministerio Público lleve a cabo una investigación pronta y eficaz, que permita identificar a los culpables.
El asesinato de Francela Méndez no debería quedar en la impunidad; es necesario que se identifique a los culpables, para evitar que hechos similares se sigan cometiendo en el futuro.
La CIJ insta al Sector Justicia a investigar de oficio estos crímenes, y a procesar y sancionar a quienes resulten responsables.
La CIJ considera que El Salvador debe adoptar un enfoque diferenciado para garantizar los derechos a la vida e integridad de la comunidad LGBTI y de defensores y defensoras de los derechos humanos de las personas LGBTI.
En tal sentido, urge implementar una campaña pública en medios de comunicación masiva, a favor del respeto a sus derechos.
Ramón Cadena, Director del programa de la CIJ para Centroamérica expresó: “Pedimos al Fiscal General de la República, que lleve a cabo una investigación objetiva para esclarecer el caso de Francela Méndez. Además, el Organismo Legislativo del Estado de El Salvador debería aprobar una Ley de Identidad de Género para poder hacer efectivos los derechos de la comunidad LGBTI, así como abstenerse de aprobar leyes o reformas constitucionales que vayan en detrimento de sus derechos. ”
Jun 19, 2015 | News
La CIJ pide a la Asamblea Legislativa de El Salvador elegir a las personas independientes, idóneas y honestas como magistrados de la Corte Suprema de Justicia.
La CIJ, ante la próxima elección por parte de la Asamblea Legislativa de El Salvador de cinco magistrados a la Corte Suprema de Justicia, expresa:
- De conformidad con el Derecho Internacional de los Derechos Humanos, los Estados deben hacer todos los esfuerzos posibles, para dotarse a sí mismos de un Poder Judicial Independiente. En tal sentido, es necesario que la Asamblea Legislativa haga todos los esfuerzos posibles para elegir de la lista de 30 personas, a las más idóneas, honestas e independientes;
- La Asamblea Legislativa debería dar tiempo suficiente, para permitir que en el proceso de elección, la sociedad salvadoreña pueda presentar sus observaciones y críticas hacia cada uno de los candidatos y candidatas; asimismo, después de elaborar una lista corta de posibles candidato/as (lista de 10 personas por ejemplo), la Asamblea Legislativa debería llevar a cabo audiencias púbicas con cada uno de ellos, para que la ciudadanía pueda enterarse con más detalle de la trayectoria de cada candidato/a y de su conocimiento en aspectos de administración de justicia;
- La Asamblea Legislativa debería elegir a las personas que tengan más conocimiento y experiencia en materia de administración de justicia y que sean jueces de carrera, para que quienes sean electos puedan llegar a impulsar los cambios que el Sistema de Justicia requiere. Por ejemplo, las reformas a la Carrera Judicial; separación de las facultades administrativas y jurisdiccionales de las y los magistrados de la Corte Suprema de Justicia; reformas a los procesos disciplinarios que se aplican a jueces y magistrados, entre otras.
Ramón Cadena, Director del programa la Comisión Internacional de Juristas para Centroamérica expresó en su visita a El Salvador: “Si bien los acuerdos de paz introdujeron reformas importantes, después de más de quince años se requiere introducir nuevas reformas para fortalecer la independencia del Poder Judicial, en relación a los otros poderes del Estado de El Salvador y alcanzar una mayor independencia judicial. Seguiremos observando de cerca el desarrollo y los resultados de este proceso de elección.”