Jul 26, 2018 | Noticias
Falta de atención médica por parte del Estado de Guatemala provoca la muerte de niña, 30 horas después de nacida el 24 de julio.
La CIJ visitó el 25 de julio del presente año a la comunidad de “Laguna Larga”, víctima de desalojo forzoso hace ya más de un año.
Las personas desplazadas, que actualmente viven en la circunscripción de El Desengaño, municipio de Candelaria, Estado de Campeche, a la intemperie en carpas y “champas” en una zona rural de la franja fronteriza entre Guatemala y México, continúan en condiciones inhumanas y en una situación de riesgo, que pone en peligro su vida e integridad.
El 8 de septiembre de 2017, la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (CIDH) decretó medidas cautelares a favor de los Pobladores desalojados y desplazados de la comunidad Laguna Larga (Resolución 36/2017, Medidas Cautelares No. 412-17), instando a las autoridades guatemaltecas a adoptar las “medidas necesarias para proteger los derechos a la vida y la integridad personal de las personas beneficiarias, a través de medidas dirigidas a mejorar, entre otros aspectos, las condiciones sanitarias y de salud, en especial de los niños, niñas, mujeres y personas mayores”.
Hasta la fecha las autoridades guatemaltecas no han acatado las medidas cautelares.
La CIJ pudo constatar que la única medida adoptada por el Estado de Guatemala ha sido la asignación a la comunidad desplazada de dos maestras para impartir clases a los niños.
No obstante, la CIJ pudo constatar igualmente que las instalaciones educativas son precarias y demasiado calientes y obscuras, lo cual dificulta la impartición de clases.
Ninguna medida de orden sanitario o en materia de salud ha sido implementada por las autoridades guatemaltecas.
El pasado 24 de julio, una niña murió apenas treinta horas después de nacida, aparentemente, por falta de atención médica.
Igualmente ninguna de las medidas cautelares relativas a la alimentación, acceso al agua potable y vivienda, ha sido atendida por las autoridades guatemaltecas.
La CIJ expresa su honda preocupación por el hecho de que el Estado de Guatemala no haya cumplido ninguno de los requerimientos de la CIDH y que, después de un año, los derechos a la vida e integridad personal de los pobladores desplazados de la Comunidad Laguna Larga se encuentren en una situación de gravedad y urgencia de riesgo de un daño irreparable.
Ante la inacción de las autoridades guatemaltecas, los miembros de “Laguna Larga”, con el apoyo de organizaciones no gubernamentales, tanto mexicanas como guatemaltecas, han logrado implementar varios proyectos para abastecerse de agua potable, energía eléctrica, alimentación y salud.
No obstante, la CIJ pudo constatar que toda esta importante ayuda humanitaria que “Laguna Larga” ha recibido de parte de la sociedad civil, resulta insuficiente dada la gravedad de la crisis.
Si bien el esfuerzo y el trabajo desplegado por los miembros de la Comunidad de “Laguna Larga” y las organizaciones no gubernamentales guatemaltecas y mexicanas, constituyen un ejemplo de organización y participación de la sociedad civil, ello en modo alguno exonera, sustituye o disminuye la responsabilidad del Estado guatemalteco de garantizar los derechos a la vida y la integridad personal de la población desplazada y de implementar las medidas cautelares decretadas por la CIDH.
La CIJ concluye que toda esta falta de respuesta por parte de las autoridades en todos los ámbitos de la medida cautelar de la CIDH, constituyen actos y tratos inhumanos, crueles y degradantes, que afectan gravemente la dignidad del ser humano y que han causado daños irreparables a los miembros de la comunidad “Laguna Larga”.
Ramón Cadena, Director de la CIJ para Centroamérica expresó:
“Ante toda esta situación, la Comisión Internacional de Juristas demanda que las autoridades del Estado de Guatemala cumplan con la medida cautelar 412-17 de la Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos de forma inmediata, para evitar más daños a la comunidad “Laguna Larga” y que se retome el diálogo iniciado antes del desalojo. Según los estándares internacionales, el Estado deberá reparar todos los daños y perjuicios causados.”
Jul 24, 2018 | Events, News
On 22 and 23 July the ICJ convened a workshop on Business, the Environment and Human Rights Law in Taunggyi, the capital of Myanmar’s Shan State.
This followed meetings between the ICJ’s legal advisers and the Shan State High Court and also with the State Advocate General on 13 July, to discuss rule of law developments.
The workshop aimed to identify ways to address the impacts of business activities on human rights and the environment, through legal advocacy including strategic litigation, and to provide a forum for cooperation and experience sharing among participants.
More than 50 lawyers, parliamentarians, human rights defenders and civil society representatives attended from Shan, Kayah and Mon states – provinces that together border Thailand, Laos and China.
An overview of the investment context was provided by Dr Myint Zaw of Paung Ku Myanmar, who also shared lessons from environmental activism in Myanmar.
As well as highlighting weaknesses in domestic law and policy, he presented concerns around lack of transparency and information sharing between the legislature and executive branches of government.
Australian lawyer and ICJ consultant Mae Tanner gave an overview of international human rights law and standards relevant to business activities and environmental protection, particularly emphasizing the obligations assumed by Myanmar in ratifying the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
She offered insights as to how UN mechanisms can be used by civil society to advance their advocacy on business and human rights in Myanmar.
Senior Advocate U Myint Thwin drew on his extensive litigation experience to share perspectives on the complex and confusing array of land laws in Myanmar and emphasized the importance of legal knowledge and training to combat corruption and achieve accountability.
The ICJ’s legal adviser Mr Sean Bain outlined the domestic laws relevant to investment and environmental protection in Myanmar and highlighted some key provisions that offer protection against human rights violations and abuses.
He noted the government’s stated aim of promoting the rule of law in Myanmar and emphasized the importance of demanding accountability, transparency and justice in this context.
Amarin Saichan, lawyer with Thai NGO EnLAW, shared experiences of pursuing strategic litigation to address unlawful and harmful business activities in Thailand, stressing the need for creativity in using the law to seek justice and accountability.
He also raised concerns around the use by government of strategic litigation against public participation in Thailand and explained how Thai lawyers are using the courts to guarantee the right protest against harmful development projects.
Participants had the opportunity to discuss how the strategies they shared could be used in the context of issues faced by their communities.
These included human rights and environmental concerns raised by energy and extractive projects, restrictions on shifting agriculture, and violations of the right to freedom of expression and assembly faced by communities who oppose state-backed developments.
They considered advocacy strategies for four case studies selected by participants from across Shan, Kayah and Mon states.
Throughout the workshop speakers and participants highlighted the importance of cooperation between civil society and lawyers, and the need to use Myanmar’s legal system more proactively as part of their broader advocacy strategies.
This workshop is part of the ICJ’s ongoing support to lawyers and civil society in Myanmar.
Jun 11, 2018
The ICJ today called on the Egyptian authorities to ensure that the framework on the state of emergency is comprehensively reformed consistent with the country’s international human rights obligations.
The ICJ is particularly concerned that Egypt seems to be returning to the continuous and permanent state of emergency that prevailed in Egypt, uninterrupted, from 1981 until 2012, and that resulted in grave and systematic human rights violations.
Since April 2017, President El- Sisi (photo) declared the state of emergency, renewed it, and then declared a new state of emergency five consecutive times.
“In declaring and renewing exceptional measures under the state of emergency, Egypt has consistently failed to demonstrate that the situation ‘threatens the life of the nation’, the threshold for such measures under international law,” said Said Benarbia, ICJ MENA Director.
Egypt has also failed to set out clear and precise conditions in which the President is allowed to declare the state of emergency and in which measures derogating from human rights under the state of emergency can be declared, the ICJ says.
It has also failed to ensure that each such measure is strictly limited and proportionate to the exigencies of the specific emergency, specify which rights can or cannot be subject to derogation, and notify relevant stakeholders of such derogations, the Geneva-based organization adds.
“Repealing or amending emergency measures to ensure they are limited in time and scope and are not used to curtail rights or to crush dissent, is a prerequisite to establishing and upholding the rule of law in Egypt,” added Benarbia.
The ICJ’s findings and recommendations are based on a position paper published today, in which the ICJ analyses the framework on the state of emergency and assesses its impact on certain aspects of the administration of justice, including those relating to the use of emergency state security courts and to the right to liberty and to fair trial.
Under the framework of the state of emergency, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail issued a decree on No. 2165/2017 through which numerous crimes, including those related to protest, assembly, terrorism and labour law have been placed under the jurisdiction of the emergency state security courts.
These courts have mainly been used to try students, human rights defenders, political activists, union members and those suspected of opposing the government in proceedings that fall short of international standards on fair trial.
“Authorities must abolish the emergency state security courts and ensure that any existing proceedings before them should be either nullified or transferred to the ordinary courts,” said Benarbia.
Contact
Said Benarbia, Director of ICJ’s Middle East and North Africa Programme, t: +41-22-979-3817 ; e: said.benarbia(a)icj.org
Egypt-Return to State of Emergency-Advocacy-Analysis brief-2018-ENG (full memo in English, PDF)
Egypt-State of emergency-News-Press releases-2018-ARA (full story in Arabic, PDF)
Egypt-Return-State-of-Emergency-Advocacy-Analysis-brief-2018-ARA (full memo in Arabic, PDF)
May 16, 2018 | Eventos, Noticias
Entre 2016 y 2018, la CIJ – Instituciones Europeas junto a organizaciones colaboradoras en siete países de la Unión Europea (UE), trabajó en el acceso a la justicia de niños migrantes en el contexto del proyecto FAIR (Promoviendo Acceso a los derechos de los niños migrantes).
Los niños migrantes en la UE hacen frente a violaciones de sus derechos humanos a diario.
Algunos ejemplos de lo que sufren los menores son: falta de acceso a sus familias, información, tutores y asistencia legal, falta de acceso a una vivienda o al sistema educativo y detenciones ilegales.
El objetivo del proyecto era mejorar el acceso a la justicia de los menores migrantes estableciendo un grupo de abogados europeos que están capacitados para representar niños migrantes en procedimientos nacionales y en el plano internacional.
Durante este proyecto, la CIJ – Instituciones Europeas:
- Desarrolló 7 módulos de capacitación sobre el acceso a la justicia para niños migrantes;
- Formó a 142 abogados de 7 países de la Unión Europea;
- Reunió a 35 abogados y expertos en un evento de 5 días sobre litigación estratégica.
- Creó una red internacional de abogados; y
- Proporcionó apoyo continuo a los abogados en su litigios en representación de niños migrantes.
El proyecto FAIR fue co-financiado por el Programa de Derechos, Igualdad y Ciudadanía de la Unión Europea y OSIFE.
Los módulos de capacitación traducidos en inglés, español, griego, búlgaro, italiano y alemán, estarán disponibles próximamente.
Puede ver un vídeo sobre proyecto FAIR aquí:
Puede ver un vídeo sobre el evanto en litigación estratégica aquí:
Los 7 módulos de capacitación sobre el acceso a la justicia para niños migrantes en Español
Europe-FAIR module 0-Training modules-2018-SPA
Europe-FAIR module 1-Training modules-2018-SPA
Europe-FAIR module 2-Training modules-2018-SPA
Europe-FAIR module 3-Training modules-2018-SPA
Europe-FAIR module 4-Training modules-2018-SPA
Europe-FAIR module 5-Training modules-2018-SPA
Europe-FAIR module 6-Training modules-2018-SPA
May 3, 2018 | Feature articles, News
On 3 and 4 May 2018, the ICJ supported by UNAIDS and OHCHR convened an expert meeting on global principles addressing criminalization’s detrimental impact in the areas of sexuality, reproduction, drug use and HIV.
The expert meeting of leading jurists from around the globe aimed at laying the foundations for a set of principles to address the misuse and abuse of the criminal law and its detrimental impact on health, equality and human rights.
The expert group focused on the criminalization of conduct relating to four principal areas: sexuality, reproduction, personal drug use, and the overly broad criminalization of HIV exposure, transmission and non-disclosure.
In these areas, international human rights authorities, as well as domestic courts, have regularly found criminal law provisions to be contrary to international law and standards, and to have a deleterious effect on public health.
“We need to understand why the blunt instrument of the criminal law is used against and affects real people, and why the criminal law ought not to apply in our four areas of concern. Where the criminal law is misused, that is a betrayal of the rule of law. The rule of law must be our guiding compass,” said Justice Cameron, Constitutional Court of South Africa.
“The principles we hope to develop must facilitate the availability of tools which can impact key populations where they are in conflict with the law. They are often at risk of blackmail, stigma and discrimination. It falls on courts to make the difficult decisions. Judges can then consider legality, legitimate purpose and questions of necessity and proportionality in light of a broader understanding of the human rights principles at stake and the relevant scientific evidence,” said Judge Mbaru, Industrial Court of Kenya.
“The law is required to guarantee rights but at same time it can impose arbitrary restrictions. Often those restrictions in the form of the criminal law purport to be necessary in order to ‘protect’ people. That purported purpose ought to be closely scrutinised,” said Justice Ortiz, Constitutional Court of Columbia.
Sam Zarifi, Secretary General of the ICJ, stated: “The misuse of the criminal law affects the most marginalized groups of people and, in particular, the dispossessed and disenfranchised.”
“The centrality of the rule of law at a time when it is under threat globally, and our crucial obligation to stand against laws that are arbitrary, unequal and discriminatory,” he added.
Tim Martineau, Acting Deputy Executive Director of UNAIDS said: “The application of human rights principles to criminal law is key in order to address the detrimental impact of such laws in the areas of sexuality, reproduction, drug use and HIV.”
“While there was significant progress in HIV prevention, treatment and care, there was a big discrepancy in HIV prevention in relation to key populations who are more vulnerable to HIV infection in many respects because of a lack of legal protection, and the unjust criminalization of their behaviour,” he added.
Kate Gilmore, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated that the criminal law can readily become a tool of repression or oppression. She said: “Wrongful deployment of criminal law betrays universal human rights standards. By eroding rather than protecting physical and mental integrity specifically in the contexts of sexuality, reproduction and gender identity, misuse of criminal law seeks a wrongful “regulation” of the body of women in particular, with devastating consequences for women’s and girls’ autonomy, health and well being.”
She emphasized that “the criminal law plays an essential role in the recognition, protection and enforcement of rights including by tackling impunity for violations for those rights.”
ICJ, UNAIDS and OHCHR consider that the envisaged principles will help legislators, judges and advocates in the development and review of criminal laws that have adverse consequences on health, equality and human rights particularly where they relate to key populations.
