Mar 13, 2015 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The Colombian Commission of Jurists, an affiliate of the ICJ, today called for the UN Human Rights Council to uphold the use of civilian courts, rather than military tribunals, to try civilians and to adjudicate claims for human rights violations.
An oral statement to the UN Human Rights Council highlighted that:
- military tribunals should as a matter of principle have no jurisdiction to try civilians or to adjudicate claims of serious human rights violations;
- These matters should be the domain of civilian courts; and
- The jurisdiction of military tribunals should be restricted to specifically military offenses committed by military personnel.
The oral statement emphasised to the global reach of the issue, referring by way of example to the military commissions established by the United States of America at Guantánamo Bay, as well as recent negative developments in Colombia, Egypt, Thailand and Pakistan.
The statement noted that the Principles Governing the Administration of Justice Through Military Tribunals presented to the Commission on Human Rights by Emmanuel Decaux in 2006 (UN Doc E/CN.4/2006/58), are widely referenced, but have yet to receive full recognition by the Human Rights Council. The statement added its support to the calls by the Special Rapporteur on Independence of Judges and Lawyers, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and others, for the Council to endorse and seek implementation of the Principles without further delay.
The statement responds to an expert consultation on the administration of justice through military tribunals convened by the Council (UN Doc A/HRC/28/32).
The full oral statement can be downloaded in pdf format here: Advocacy-HRC28-MilitaryCourts-OralStatement-2015
Said Benarbia, Director of ICJ’s Middle East North Africa Programme participated in the expert consultation.
His statement can be found here: MENA-Military Courts HRC28-Advocacy-2015-ENG (full text in PDF).
Thailand exercised its right of reply, which can be viewed in the UN webcast archive, here.
Mar 4, 2015 | Events
A panel discussion on Guantánamo and accountability for torture, featuring UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Juan E. Méndez and other experts, will take place in Geneva on 9 March 2015 in connection with the UN Human Rights Council session.The panel features:
- Juan E. Méndez, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture
- Jamil Dakwar, Director, Human Rights Program, American Civil Liberties Union
- Peter Jan Honigsbert, U of San Francisco Law School, Founder & Director of Witness to Guantánamo
- Julia Hall, Expert on Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights, Amnesty International
moderator: Connie de la Vega, University of San Francisco Law School & Human Rights Advocates.
The ICJ joins the ACLU, Amnesty International, Human Rights Advocates, Conectas, Human Rights Watch, CELS, and OMCT in supporting this event.
The event takes place 9 march 2015, at 15:00-17:00, Room XXIII, Palais des Nations, in Geneva.
The event flyer may be downloaded in PDF format here: SideEventTorture
Dec 10, 2014 | News
The ICJ repeated its call for the United States to take immediate measures to hold accountable officials for acts of torture, enforced disappearance and other gross human rights violations committed in the course the CIA’s rendition and secret detention programs between 2001 and 2006.
The call follows the release yesterday of a redacted summary of the United States Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on the programs, which highlights appalling abuses committed against at least 119 persons.
The ICJ has also called for the United States to provide access to effective remedies and reparation for the victims of the violations, some of whose identities or whereabouts remain unknown.
The report exposed numerous acts of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, including, among others: forced rectal feeding; extreme sleep deprivation for up to a week; sensory disorientation; near drowning through “waterboarding”; confinement in boxes; dousing with cold water; prolonged subjection to painful stress positions; and threats of extreme violence against family members. Some detainees were held in secret detention for years, without any contact with the outside world.
“With the partial release of the Intelligence Committee’s report, the US has finally begun to take the first steps towards acknowledging the truth of the lawless and criminal conduct in which it engaged systematically over the course of years”, said Ian Seiderman, the ICJ’s Legal and Policy Director. “It is now time for the United States to fulfill its international legal obligations and hold the responsible officials criminally accountable and ensure full reparation for the victims.”
To date, no officials have been subject to prosecution for participation in the abuses and all attempts by victims to access justice through judicial and administrative channels have been thwarted by claims of state secrecy.
The report draws attention to the complicity of a number of other States in the rendition and secret detention programs, possibly up to 54 countries according to a study by the Open Society Foundation.
The European Court of Human Rights has already found the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Poland responsible for violations in this connection, with further cases pending against Lithuania and Romania.
The ICJ also called for the United States to release the entire Senate Committee report, said to number 6700 pages, with only those very minimal redactions of personal data strictly necessary to protect serious threats, such as to children and the privacy interests of victims and their families if they so request.
“Responsibility for these criminal abuses extends not only to the CIA agents who directly carried them out, but also to officials at the highest levels of the executive, who approved and facilitated the practices, and Justice Department lawyers who provided spurious legal cover for them,” said Ian Seiderman.
Torture and enforced disappearance are crimes under international law.
United States treaty obligations, including under the UN Convention against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights require the prosecution of officials responsible for such acts and provision of effective remedies and reparation the victims.
