Jun 13, 2023
In the aftermath of President Yoweri Museveni signing into law the so-called “Anti-Homosexuality Act”, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) stands in solidarity with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people in Uganda. The ICJ vehemently condemns Uganda’s continual clampdown on the human rights of LGBTI persons and strongly denounces the passage of this discriminatory law.
May 2, 2023 | Advocacy, News
Authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) continue their sustained assault on human rights and freedoms, including targeting human rights activists, enacting repressive laws, and using the criminal justice system as a tool to eliminate the human rights movement. These policies have led to the closure of civic space, severe restrictions on freedom of expression, both online and offline, and the criminalisation of peaceful dissent.
For more than 10 years, UAE authorities have been unjustly detaining at least 60 Emirati human rights defenders, civil society activists, and political dissidents who were arrested in 2012 because of their demands for reform and democracy or their affiliation with the Reform and Social Guidance Association (al-Islah). Some from this group, commonly known as the “UAE 94” because of the number of defendants in their mass trial, were subjected to enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment. They were sentenced to between 7 and 15 years in prison during a trial in 2013 that failed to meet minimum fair trial standards.
Apr 25, 2023 | Advocacy, News, Publications
In a briefing paper released today, the International Commission of Jurists points out that, “while the right to clean and healthy environment is protected under the 2013 Fiji Constitution, it must be actioned, which requires a whole of government and a whole of society approach and technical and financial resources must be reflected accordingly.” This paper provides recommendations on how the environmental laws and policies in Fiji can be strengthened to protect women’s rights to a clean and healthy environment.
Apr 20, 2023
The responsible Lesotho authorities have failed to ensure that learners with disabilities are able to enjoy their right to an education. This is because the country has not adequately adopted or implemented its laws and policies guaranteeing inclusive education. As a result many children with disabilities are not attending school at all, or are experiencing schooling which is not inclusive, equal or of adequate quality.
Apr 20, 2023
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) recently published a new set of legal principles to address the harmful human rights impact of unjustified criminalization of individuals and entire communities. The document, known as The 8 March Principles, was elaborated and endorsed by lawyers from around the world and sets out a human rights-based approach to criminal laws typically penalizing conduct associated with sex, reproduction, drug use, HIV, homelessness and poverty.
