Jun 27, 2018 | Events, News
ICJ Senior Legal Adviser Matt Pollard will speak at an ICRC event on 18 July, marking Nelson Mandela International Day.The event, 18 July 2018, 13:00 – 14:30, will take place at the ICRC Humanitarium, 17 avenue de la paix, in Geneva.
On 18 July, the ICRC is marking Nelson Mandela International Day with the launch of a new edition of ‘A Human Rights Approach to Prison Management’ by the Institute for Criminal Policy Research. This Handbook, which has been translated into 19 languages, is used by the ICRC and many others around the world.
During the launch, author Professor Andrew Coyle will reflect on developments in the use of imprisonment worldwide over the last 20 years, focusing on topical issues such as the use of highly restrictive forms of detention for certain categories of prisoner, including solitary confinement. Detention experts from the ICRC and Geneva-based international organizations, the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) will respond, and there will be space for questions and discussion.
In December 2015 the UN General Assembly adopted revised United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, to be known as the Nelson Mandela Rules in honour of the contribution of South Africa to the Rules’ development and of the legacy of the late President of South Africa, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison. In the accompanying resolution, the General Assembly decided to extend the scope of Nelson Mandela International Day as an opportunity to promote humane conditions of imprisonment, raise awareness about prisoners being a continuous part of society and to value the work of prison staff as a social service of particular importance.
Speakers:
- Andrew Coyle, Emeritus Professor of Prison Studies at Kings College, University of London
- Barbara Bernath, Secretary General of the Association for the Prevention of Torture
- Matt Pollard, Senior Legal Adviser to the International Commission of Jurists
- Sara Snell, Prison System Adviser to the International Committee of the Red Cross
- Valérie Belchior-Bellino Captier, Detention Nutrition Adviser to the ICRC
For more information and to register, click here.
Jun 25, 2018 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The statement on behalf of four groups was delivered in the context of the General Debate on Item 3 during the 38th Session of the UN Human Rights Council.
The groups called all States to take up the opportunity to strengthen a multilateral approach the issue of business and human rights by joining the intergovernmental process to establish a legally binding instrument in this field.
The statement is as follows:
The current intergovernmental process to establish a legally binding instrument in the field of business and human rights offers States the opportunity to work through international cooperation and multilateral engagement to effectively address the human rights impact of business activities.
We thus urge all States –including those that have been so far reluctant to engage- to actively participate in this process.
Only constructive dialogue among all States and other stakeholders, especially the affected communities, can lead to sustainable solutions to the existing normative and protection gaps.
This 38th session of the Human Rights Council marks the 10th anniversary of its adoption of the Framework Report “Protect, Respect and Remedy”.
As we celebrate the contribution of this Framework, which led to the creation of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, we must emphasize the need to increase the international community’s response.
In the past ten years, although important work has been done in some areas and by some countries, little systemic positive change has been felt on the ground, where many individuals, especially indigenous and peasant workers and communities, continue to endure the violation of their rights without recourse to real remedy avenues.
The creation of an international legally binding framework for States to maximize action and cooperation regarding rights abuses in the context of business operations remains a compelling necessity of our times.
I thank you.
Full statement in English (PDF): Universal-HRC38-BHR-treaty-Advocacy-non-legal-submission-June-2018-ENG
Jun 22, 2018 | Events, News
This side event to the UN Human Rights Council session addresses equal and effective access to justice for indigenous people, people living with a disability and people from ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities.
Monday 25 June | 16:30-18:00 | Room XXVII, Palais des Nations
Sustainable Development Goal 16 calls for the realisation of peaceful and inclusive societies in which all individuals have equal access to justice.
Achieving access to justice, which includes due process and equality before the law, is a complex challenge. It demands not only examining the letter of the laws that are in force, but also identifying and overcoming systemic and practical barriers that preclude equal access to justice.
The International Commission of Jurists, Minority Rights Group International, the International Bar Association Human Rights Institute, the Permanent Mission of Austria to the UN and the Permanent Mission of Australia to the UN invite you to attend a panel discussion in the margins of the 38th Session of the Human Rights Council that will reflect on the multiple and intersecting barriers still experienced by those who are frequently among the most marginalised and at risk in society more generally: Indigenous people, people living with a disability and people from ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities.
The discussion will also explore the responses (systematic, legislative, practical, international or otherwise) that can include and legally empower such persons when they come into contact with the legal system as a means to promote their equal access to justice.
Speakers:
Mr Matthew Pollard, Senior Legal Advisor, UN Representative, International Commission of Jurists (Moderator)
Dr June Oscar AO, Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Australian Human Rights Commission
Mr Glenn Payot, UN Representative, Minority Rights Group International
Ms Victoria Lee, Programme Manager, Human Rights and Disability Team, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
For more information contact un(a)icj.org
May 30, 2018 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ today made a submission for an upcoming report by the UN Secretary General on recent developments concerning human rights in the administration of justice.
In 2016, the UN General Assembly requested the Secretary General “to submit to the General Assembly at its seventy-third session a report on the latest developments, challenges and good practices in human rights in the administration of justice, including on efforts to ensure equal access to justice for all through the independent, impartial and effective administration of justice, and on the activities undertaken by the United Nations system as a whole”.
The UN is in the process of preparing the report, which will cover developments during the last two years since the previous report of the Secretary General.
The ICJ’s submission can be downloaded in PDF format here: UN-GA-AdminJustice-2018
May 28, 2018 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
Today, the ICJ and 22 other rights organizations submitted a paper to the 30th meeting of Chairs of the human rights treaty bodies (Chairpersons meeting) in New York (28 May-1 June).
This paper is presented to the 30th meeting of Chairs of the human rights treaty bodies (Chairpersons meeting) by non-governmental organizations that contribute to many aspects of the work of the treaty bodies, including by encouraging and supporting national partners in their use of the system.
It focuses on existing good practices in treaty body working methods and makes recommendations for further discussions.
The signing NGOs hope that this submission will provide a basis for an effort by the treaty body Chairpersons to take stock of some of the important changes to working methods that the treaty bodies have undertaken and lead to further discussion on areas where greater alignment of working methods would make a particularly meaningful contribution to NGOs’ efforts to engage with the treaty bodies and promote better implementation by States of their human rights obligations.
Universal-Amnesty-Submission-to-the-30th-meeting-of-chairs-of-the-human-rights-treaty-bodies-Advocacy-non legal submission-May-2018-ENG (Full text in PDF)
