Feb 13, 2016 | Multimedia items, News, Video clips
The land of several communities from the Municipality of Nebaj was sold to the State during the civil war. But this happened without any valid legal basis.
The expropriation occurred in 1984 in the area of Tzalbal, at a time when most of the people from 14 local communities had flown to Mexico or the neighboring forests because of the war, which was particularly intense in the area.
The loss of farmland affected some 15000 people.
In 2013, the communities asked the ICJ to help them recover their land.
An initial investigation by the ICJ confirmed that the mayor at that time (1984) had signed a document transferring the land into the State’s hand.
However, this happened without consulting the communities and none of their representatives signed the document.
The ICJ asked the State to return the land to the communities through a Governmental Agreement, which was initially accepted.
However, the Government eventually reneged on its promise and ended the negotiations.
The ICJ is now preparing an action for protection of constitutional rights to help the communities recover their land through a judicial decision.
Guatemala-Caso Nebaj-News-Web Story-2016-SPA (full story in PDF, Spanish)
The Nebaj case in video (Spanish, English subtitles)
Dec 17, 2015 | News, Publications, Reports
With the signing of the political agreement on a national unity government today, the next step in Libya’s transition will be to ensure that its new Constitution fully conforms to international rule of law and human rights standards, the ICJ said today.
The statement came as the ICJ released its new report The Draft Libyan Constitution: Procedural Deficiencies, Substantive Flaws.
In the report, the ICJ calls on the Libyan Constitution Drafting Assembly (CDA) to substantially revise the Draft Constitution published in October with a view to ensuring its full compliance with Libya’s obligations under international human rights law and international standards.
Libyan authorities, including the CDA, should also put in place effective mechanisms to ensure that the drafting process is inclusive, participatory, and fully reflects the views of a broad range of stakeholders, including civil society and minority groups.
The report concludes that the Draft Constitution, in many key respects, does not conform to Libya’s obligations under international human rights law or to international rule of law standards.
“The new Constitution provides a crucial opportunity to depart from decades of authoritarianism under Moammar Ghadafi’s regime. It must therefore provide for a strong foundation upon which the rule of law, including the separation of powers, the independence of the judiciary and civilian oversight over military and armed groups, can be established and upheld,” said Said Benarbia, Director of the ICJ MENA programme.
The Draft Constitution should also be amended to provide for a comprehensive set of human rights and protections that fully accord with international human rights law, including provisions relating to non-discrimination, the right to life, the right to liberty and security, the prohibition on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, protections for minorities, the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, fair trial rights, and a range of economic, social and cultural rights.
“The Libyan Constitution must at a minimum conform to the definition and scope of the rights contained within the human rights treaties to which Libya is a state party. Any scope for limitation of rights must conform to the criteria for such limitations under international law and, in particular, only as are provided for by law, are proportionate, and are demonstrably necessary in a free and democratic society,” Benarbia added.
Contact:
Doireann Ansbro, Associate Legal Advisor of the ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme, tel: +216 71 841 701, email: doireann.ansbro(a)icj.org
Libya-Draft Constitution Flaws Deficiencies-Publications-Reports-2015-ENG (full report in PDF, English)
Libya-Constitution Flaws Report-News-Press releases-2015-ARA (full press release in Arabic, PDF)
Libya-Draft Constitution Flaws Deficiencies-Publications-Reports-2015-ARA (full report in PDF, Arabic)
Nov 25, 2015 | News
Inauguration of the 5th International Seminar on Strategic Litigation in Guatemala City.
On 25th November, Ramon Cadena, Director of the ICJ Regional Office in Central America, together with Alberto Brunori, Representative of the OCHCR in Guatemala and Victor Ferrigno, Coordinator of Support for Strategic Litigation in Guatemala, launched the event.
During the two-day seminar over 100 human rights defenders, lawyers and academics from the American continent will share experiences, good practices and achievements in the use of strategic litigation as part of a broader strategy to promote and defend human rights.
In addition to strategic litigation, other focal points for discussion include indigenous peoples’ land rights and the identification of priorities in legal and constitutional reform.
Nov 24, 2015 | News
The government and all political parties, along with the country’s neighbors and international supporters, must act immediately to end the increasingly violent political crisis in the southern Terai region said the ICJ today.
The associated border blockade that has imposed severe shortages of necessary commodities throughout the country must also be ended, the ICJ added.
Over the weekend, three individuals were killed and at least another 28 individuals, including 15 police officers, were injured during clashes following an apparent impasse in talks among political parties trying to end the crisis over the newly adopted Constitution.
“Nepali authorities should promptly investigate and bring to justice the perpetrators – be they security forces or protesters – of any unlawful killings and other acts of violence committed during the ongoing protests in the Terai, and ensure that security forces refrain from the use of excessive force against civilians,” said Sam Zarifi, ICJ’s Asia-Pacific Director.
“At the same time, the Nepal government must address the severe shortage of commodities and the impact it has had on economic and social rights by prioritizing the most urgent needs while working to resolve the constitutional crisis,” he added.
The border blockade initiated nearly three months ago has had a deeply detrimental impact on the economic and social rights of the population countrywide, including the rights to food, water and sanitation, health and adequate housing, by causing severe shortages of essential commodities such as fuel, cooking gas and medical supplies throughout the country.
Madhesi groups have been demonstrating against Nepal’s new Constitution in the Terai since August 2015, protesting discriminatory aspects of the new Constitution that they argue would entrench marginalization, and have been staging a de facto blockade at the main border posts along the Nepal-India border since the Constitution was adopted on 20 September 2015.
India has been accused of imposing or collaborating in the blockade, an allegation which the Indian government has denied.
The ICJ has previously highlighted the lack of proper consultation in the drafting and adoption of the Constitution as well as the substantive human rights defects in its text, particularly the discriminatory provisions on the rights of women and some ethnic groups.
More than 45 persons, including 8 police personnel, have been killed during violent confrontations that have erupted between protesters and security forces since the demonstrations began, with allegations of excessive use of force by Nepali security forces as well as violent attacks by protesters against police personnel.
One Indian national was apparently killed by Nepali security forces at the Birgunj border last month.
“The Nepal government has a responsibility to protect the rights and security of its people and to re-establish the rule of law in the Terai,” said Zarifi. “However, Nepal must at all times respect the people’s right to peaceful protest and free assembly, and ensure that security forces exercise maximum restraint when responding to the demonstrations.”
The ICJ emphasizes that India and Nepal have an obligation to protect the human rights, including the economic and social rights, of persons impacted by their acts or the actions of those under their jurisdiction, and accordingly have an obligation to remove obstacles to the enjoyment of those rights.
“Nepal has an obligation to ensure that all available resources at their disposal have been mobilized to alleviate the human rights and humanitarian impact of the border blockade on the most vulnerable sections of the population,” Zarifi added. “The Nepal government must provide a clear plan to assess and address the impact of the blockade by prioritizing available supplies to the most urgently needed areas throughout the country, not just in Kathmandu.”
“The impact of the blockade is all the more acute because the country is still reeling from the 25th April earthquake and its ongoing aftershocks,” Zarifi said. “The international community, particularly neighboring India, should do all it can to ensure that urgent humanitarian assistance gets to the Nepali people.”
Contact
Nikhil Narayan, ICJ Senior Legal Adviser for South Asia, t: +977 9813187821 ; e: nikhil.narayan(a)icj.org
Photo credit: HRW
Nov 13, 2015 | News
The Peruvian authorities must revise a number of its laws and policies to better protect economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR) in the country, the ICJ says.
The call comes at the end of a one-week mission by the ICJ to gather information on and assess the impact of extractive industries on the economic, social and cultural rights of local populations, especially peasant and indigenous communities.
In particular, the ICJ is concerned at the adverse human rights impact of “Ley 30230” that aims at facilitating investment.
While investment can make an important contribution to the realization of human rights, the ICJ considers that this particular law effectively leads to a degradation of human rights by lowering social and environmental protection standards.
The ICJ does welcome the enactment of protective legislation by Peru, including that protecting and implementing the right to free, prior and informed consent of indigenous peoples or regulating the use of force by the police.
However, the ICJ notes these laws are often not effectively implemented in practice.
During the mission the ICJ verified information on the increasing number of violent conflict and social protests relating to mining projects.
“A large proportion of current social conflicts in the country is taking place in areas of extractive industrial activities. With a trend to lower the protection of economic and social rights and the environment in order to facilitate investment, there is a high risk that violent conflict will increase even more,” said Sandra Ratjen, Senior Legal Adviser for ICJ’s Programme on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
“There is a gap between Peru’s international law obligations to respect and protect human rights and the systematic threats to the enjoyment of rights, such as the right to water, to health or to housing, or to free and prior, informed consent that communities in mining areas are facing,” she added.
The ICJ is particularly concerned at the alleged unlawful use of lethal force to suppress demonstrations and social protests in mining areas such as in the recent case of Las Bambas.
The ICJ received information from various sources that in some instances the security forces had used such force in contravention of the principles of necessity and proportionality.
The ICJ urges the Peruvian authorities to take the following measures to strengthen the protection of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the country:
- maintain and strengthen the national laws and policies protecting human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights and the environment;
- accordingly revise legislation that obstructs the State to comply with its international human rights obligations, including those related to the realization of rights such as the right to decent work the rights to health and safe water or the right to be protected against forced evictions;
- fully ensure the free exercise of the right to peaceful assembly and of freedom of expression of individuals and peoples, including human rights defenders.
Additional information:
The ICJ mission included: María Clara Galvis, a Colombian lawyer specialized in international human rights law and Professor at Universidad Externado de Colombia ; Rafael Uzcátegui, a Venezuelan sociologist and Coordinator General of the Venezuelan Programme of Education and Action on Human Rights (PROVEA); Sandra Ratjen, Senior Legal Adviser for ICJ’s Programme on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; and Olivier van Bogaert, ICJ Director of Media and Communications.
The delegation met with authorities from various Peruvian Ministries, representatives from extractive companies, cooperation agencies, human rights non governmental organizations, trade unions and community-based organizations.
In December, the ICJ will release a final report containing its findings and recommendations on the situation of economic, cultural and social rights in the context of extractive activities and the rise of social conflicts in Peru.
Contact:
Sandra Ratjen, Senior Legal Adviser for ICJ’s Programme on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, t: +55 96 48 13 628; e: sandra.ratjen(a)icj.org
Peru-ESCR mission-News-Press release-2015-SPA (full press release in PDF, Spanish)
Photo credit: Jonas Hulsens
