UN Human Rights Council faces growing strains, but makes progress on racial justice and law enforcement, and addresses the situation in Eritrea
As the UN Human Rights Council concludes its 56th session, the ICJ warns that political deadlock and waning commitment by States to long agreed human rights objectives continues to limit the Council’s effectiveness in fulfilling its mandate to protect and promote human rights around the world.
Venezuela: Systematic failure by the Prosecution Office to tackle gross human rights violations brings about near total-impunity
In a report released today, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) evaluates the failure of Venezuela’s Public Prosecutor’s Office to address cases involving gross human rights violations amounting crimes under international criminal law. The report concludes...
The Russian Federation: Disciplinary proceedings against Aleksey Ladin should be dropped
Lawyers for Lawyers, the International Observatory for Lawyers (OIAD), The Law Society of England and Wales (LSEW), the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy & Human Rights (ELDH), the Union of International Lawyers’ Institute for The Rule of Law (UIA-IROL), the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) condemn the continued harassment against human rights lawyer Aleksey Ladin.
On 24 January 2024, the International Day of the Endangered Lawyer, human rights defender and lawyer Aleksey Ladin will face a disciplinary hearing by the Council of the Tyumen Regional Bar Association. The action was initiated by a motion issued by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation. Mr. Ladin has been working since 2015 to provide legal aid to Ukrainians who are alleged to have been subject to criminal prosecution by Russia on politically motivated charges. Since 2017, he has been based in Russian-occupied Crimea, mostly representing Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar political prisoners.
This is the latest in series of instances of harassment and prosecution from the authorities against Mr. Ladin. On 13 October 2023, the Kyivskyi District Court of Simferopol sentenced him to 14 days of administrative detention for allegedly displaying prohibited symbols on his social media pages. The Facebook post in question, a photo of a drawing made by one of his clients, displayed elements of Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar national emblems with the slogan “We are not the terrorists and we are not the extremists.” The court found the “taraq tamga” (the emblem on the Crimean Tatars’ flag) in the picture to be a symbol of a known Crimean volunteer paramilitary unit, Noman Çelebicihan Crimean Tatar Volunteer Battalion. The drawing had no relation to the battalion. Mr. Ladin was prosecuted for the exercise of his right to freedom expression, protected under international and Russian law.
The upcoming disciplinary hearing is based on the sentence of administrative detention handed down on 13 October 2023, as the Ministry of Justice alleges that Mr. Ladin violated the Code of Ethics of the Russian Bar Association, which is based on the Federal Law “On the Bar Association and its activities in the Russian Federation.” The Ministry of Justice affirms that they received this information from the Centre to Counteract Extremism in Crimea on 3 November 2023.
Lawyers play a vital role in upholding the rule of law and the protection of human rights guaranteed under international law, including the rights to an effective remedy and fair trial guarantees, and the right of freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. Their work is indispensable for public confidence in the administration of justice by safeguarding due process rights and ensuring access to justice for all. To fulfil their professional duties effectively, lawyers should be able to practice their profession safely and should be free from improper interference, fear of reprisals, and illegitimate restrictions, in compliance with international standards.
The UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers states that ‘Governments shall ensure that lawyers (a) are able to perform all of their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or improper interference; (…) and (c) shall not suffer, or be threatened with, prosecution or administrative, economic or other sanctions for any action taken in accordance with recognized professional duties, standards and ethics’ [16]. They also hold that ‘lawyers shall not be identified with their clients or their clients’ causes as a result of discharging their functions’ [18] and that ‘lawyers, like any other citizens, are entitled to freedom of expression, belief, association and assembly’ [23].
In view of the above, the undersigned organisations call on the Tyumen Regional Bar Association, the Russian Federal Bar Association and the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation to:
- Immediately drop the disciplinary proceedings against human rights lawyer Aleksey Lapin, as he is being targeted as a result of his peaceful and legitimate activities;
- Ensure that any legitimate disciplinary proceedings against lawyers shall be conducted fairly and independently, in accordance with international standards;
- Refrain from any actions that may constitute harassment, persecution, or undue interference in the work of lawyers, including disciplinary or criminal proceedings on improper grounds, such as the nature of the cases in which the lawyer is involved;
- Guarantee that all lawyers in Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea are able to carry out their legitimate professional activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions including judicial harassment, arbitrary arrest, deprivation of liberty, or other arbitrary sanctions.
Guatemala: Peaceful transfer of presidential power must proceed on 14 January in accordance with the Rule of Law
The ICJ is concerned about attempts by powerful actors in Guatemala, including the Office of the Attorney General, to subvert the transfer of executive presidential authority to President-elect Bernardo Arévalo de León, who is due take office on 14 January 2024.
The ICJ calls on all State authorities and private parties to respect the Rule of Law and desist from interference in the process of transition and to cease efforts to revoke or make ineffective the results of the 2023 presidential elections.
“The democratic system in Guatemala is at stake. It is shocking that the attempts against the electoral process come from representatives of State institutions that have a legal duty to uphold democracy and human rights,” said Santiago Canton, ICJ Secretary General. “Members of the Office of the Attorney General, Congress, and the judiciary have acted in total disregard of Guatemala’s international obligations. In particular, Article 1 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter establishes the right of the peoples of the Americas to democracy and the duty of governments to promote and defend democracy,” added Canton.
On 20 August 2023, Bernardo Arévalo de León and Karin Herrera Aguilar of the “Movimiento Semilla” party were elected President and Vice-President respectively for the 2024-2028 presidential term. Their victory was certified by the Guatemalan Supreme Electoral Tribunal. Prior to and after the election, there were multiple attempts by the Office of the Attorney General and other authorities to disrupt the presidential election process. The European Parliament and the Organization of American States (OAS) have condemned and characterized certain of these efforts as an “attempted coup d’état”.
The Office of the Attorney General, led by María Consuelo Porras Argueta, has played a leading role in these attempts through the arbitrary use of its prosecutorial powers. Among other actions, the Office of the Attorney General has opened unwarranted and spurious criminal investigations and issued of arrest warrants and search warrants against justices and staff members of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal, President-elect Arévalo, Vice-President-elect Herrera, members of the “Movimiento Semilla” party, members of civil society organizations, academicians, and students.
The Office of the Attorney General has also expressly cast doubt on the legitimacy of the 2023 presidential election process. At a press conference on 8 December 2023 a chief prosecutor, José Rafael Curruchiche Cucul, claimed that the Supreme Electoral Tribunal “made a mockery of Guatemalans” and was involved in “violating the country’s democracy”. He also affirmed that the Attorney General’s Office’s view was that the 2023 elections should be annulled.
A number of judges have contributed to the arbitrary use of the criminal law to the detriment of the rule of law in Guatemala. On 8 January 2024, the Seventh Criminal Court Judge, Fredy Raul Orellana Letona, filed a petition before the Supreme Electoral Tribunal to execute an order for the provisional suspension of the legal personality of the “Movimiento Semilla” party. Orellana has also demanded a criminal investigation against staff members of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.
In November and December 2023, the Guatemalan Congress and the Supreme Court of Justice engaged in legal proceedings aimed at waiving immunity from criminal prosecution of some justices of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal.
The lawful transfer of power is intrinsically linked to the respect for the rule of law and the exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to participate in political and public life, including through voting and standing for elections. These rights are guaranteed by international instruments to which Guatemala is a State party, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the American Convention on Human Rights, and the Inter-American Democratic Charter. Consequently, the ICJ recalls that the Guatemalan authorities are bound by international obligations under these instruments.
The ICJ also calls on engaged States and the international community to act to ensure that the Guatemalan authorities uphold of the rule of law, human rights, and the democratic system. If necessary, Member States of the OAS should trigger the application of Article 20 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter in the event that President-elect Arévalo is obstructed from assuming office.
Background information
The 2023 presidential election took place in a context of widespread impunity for serious human rights violations over the course of decades, reliable allegations of co-option of judicial bodies, widespread institutional corruption, and attacks against members of civil society organizations and political parties, as documented by multiple instances, including the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). In the case of justice officials (judges and prosecutors), the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has expressed his concern about “the growing number of criminal cases brought against justice officials” and the “intimidation, harassment, prosecution and persecution of those fighting for accountability for human rights violations, including work on corruption cases”.
There have been numerous actions apparently aimed at undermining the integrity of the presidential election process by the Attorney General and prosecutorial authorities. In addition to the incidents mentioned above, on 16 November 2023, the Office of the Attorney General issued 31 search warrants and 27 arrest warrants against activists, students, academics, a member of the Semilla Movement, and human rights defenders. Among those targeted was the human rights lawyer Ramón Cadena, who had previously denounced irregularities committed by the Office of the Attorney General. The charges were related to their participation in the 2022 protests against the election of the rector of the San Carlos University. On the same day, the Attorney General’s Office also alleged that President-elect Arévalo and Vice-president elect Herrera were involved in the “violent” protests seeking political advantage. For the purported participation in the protests, the Attorney General’s Office announced that it would request that President-elect Arévalo, Vice-President elect Herrera, and other members of their party be stripped of their immunity from prosecution.
On 14 December 2023, the Constitutional Court handed down an amparo action in which it exhorted Congress to preserve the democratic regime and to take all measures to ensure the peaceful transfer of power on 14 January 2024. In addition, the Court enjoined all Guatemalan authorities to “act in accordance with their functions for the effectiveness and proper completion of the final stage of the electoral process”. On 11 January 2024, the Constitutional Court also granted a “protection order” in favour of the Vice-President-elect Herrera. The Court ordered all judicial authorities not to issue or grant any arrest warrant against Herrera without waiving immunity from prosecution.
The 2023 electoral situation has been the subject of grave concern of international instances, including the European Union and the Organization of American States. In this connection, the IACHR granted precautionary measures in favour of Arévalo and Herrera on 24 August 2023. The precautionary measures considered Arévalo’s allegations of death threats, harassment, a smear campaign, and illegal surveillance.
On 11 December 2023, the IACHR adopted “Resolution 03/2023, Instrumentalization of the Justice System and Serious Risks for the Rule of Law in Guatemala”. The IACHR stated that Guatemala was experiencing a “serious political and institutional crisis” due to “the unwarranted and arbitrary actions and interference of the Attorney General’s Office, which are endangering the results of this year’s General Election”.