Dec 21, 2020 | News
Today, the Lebanese Center for Human Rights (CLDH) and the ICJ held a joint webinar on migrants and refugees in Lebanon. The organizations addressed the situation of migrant workers and refugees including their legal and social status and the violations to which they are exposed.
The ICJ and CLDH called on the Lebanese authorities to adopt and enforce just, fair and effective legal and policy frameworks to address the entry and stay of refugees and migrants in Lebanon, and ensure the protection of their human rights in full compliance with Lebanon’s obligations under international law, particularly their non-refoulement obligations.
The ICJ launched its recent report Unrecognized and Unprotected: The Treatment of Refugees and Migrants in Lebanon, which undertakes an assessment of the Lebanese legal framework governing the treatment of migrants and refugees in the country, including their entry and stay.
The report concludes that the legal and policy gaps, together with the executive’s excessive and unchecked powers in shaping and implementing migration-related policies, have led to serious violations to refugees’ and migrants’ human rights in Lebanon.
The ICJ presented the findings and key recommendations of its report, which included urging the Lebanese government to ensure that no individual is transferred to a country where he or she faces a real risk of persecution or other forms of serious harm, such as torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Procedural obstacles preventing migrant workers and refugees from accessing justice, such as lacking residency papers, were examined by CLDH.
The webinar, facilitated by CLDH’s Executive Director Fadel Fakih, commenced with opening remarks from Said Benarbia, Director of the ICJ’s Middle East and North Africa Programme, and Wadih Al-Asmar, President of CLDH. Attendees included civil society, lawyers, and members of the Lebanese Bar association.
Underscoring that Lebanon is obligated to protect the rights of refugees and asylum seekers despite not being a State party to the 1951 Refugee Convention, as these rights are guaranteed by other international conventions ratified by Lebanon including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT), Al-Asmar called on the Lebanese State to abandon its repressive security approach towards refugee populations, and to abolish the exploitative Kafala sponsorship system.
Benarbia addressed how normative gaps, together with restrictive provisions of the 1962 Law of Entry and Exit, including those criminalizing “irregular entry,” undermine the right of refugees to an individual examination of their asylum claim, their right to liberty and security of person, and their right to an effective legal remedy for human rights violations.
He pointed out that laws and policies impacting on migrants and refugees should be adopted and implemented by legally constituted civilian authorities, subject to legislative oversight and judicial review.
CLDH members Hasna Abdul Reda and Rabih Keyrouz focused on the obstacles that continue to impede migrant workers and refugees from accessing justice in Lebanon. CLDH Programme Manager, Josiane Noun, presented CLDH’s Legal Aid Programme and support services that the organization has made available to migrant workers and refugees.
Kouakou Adjo Delphine, representing the Alliance of Migrant Domestic Workers in Lebanon, discussed the challenges domestic migrants face in accessing justice for human rights violations.
The conference concluded with an open discussion between panelists and participants where possible solutions to enhance the protection afforded to migrant workers and refugees in Lebanon were discussed.
Nov 20, 2020 | News
The ICJ today called on the Egyptian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release human rights defenders Gasser Abdel-Razek, Mohamed Bashseer and Karim Ennarah.
The detainees, senior staffers of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), a leading human rights organization, were targeted in connection with their human rights work.
The arrests are part of a broader, relentless campaign by the military and government to intimidate and silence civil society organizations, including through such means as trumped-up “terrorism” charges and sham judicial proceedings.
“By arresting Mohamed Bashseer, Karim Ennarah and Gasser Abdel-Razek, and charging them with terrorism-related offences, the Egyptian government led by President Al-Sisi are writing a new, terrifying chapter in their repression playbook,” said Said Benarbia, Director of ICJ’s Middle East and North Africa Programme.
“Their crackdown on independent civil society must end.”
On 19 November 2020, Gasser Abdel-Razek, EIPR’s Executive Director, was arrested by security forces from his home in Maadi, Cairo. He appeared before the Supreme State Security Prosecution (SSSP) and charged in case No. 855/2020 with, among other charges, “joining a terrorist group” and “spreading false news.”
On 15 November 2020, EIPR’s Administrative Manager Mohamed Bashseer, was arrested at his house in Cairo. On 17 November 2020, Karim Ennarah, EIPR’s director of the criminal justice programme, was also arrested.
They both face similar charges in the same case No. 855/2020, together with other numerous lawyers and human rights defenders, including Mohamed El-Baqer and Mahienour al-Massry.
Over the past seven years, EIPR has been subjected to a pattern of harassment and persecution by the military and government.
In 2016, the assets of EIPR’s founder and former executive director, Hossam Bahgat, were frozen and he was subjected to a travel ban since then.
On February 2020, Patrick George Zaki, an EIPR researcher, was arrested at Cairo Airport by National Security Agency officers who reportedly subjected him to torture, including with electric shocks. He was charged by a public prosecutor with, among other charges, “spreading false news” and “inciting protest without authorization”. He remains in custody
The recent arrests of the three senior EIPR officials follow a visit by a number of European ambassadors and other diplomats to the EIPR Cairo offices on 3 November 2020, during which the human rights situation in Egypt was discussed.
“The international community and in particular States engaging in political and security cooperation with Al-Sisi’s regime must not overlook the serious violations against human rights defenders taking place in the country,” added Benarbia.
“They should demand an end to these violations and ensure that individuals and independent human rights groups are able to do their legitimate and critical human rights work freely and without intimidation.”
Contact
Said Benarbia, Director, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme, t: +41-22-979-3817; e: said.benarbia(a)icj.org
Download the Arabic version
Egypt-EIPR crackdown-News-2020-ARA
Nov 12, 2020 | News
The ICJ, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), the Defender Center for Human Rights (DCHR), Lawyers for Justice in Libya (LFJL) and the Libyan Women’s Platform for Peace (LWPP) have issued today a joint statement on the assassination of lawyer and political activist Hanan al-Barassi .
The undersigned human rights groups are appalled by the assassination of lawyer and political activist Hanan al-Barassi in Benghazi on 10 November 2020, and call on the competent authorities to launch an independent, impartial and effective investigation into the killing and bring those responsible to justice through fair trials.
On 10 November, a group of unknown armed men shot al-Barassi in Benghazi city centre in broad daylight. Al-Barassi was known for her political engagement and criticism of the human rights violations and abuses and corruption allegedly committed by authorities in Eastern Libya and their affiliated militias. Al-Barassi was active on social media, and often posted videos on Facebook in which she criticised the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF). Her last video was posted a few hours before her killing.
Al-Barassi’s murder follows a disturbing pattern in recent years of violent attacks against prominent women activists who are critical of the authorities and affiliated militias. In June 2014, gunmen assassinated prominent human rights activist and lawyer Salwa Bugaighis. This was followed by the killing of former Derna Congress member Fariha Al-Berkawi on 17 July 2014, and human rights activist Entisar El Hassari on 24 February 2015. Women’s rights defender and member of the Tobruk-based House of Representatives Seham Sergiwa was abducted from her home by armed men on 17 July 2019, and her whereabouts remains unknown.
The failure of Libyan authorities to effectively investigate these attacks, despite public commitments to do so, has created an environment of impunity, in which women are frequently targeted, both online and offline, with threats, smear campaigns and violence for their political or human rights views. Al-Barassi’s assassination is also a stark demonstration of how online violence against women can carry over to have lethal consequences on the ground.
Such atrocities are prevalent in Libya today. The pattern of violence including enforced disappearances and assassinations of activists, human rights defenders, judges and journalists across the country is alarming, and will only continue in the absence of any effective, independent and impartial investigations. Addressing these crimes by holding the perpetrators to account must be a priority, including within any political process.
Al-Barassi’s killing has taken place as the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) continues talks aimed at ending the conflict and preparing for national elections, underscoring the importance of ensuring accountability and justice in the country. There can be no meaningful democratic transition in Libya until the basic security and human rights of the population are guaranteed.
Given the absence of any real commitment to effectively investigating ongoing crimes under international law being committed in Libya, the newly established Independent Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on Libya must be urgently provided with the necessary resources to begin its investigations and preserve evidence without delay. We urge the Libyan authorities to fully cooperate with the FFM, and UN Member States to swiftly provide the needed support and adequate resources.
Signatories
- International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)
- Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
- Defender Center for Human Rights (DCHR)
- Lawyers for Justice in Libya (LFJL)
- Libyan Women’s Platform for Peace (LWPP)
Find the Joint Statement in Arabic and English here:
Lybia-Hanan_Albarassi -JointStatement-2020-ARA
Lybia-Hanan_Albarassi -JointStatement-2020-ENG
Oct 30, 2020 | Agendas, Events, News
From 27 to 28 October 2020, the ICJ, in collaboration with the National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW), held a seminar on recommended practice with respect to evidentiary standards in the investigation, prosecution and adjudication of sexual and gender-based violence offences in Lebanon.
Consultations held by the ICJ with the Lebanese authorities and with practitioners in July 2019 revealed the need to support and bolster the capacity of criminal justice system actors to effectively investigate, prosecute, adjudicate and sanction SGBV, prompting the ICJ, together with NCLW, to organize the seminar.
The seminar accordingly aimed to address the significant gaps in law and procedure and practical obstacles to ensuring key evidence be identified, collected and assessed in a manner consistent with international standards, including Lebanon’s obligations under international human rights law. It also aimed to provide a platform to connect Lebanese judges, prosecutors, police officers, lawyers, forensic practitioners and international experts, with a view to identifying solutions that will ensure women and girls’ effective access to justice for SGBV in Lebanon, in addition to accountability for, and protection from, SGBV.
The discussions predominantly focused on the international law and standards that apply to the identification, gathering, storing, admissibility, exclusion and evaluation of evidence in SGBV cases and how such standards may be used to fill gaps and strengthen domestic law and practice. Participants also discussed the adverse impact patriarchal and other harmful stereotypes have on investigation, prosecution and adjudication processes.
The seminar commenced with opening remarks from NCLW’s President and the International Commission of Jurists’ Middle East and North Africa Programme Director. Speakers included practitioners from international and domestic courts and tribunals, as well as ICJ staff.
The seminar followed the publication of ICJ guidance and recommendations to criminal justice actors in its report Accountability for Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Lebanon, published on 22 October 2020.
Informed by international law and standards, the ICJ will now formulate recommendations based on the identification by the seminar’s participants of the reforms needed with respect to the Lebanese framework and practice. These recommendations will be included in the ICJ’s forthcoming publication on evidentiary rules and recommended practices in cases of SGBV in Lebanon, which will be published and disseminated among practitioners in Lebanon.
Oct 19, 2020 | News
Tunisian Parliament should reject the revised Draft Law No. 91-2018 on the state of emergency when it is tabled in the plenary session starting tomorrow, said the ICJ today.
The Draft Law is inconsistent with the rule of law and Tunisia’s international human rights obligations and should be considered further to ensure its compliance with international law and standards.
The Draft Law was approved by the Parliament’s Committee on Rights, Freedoms and External Relations on 15 May 2019. Articles 2, 3 and 4 of the Draft Law authorize the President to declare a state of emergency for one month, renewable once, “in the event of catastrophic events” or “imminent danger threatening public order and security, the security of people and institutions and the vital interests and property of the state.”
Tunisia has remained under a continuous state of emergency since 24 November 2015.
“The Draft Law would entrench the President’s power to unilaterally determine what constitutes an emergency on broad grounds,” said Said Benarbia, the ICJ’s MENA Programme Director.
“It should be amended to enhance legislative oversight over the declaration of the state of emergency, provide for effective judicial review over emergency measures, and ensure that such measures do not unlawfully infringe on the enjoyment of recognized rights and freedoms.”
Under the law, regional governors could impose restrictions on movement and prohibit gatherings where necessary for “the maintenance of security and public order.” They could suspend the activities of associations that they decide act in a manner “contrary to public order and security” that “obstructs the work of the public authorities”. The Minister of Interior may also order house arrest and other measures against anyone deemed to “hamper public order and security”, including by summoning them to appear at the police station twice a day and intercepting their communications and correspondence.
The ICJ stressed that these measures risk interference with a number of rights, including freedom of expression, association, assembly, movement and the rights to liberty.
“The proposed law would entrench opportunities for Tunisian authorities to continue perpetrating abuses of human rights under arbitrarily imposed states of emergency,” said Kate Vigneswaran, ICJ’s MENA Senior Legal Adviser.
“It’s up to Parliament to ensure that appropriate safeguards are put in place which clearly limit the basis for imposing any restrictive measure to objective criteria and a real risk of harm, not the whims and political desires of the executive.”
The ICJ said that notwithstanding the inclusion of procedural safeguards – including registration of such decisions with reasons with the Public Prosecutor – the broad basis for the imposition of house arrest is concerning given Tunisian authorities’ abusive use of house arrest in the past.
Contact:
Said Benarbia, Director, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme, t: +41-22-979-3817; e: said.benarbia(a)icj.org
Kate Vigneswaran, Senior Legal Adviser, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme, t: +31-62-489-4664; e: kate.vigneswaran(a)icj.org
Tunisia-Law of Emergency-News-2020-ENG (story with additional information, PDF)
Tunisia-Law of Emergency-News-2020-ARA (story in Arabic, PDF)
