Oct 21, 2019 | News
A new briefing paper by the ICJ calls upon Myanmar authorities to ensure that the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief and respect for culture and tradition are never used as pretexts to justify discrimination and violence in the country.
“The analysis in the ICJ’s paper makes clear why there is a pressing need for Myanmar authorities to undertake significant legal and practical reforms, to ensure that all people can exercise their freedom of religion and belief and enjoy equal protection of their human rights,” said Frederick Rawski, Asia Pacific Region Director for the ICJ.
The paper focuses its analysis on two particular sets of laws – the colonial era ‘blasphemy’ laws, which in recent years have also been used as one of the several measures to restrict free speech and the controversial ‘race and religions laws’ passed in the run up to the national elections in 2015, particularly those related to religious conversion and marriage of Buddhist women.
“The briefing paper highlights a number of laws in Myanmar that impair the enjoyment of the right to freedom of religion or belief’’, said Canadian Member of Parliament David Anderson, Chair of the International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief Steering Committee, which supported production of the paper.
In recent years, Myanmar courts have convicted individuals under ‘blasphemy’ provisions even in the absence of any evidence of deliberate and malicious intent to insult a religion, let alone on the basis of irrefutable evidence of incitement to violence, hostility or discrimination on religious grounds.
In addition to the use of colonial-era blasphemy laws, Myanmar has a more recent set of four laws that appear to specifically target non-Buddhists, and particularly the Muslim community. While all four laws give rise to concerns about the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief, the laws related to conversion and marriage are the most problematic.
The briefing paper also identifies a number of other challenges related to the protection and promotion of the right to freedom of religion or belief in Myanmar. These include:
- Highly discriminatory legal arrangements for citizenship and the rights of residents in Myanmar;
- Arbitrary restrictions on places of worship, mostly for Christians and Muslims;
- Preferential treatment of Buddhism, for example in the national school curriculum.
In light of these challenges, the briefing paper offers 11 key recommendations to the Government of Myanmar in ensuring that Myanmar’s legal framework is implemented in accordance with international human rights law and fully protects the right to freedom of religion or belief.
This report is part of a series of ICJ publications on the right to freedom of religion or belief.
Contact
Frederick Rawski, Asia Pacific Director for the ICJ, frederick.rawski(a)icj.org
Liv H. Kvanvig, Coordinator, IPPFoRB, lk(a)nhc.no
Palak Rao, Communications and Advocacy Adviser, IPPFoRB, pr(a)nhc.no
Download
New Briefing paper on Challenges to Freedom of Religion or Belief in Myanmar
See also
New primer on Freedom of Religion or Belief in International Human Rights Law
New Briefing paper on Challenges to Freedom of Religion or Belief in Malaysia
Oct 18, 2019 | News
The ICJ and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) have jointly sent an international observer to attend the third hearing of the criminal trial on the “Gezi Park” protest at the Silivri Prison Courthouse in Istanbul, scheduled to take place on 18 October 2019.
The ICJ and IBAHRI observer will be monitoring a trial hearing before İstanbul 30th Assize Court with prinicipal defendant Osman Kavala, and 15 others; Ali Hakan Altınay, Ayşe Mücella Yapıcı, Ayşe Pınar Alabora, Can Dündar, Çiğdem Mater Utku, Gökçe Yılmaz, Handan Meltem Arıkan, Hanzade Hikmet Germiyanoğlu, İnanç Ekmekci, Memet Ali Alabora, Mine Özerden, Şerafettin Can Atalay, Tayfun Kahraman, Yiğit Aksakoğlu and Yiğit Ali Ekmekçi.
The observer will report directly to the IBAHRI and ICJ Secretariats on the proceedings following the mission.
The Gezi Park protests began in May 2013 as an effort by a group of environmentalists to save a park in central Istanbul from being rezoned, but soon turned into nationwide demonstrations.
The protest was quelled by police with the use of tear gas and water cannons against the protesters in Taksim Square. Following a six-year investigation into the events, the 657-page indictment issued by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office was accepted by the 30th A Court in Istanbul on 4 March 2019.
The defendants are to be charged under Turkish Criminal Code Article 312 (attempt to overthrow the Turkish Government or attempt to prevent it from fulfilling its duties), Article 151 (damage to property), Article 152 (qualified damage to property), Article 174 (possession or exchange of hazardous substances without permission), Article 153 (damaging places of worship and cemeteries), Article 149 (qualified robbery), Article 86 (intentional injury); crimes under the Law on Firearms, Knives and Other Tools no. 6136, and crimes under the Law on Protection of Cultural and Natural Assets no. 2863.
Contact:
Massimo Frigo, Senior Legal Adviser, t: +41 22 979 38 05 – e: massimo.frigo(a)icj.org
Oct 16, 2019
In an open letter, the ICJ and 139 other groups are calling the authorities of the United Arab Emirates to immediately and unconditionally release human right defender and 2015 Martin Ennals Award Laureate Ahmed Mansoor.
The full letter can be downloaded below in English and Arabic.
UAE-Free Ahmed Mansoor-Advocacy-Open letters-2019-ENG (English version, PDF)
UAE-Free Ahmed Mansoor-Advocacy-Open letters-2019-ARA (Arabic version, PDF)
Oct 3, 2019 | News
Today, the ICJ, the Regional office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for Central Asia and the High School of Judges of the Republic of Uzbekistan (HSJ) are organizing a national training on “International law on economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights.”
This two-day training is one of series of similar trainings, held in 2019 and 2020, that will address international law on issues including rights to healthcare, education, housing and rights in the workplace.
The training sessions aim to build the capacity of judges, lawyers, prosecutors, legal academics and other representatives of the civil society on international standards on ESC rights, to share best practices on compliance by States with their international obligations, including through judicial practices related to ensuring access to justice for ESC rights.
The training sessions ensure diversity and networking opportunities between members of the judiciary and others legal practitioners.
Each training consists of four modules on (1) introduction to international law on ESC rights; (2) International obligations concerning access to justice and remedies for ESC rights in national courts; comparative examples of good practice; (3) Children’s ESC rights and (4) Women’s ESC rights.
Head of the EU Delegation in Uzbekistan Ambassador Eduards Stiprais pointed out, “Uzbekistan is taking serious international commitments to align its legislation with international norms and practices. Under Uzbekistan Constitution, these international commitments take precedence over the national law. They will reinforce the rights of Uzbekistan citizens and international investors. This will boost the economic and social development of the nation, but it will also put high demands to the judiciary system to ensure that its decisions fully comply with international norms and offer remedies against all breaches.”
Ryszard Komenda, OHCHR Regional Representative for Central Asia, noted that “Uzbekistan since 1995 has committed itself to ensure implementation of provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
To date, Uzbekistan has already submitted three national periodic reports on implementation of the Covenant. The third national report was submitted in June 2019 and will be reviewed after 2020.
The UN Committee, tasked to oversee states’ compliance with their commitments under the ICESCR, has issued a number of recommendations for Uzbekistan.
Many of them highlight the instrumental role of training on economic, social and cultural rights as a means to build capacity of state actors to respect, protect and fulfil human rights.
Only through comprehensive understanding of the content of each right and realizing that all human rights are interrelated, indivisible and interdependent, it will be possible to guarantee holistic implementation of existing international human rights obligations of Uzbekistan”.
“These trainings are an important part of capacity building which is essential in ensuring the effectiveness of the reform of the judiciary,” said Róisín Pillay, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director of the ICJ.
“It is vital to build capacity of different actors of the justice system: members of the judiciary, law enforcement agencies, lawyers and civil society, to ensure a greater impact. Together with the OHCHR and the Supreme School of Judges and the great support of the EU Delegation in Uzbekistan, we could provide the space necessary for learning about international human rights law and, in particular, its various aspects related to economic, social and cultural rights,” she added.
The Director of the Higher School of Judges briefly spoke about the activities of the Supreme School of Judges (SSJ), and also noted the recent arrival of the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Mr. Diego Garcia Sayan, who paid special attention to the establishment of the SSJ, along with other judiciary reforms in Uzbekistan.
“The international seminar in which we have gathered today gives us the opportunity to establish networking with other organizations and bodies through promotion of economic, social and cultural rights. The exchange of ideas and experience in the necessity of the modern world, for the mutual development of the judiciary, education and the society as such,” said Khodji-Murod Isakov, the Director of the Higher School of Judges.
The national trainings are organized in the framework of project “Advancing Civil Society in Promoting ESCR Standards (ACCESS)” funded by EU through the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR).
There will be two more similar trainings in 2020 and all trainings materials at the end will be translated into Russian and Uzbek languages for further reference and use. Moreover, the trainings materials will be publicly available in 2020 for wider outreach and promotion of international law and ESC rights standards.
Contact
Dilfuza Kurolova, ICJ Legal consultant, t: +998 90 9050099 ; e: dilfuza.kurolova(a)icj.org
Download
Uzbekistan-National Training ESCR-News-2019-ENG (full story in PDF)
International law on economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights (4 training modules in Russian – PDF).
Oct 2, 2019 | News
Today, the ICJ, Regional Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) for Central Asia and the Nationwide Movement “Yuksalish” are holding an Expert Discussions on economic, social and cultural rights (ESC) rights and standards in Uzbekistan.
The topic of the Fourth Expert Discussions is “Access to justice for housing rights: international and national perspectives.” This discussion will be focused on the right to adequate housing.
The Expert Discussions are aimed at increasing awareness about the implementation of international law and standards on ESC rights by national courts, to facilitate access to justice in relation to ESC rights and effective use of international human rights law for ESC rights at the national level.
Each Expert Discussion is supported by presentations of international and national experts.
The first experts’ meeting was held in September 2018 on international standards in labour rights, the second meeting – held in December 2018 touched upon the principle of non-discrimination in courts and court decisions, and the third meeting – held in March 2019 – was dedicated to the rights of people with disabilities.
These three events brought together lawyers, defense lawyers, individual experts, civil society activists, NGOs, academia representatives and law students via interactive discussions, research papers, peer review articles and policy papers.
“In recent years, large-scale work has been carried out in Uzbekistan to provide housing for the rural population through the construction of affordable residential buildings according to updated standards. However, participatory decision-making is in need to guarantee housing rights. It is vital to create opportunities for various groups to speak out on the topic and establish an open dialogue. We hope that today`s platform is one of such tools for exchange of opinions,” said Akmal Burkhanov, Chairperson of the Nationwide Movement “Yuksalish”.
Head of the EU Delegation in Uzbekistan Ambassador Eduards Stiprais said: “Economic, social and cultural rights are fundamental rights for every individual. They are also fundamental for the economic development of the society. No man and no company will invest in improving its situation unless it can rely on its right to appropriate the fruits of its investment.”
Helena Fraser, UN Resident Coordinator, noted in her opening remarks that “under Sustainable Development Goal 11 by 2030 all UN member States commit to “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. The nationally adopted SDG targets for Uzbekistan are to ensure access to affordable housing for all; and to increase the scale of participatory planning of human settlements”.
“These, our fourth expert discussions on economic and social rights, are devoted to the important issue of the right to adequate housing, a right that is well established in international human rights law. We aim to hold a constructive discussion, informed by international law as well as national best practices, to find ways to address an array of issues linked to housing rights in Uzbekistan. We would like to thank the EU Delegation for their support, as well as our partners – the Regional UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) for Central Asia and the Nationwide movement “Yuksalish”,” said Róisín Pillay, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director of the ICJ.
Background
Uzbekistan ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in 1995. In 2014, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recommended Uzbekistan “to take appropriate measures, including legislative and other measures, to provide all evicted persons with alternative accommodation or adequate compensation”.
The third national periodic report of Uzbekistan on implementation of provisions of the ICESCR was submitted in June 2019. The list of questions regarding the submitted report will be adopted in March 2020.
The Expert Discussions are organized in the framework of the project “Advancing Civil Society in Promoting Economic, Social and Cultural Rights’ (ESCR) Standards (ACCESS)” funded by the EU through the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR).
Contact
Dilfuza Kurolova, ICJ Legal consultant, t: +998 90 9050099 ; e: dilfuza.kurolova(a)icj.org
Download
Uzbekistan-Expert discussions ESCR-News-2019-ENG (full story in PDF)
