Dec 16, 2019 | Agendas, Events, News
Today begins in Ankara (Turkey) a one-day workshop for lawyers and CSO practitioners to discuss and brainstorm on an alternative Justice Reform Strategy.
This event is organized by ICJ, in cooperation with its partners Kapasite Geliştirme Derneği and Human Rights Joint Platform, as part of a EU co-financed project Rebuilding and Ensuring Access to justice with civil society in Turkey.
The workshop aims at discussing the key reforms proposed by the Government of Turkey in its Judicial Reform Strategy and provide with an assessment and an alternative plan for reform based on international standards and jurisprudence on access to justice and the independence of the judiciary.
The workshop will provide presentations on international standards on the judiciary as well as on access to justice for human rights violations. It will produce a ten point strategy document to propose reforms that will uphold the independence of the judiciary and access to justice in Turkey.
The project is funded by the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) of the European Union.
Turkey-Workshop-Agenda-AltJRS-Ankara-2019-eng (download the agenda)
Dec 10, 2019 | News
The ICJ mourns the loss of Professor Pedro Nikken, former President and Commissioner of the ICJ. Prof Nikken was elected ICJ President in January 2011, succeeding Mary Robinson (2008-2010) and followed by Nigel Rodley (2012-2017).
“Pedro Nikken left a tremendous legacy of respect for the rule of law and defense of human rights in his homeland of Venezuela, across Latin America and around the world,” said Prof Robert Goldman, the ICJ’s President.
“ Like so many others, I have lost a cherished friend and mentor whose company I will greatly miss,” he added.
Prof Nikken was a former Judge (1979-1989) and President (1983-1985) of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. He served as UN Independent Expert on El Salvador from 1992 to 1995 and from 1990-1992 he served as Legal Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on El Salvador’s peace process.
In 1995 he served as Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General to Burundi. He is former Dean and Professor (emeritus) at the Law School of the Universidad Central de Venezuela.
He was also former President and Permanent Counselor of the InterAmerican Institute of Human Rights. He was a Member (Chair N° 9) of the Venezuelan National Academy of Political and Social Sciences.
“Prof Nikken helped drive the ICJ’s work in pursuit of justice and accountability, particularly through regional human rights systems such as the Inter American Court of Human Rights, even as various governments tried to weaken the process and evade responsibility,” said Sam Zarifi, ICJ Secretary General.
“Pedro was indefatigable as a human rights defender and unsurpassed in the quality of his legal analysis, a rare combination of qualities that made him a role model for several generations of human rights lawyers around the world,” he added.
Pedro Nikken was born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1945. He graduated in 1968 from the Andres Bello Catholic University and obtained a diploma of higher studies in law at the Pentheon-Assas University (Paris II) and a doctorate in law from the University of Carabobo.
Dec 10, 2019 | News
Part of the active ‘International Cooperation Initiative’ between the ICJ and the Geneva Bar Association, a full house conference, attended by Geneva Lawyers, took place tonight at the Palais de Justice of Geneva. The theme was the criminalization of helping migrants for humanitarian motives.
Massimo Frigo, Senior Legal Adviser of the ICJ’s Europe and Central Asia Programme presented this complex issue with regard to the existing protocols of European directives and the reluctance of EU states to respect them.
The conference Le délit de solidarité en droit Suisse, européen et mondial was the first of many collaborations to come on subjects of common interest between the ICJ and the Geneva legal community.
Dec 6, 2019 | Events, News
This year, the ICJ collaborated with the South African Judicial Education Institute (SAJEI) to conduct workshops aimed at strengthening the ability of judicial officers, including Magistrates, to deliver judgments in line with the Constitution and international law. The workshops focused on housing rights and informal traders’ rights.
Topics covered included the social and economic context of South Africa, the role of judicial officers in ensuring the protection of economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR) and the obligation to consider international law standards.
The workshops were conducted using the ICJ Practitioners’ Guide on ESCR and tailor-made training resources that the ICJ designed and produced with SAJEI, while the European Union and the German Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen’s Zivik programme supported the training financially.
Senior magistrate and judicial educator at SAJEI Jinx Bhoola and ICJ Legal Advisor Tim Fish Hodgson facilitated the workshops with the support of ICJ Associate Legal Advisor Khanyo Farisè.
Most of the judicial officers who participated were Magistrates.
“Ensuring effective access at a magistrates’ court level is crucial as Magistrates are the judicial officers concerned with delivering justice in the majority of cases at first instance level. Besides, the majority of people living in South Africa will rarely have the means or assistance to access justice in High Courts,” Hodgson said.
The workshops aimed to introduce the international human rights law and standards framework on social and economic rights to Magistrates.
“The hope is that Magistrates will be able to more effectively perform their functions, while drawing on international law, in cases relating to housing rights and the rights of informal traders if equipped with easily accessible resources to do so,” Hodgson added.
Adding to this, Farisè said: “There is sometimes an assumption that certain groups of individuals are excluded from the rights provided for in the Bill of Rights. It must be emphasized that international human rights law and the right to dignity in the South African Constitution apply to all”.
“When considering these cases, it’s important that judicial officers including Magistrates, have a human rights approach,” Farisè added.
The workshops were well-received. “The Magistrates engaged with energy and enthusiasm with the workshop material, confident that they will be able to ensure the enforcement of socio-economic rights and the securing of access to justice for all in South Africa,” Hodgson said.
Contact:
Khanyo Farisè, Legal Adviser, e: Nokukhanya.Farise(a)icj.org
Tim Fish Hodgson (Legal Adviser), e: Timothy.Hodgson(a)icj.org
Nov 26, 2019 | News
Three exceptional women – Huda Al-Sarari, Norma Ledezma and Sizani Ngubane – are the finalists for the 2020 Martin Ennals Award, a demonstration of the leading position now occupied by women in the defence of human rights. The ICJ is member of the MEA Jury.
In Yemen, Huda Al-Sarari has exposed and challenged the existence of secret prisons and many cases of torture.
In Mexico, Norma Ledezma is fighting against femicides and disappearances.
In South Africa, Sizani Ngubane is fighting for access for women to education and to land.
Three women nominated: a first
Each year, the Martin Ennals Award rewards human rights defenders from around the world who distinguish themselves by their strong commitment to promoting human rights – often at the risk of their own lives.
In 2020, for the first time the Jury nominated three women who defend the fundamental rights of their communities in sensitive contexts.
“The Martin Ennals Foundation is proud to recognize the courageous work of three women. For the 2020 edition, our Jury’s choice reflects the ever-greater global impetus of individuals – whatever their gender – who are committed to respect for human rights and women’s rights in particular,” said Isabel de Sola, Director of the Martin Ennals Foundation.
“The finalists for the 2020 Martin Ennals Award work on different continents, but all three have in common their resilience, determination, a tremendous rigour and, finally, the positive and concrete impact of their work,” added Hans Thoolen, Chairman of the Jury.
In Yemen, where the conflict has been ongoing since 2005, Huda Al-Sarari, a Yemeni lawyer, unveiled the existence of several secret detention centres where the worst violations of human rights were committed: torture, disappearances or even extrajudicial executions.
In South Africa, women face discrimination, the worst expression of which is widespread gender violence. In rural communities, they frequently have their land expropriated and are deprived of access to education and justice. Sizani Ngubane founded an organization of more than 50,000 women from rural areas in her country and has fought successfully for over 40 years for the recognition of their rights.
In Mexico, the civil population is paying a high price for the weakness of the rule of law which is underpins widespread violence and impunity. Women are the primary victims, with more than 3,500 femicides committed each year. Norma Ledezma, who is the mother of one of the victims, puts all her energy into supporting families seeking access to justice in the state of Chihuahua.
The finalists were selected by a jury made up of representatives of ten of the world’s leading human rights organizations: 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 2020 Martin Ennals Award will be given to one of the three finalists on 19 February 2020 at a livestreamed public ceremony. The event is hosted by the City of Geneva which, as part of its commitment to human rights, is a longstanding supporter of the Award.
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
Chloé Bitton, Communications Manager, Martin Ennals Foundation, t +41 22 809 49 25 e: cbitton(a)martinennalsaward.org
Universal-MEA2020bios-News-2019-ENG (full bios of finalists, in PDF)
Universal-MEA2020bios-News-2019-ARA (full story and bios of finalists in Arabic, PDF)
