Sep 27, 2019 | News
The ICJ today called on the Egyptian authorities to respect and protect the right of Egyptians to the freedom of expression, association and assembly, and ensure that all those arbitrarily detained over the past week in the context of recent protests against President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s rule are immediately and unconditionally released.
On 26 September, the Office of the Public Prosecutor issued a statement confirming the detention of more than 1000 people following their “participation in protests” and “confessions” that their participation is related to “their dissatisfaction with the economic situation in the country,” and “opposition to the regime.”
Documentation by local NGOs indicates that as many as 2000 people may have been arrested, and that most of them were charged with “belonging to a ‘terrorist group’ and “distributing false information through social media aiming at disturbing the public order and opinion.”
“Egyptians taking to the street in protest are defying six years of Sisi’s government rampant corruption, relentless repression, and systematic dismantling of the rule of law and accountability safeguards,” said Said Benarbia, ICJ MENA Director.
Benarbia added, “By filling prisons with those purportedly dissatisfied with the situation in the country, Egypt’s prosecutors and judges are acting, yet again, as a docile tool of repression rather than a shield against the military’s crackdown on human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
As the country braces for new protests today, the ICJ is deeply concerned that Egyptian laws place overly restrictive limitations on the exercise of the right to freedom of assembly and give security forces sweeping powers to disperse protests, including by using lethal force when it is not strictly necessary to protect lives.
Six years after the killing by the armed and security forces of more than 1,000 individuals in the context of the dispersal of the Rabaa’ Al-Adawyia and Al Nahda Square sit-ins, the ICJ notes that not a single person has been brought to justice for the mass killings of protestors.
“Egyptian security and armed forces have a long history of recourse to unlawful and disproportionate use of force, including firing with live ammunition into crowds,” said Benarbia.
“They must comply with Egypt’s obligations under international law and guarantee the rights of protesters to life, to be free from torture and other ill-treatment, and to freedom of assembly, association and expression,” added Benarbia.
Contact:
Said Benarbia, Director of the ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme, t: +41-22-979-3817; e: said.benarbia(a)icj.org
Download:
Egypt-free detainees-News-Press releases-2019-ARA (press release in Arabic, PDF)
Sep 25, 2019 | Events, News
The ICJ is organizing its first fundraising Gala concert on Monday 14 October at 7:30pm in the Palais Eynard, 4 rue de la Croix Rouge, Geneva. The event will support the ICJ and its fight for the defense of the Rule of Law in the world and marks the end of the series of events we organized for our 60th anniversary in the city of human rights.
The theme of our Gala will be: “Geneva, the Defense of the Rule of Law: What can I do?”
After a welcome from the Mayor of Geneva and an introduction from Me Pierre de Preux, former Bâtonnier of the Geneva Bar, ICJ Commissioners including Sir Nicolas Bratza (former President of the European Court of Human Rights), Dame Silvia Cartwright (former Judge and Governor General of New Zealand), Professor Bob Goldman (ICJ President and former President of the Inter-american Commission on Human Rights) and Ms Roberta Clarke (ICJ Executive Chair, UN Women’s Office for the Caribbean, UN Women’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific) will give concrete answers to this question.
But the evening is also to enjoy a wonderful Concert of the ‘Soloists of the Menuhin Academy’ (photo) and the cocktail after that.
To reserve: Pascale.andris@icj.org
You cannot come but still want to make a donation: please click here
Download the invitation
Invitation Gala 14 Oct
Sep 21, 2019 | Advocacy
The ICJ has joined several hundred organizations working to defend human rights, the environment, and climate justice in a bold declaration setting out a vision and objectives for addressing the climate crisis and the devastating human rights and environmental impact of catastrophic climate change.
The Declaration was adopted at a gathering of the the Peoples’ Summit on Climate, Rights and Human Survival in New York on 18-19 September, which brought together some 200 representatives of Indigenous Peoples, workers, academia, environmental and human rights groups, including the ICJ.
The Declaration warns that “the climate emergency threatens human survival, the environment and the enjoyment of all human rights, for present and future generations.”
It emphasizes that governments and corporations bear the primary responsibility for acting to address and reverse the drivers of climate change.
The signatories to the Declaration agreed to 10 types of actions, including, among others, placing human rights at the core of climate activism, demanding effective access to justice for individuals and communities whose rights are impacted by the climate crisis, and support for environmental human rights defenders.
Download
Universal-Peoples Summit Declaration CC-Advocacy-2019-ENG (full declaration in PDF)
Sep 16, 2019 | Events, News
The ICJ, together with the Netherlands, Finland and Swiss missions to Geneva, OHCHR and other NGOs invite you to a panel discussion on Advancing accountability for human rights violations and abuses in Libya at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The event takes place on Friday 20 September 2019, at 15:00 – 16:30, Room XXIII, in the Palais des Nations.
With the onset of armed conflicts in Tripoli and surroundings on April 4, 2019, human rights violations and abuses have become more entrenched in Libya. There is now an urgency to discuss appropriate means to strengthen the rule of law in Libya and break the cycle of impunity prevailing in the country. The United Nations Human Rights Council can play a vital role in this process by establishing an independent international investigation into violations and abuses of human rights in Libya with a view to future accountability.
The event will be opened by Geoffrey van Leeuwen, Director for Middle East of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, moderated by Bahey Eldin Hassan, Director of the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, and feature:
–Elham Saudi, Director – Lawyers for Justice in Libya
–Ghassan Salamé, Special Representative of the Secretary-General & Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya – via video link
–Francesco Motta, Chief of OHCHR Asia, Pacific, Middle East & North Africa Branch
–Said Benarbia, Director of the Middle East & North Africa program, International Commission of Jurists
–Salah Al Marghani, Lawyer, human rights activist & former Minister of Justice for Libya
–Bruno Stagno Ugarte, Deputy Executive Director for Advocacy – Human Rights Watch
A flyer for the event is available here.
Sep 11, 2019 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ today reiterated its call for the UN Human Rights Council to establish an international independent Commission of Inquiry on the human rights situation in Venezuela.
The statement, delivered in a general debate at the Council following the oral update by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights mandated by the previous Human Rights Council resolution on Venezuela, read as follows:
“Mr. President,
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) welcomes the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ oral update on the situation in Venezuela.
The update and previous reporting point to a wide range of human rights violations, which continue to occur inside the country. These include arbitrary deprivation of liberty, serious violations of indigenous people’s rights, excessive use of force by security forces and attacks on freedom of expression, among others, as well as the impacts of laws, policies and practices that have adversely affected the independence of the judiciary.
Over the years, the International Commission of Jurists has monitored and documented the lack of judicial independence in Venezuela and the absence of accountability for those responsible for gross human rights violations.
The ICJ urges the Human Rights Council to establish an independent Commission of Inquiry on the human rights situation in Venezuela, given that Venezuelan authorities have been unable or unwilling to pursue effective domestic accountability, and judicial and prosecutorial mechanisms in the country lack independence and impartiality.
The Commission of Inquiry should be mandated to investigate reports of violations of international human rights law in Venezuela, establish the facts and circumstances of violations committed since at least 2014, and identify those responsible with a view to contributing to full accountability for all violations, including those that constitute crimes under international law.
Thank you.”
The oral update of the UN Human Commissioner for Human Rights, on the situation in Venezuela, may be accessed here.
In August 2019, the ICJ joined other NGOs in calling for an international commission of inquiry on Venezuela.
States are expected to discuss a further resolution on Venezuela at the current Human Rights Council session, for adoption on 26 or 27 September.
