The Open-ended Working Group on an Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted by consensus the Draft Optional Protocol.
The document will be transmitted to the Human Rights Council.
With a few exceptions, notably on human rights in counter-terrorism, the Council has not made headway in promoting human rights.
Neither of the sound political calls from the High-Level Segment to ensure accountability and to fight impunity resonated with the Council, the ICJ said.
Human Rights Council Concludes with a few Accomplishments-Press releases-2008 (full text, PDF)
The ICJ in its intervention of 13 March 2008 deplored the Myanmar’s Government continuous gross violations of human rights, in manifest disregard of the Council’s repeated calls for reform and of the UN Special Rapporteur’s recommendations.
There are currently 1,850 political prisoners detained in Myanmar. The ICJ urged the Myanmar’s Government to receive the Special Rapporteur, who has not been allowed to return to the country, and to provide for an adequate investigation of the crackdown on peaceful protesters in September 2007.
Myanmar-HRCouncil Special Rapporteur-non-judicial submission-2008 (full text, PDF)
On the fourth anniversary of the disappearance of Thai lawyer Somchai Neelapaichit, the ICJ met with his wife and the UN in Geneva to renew calls for progress in the criminal investigation.
The ICJ told the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (‘UN Working Group’), who are examining the case, that it welcomed the continued investigation by Thailand’s Department of Special Investigations (DSI) to establish the fate of Somchai Neelapaichit, find the body and bring the perpetrators to justice. The ICJ urged the UN Working Group to remain vigilant in the case.
Thailand-ICJ urges United Nations to remain vigilant in disappeared lawyer case-Press releases-2008 (full text, PDF)
The ICJ raised in its submission the Government of Pakistan’s failure to fully and effectively ensure and protect human rights and the rule of law in the fight against terrorist acts and to protect people against terrorism.
The ICJ also addressed the issue of the Government’s attacks on the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary, and the legal profession over the last nine months, and especially since 3 November 2007. These concerns should be addressed as a matter of priority in the Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review of Pakistan.
Pakistan-UPR-advocacy-2008 (full text, PDF)
Tunisia: Quash sham conviction and sentence of judges’ association President, Anas Hmedi
The UN Human Rights Council makes significant but limited progress in addressing human rights around the world, as atrocities multiply in the Middle East and elsewhere
ICJ hosts an African Regional Convening in Kenya on Transformative Equality Jurisprudence
Russian Federation: Arbitrarily detained human rights lawyer Maria Bontsler must be released