Nov 24, 2015 | News
The government and all political parties, along with the country’s neighbors and international supporters, must act immediately to end the increasingly violent political crisis in the southern Terai region said the ICJ today.
The associated border blockade that has imposed severe shortages of necessary commodities throughout the country must also be ended, the ICJ added.
Over the weekend, three individuals were killed and at least another 28 individuals, including 15 police officers, were injured during clashes following an apparent impasse in talks among political parties trying to end the crisis over the newly adopted Constitution.
“Nepali authorities should promptly investigate and bring to justice the perpetrators – be they security forces or protesters – of any unlawful killings and other acts of violence committed during the ongoing protests in the Terai, and ensure that security forces refrain from the use of excessive force against civilians,” said Sam Zarifi, ICJ’s Asia-Pacific Director.
“At the same time, the Nepal government must address the severe shortage of commodities and the impact it has had on economic and social rights by prioritizing the most urgent needs while working to resolve the constitutional crisis,” he added.
The border blockade initiated nearly three months ago has had a deeply detrimental impact on the economic and social rights of the population countrywide, including the rights to food, water and sanitation, health and adequate housing, by causing severe shortages of essential commodities such as fuel, cooking gas and medical supplies throughout the country.
Madhesi groups have been demonstrating against Nepal’s new Constitution in the Terai since August 2015, protesting discriminatory aspects of the new Constitution that they argue would entrench marginalization, and have been staging a de facto blockade at the main border posts along the Nepal-India border since the Constitution was adopted on 20 September 2015.
India has been accused of imposing or collaborating in the blockade, an allegation which the Indian government has denied.
The ICJ has previously highlighted the lack of proper consultation in the drafting and adoption of the Constitution as well as the substantive human rights defects in its text, particularly the discriminatory provisions on the rights of women and some ethnic groups.
More than 45 persons, including 8 police personnel, have been killed during violent confrontations that have erupted between protesters and security forces since the demonstrations began, with allegations of excessive use of force by Nepali security forces as well as violent attacks by protesters against police personnel.
One Indian national was apparently killed by Nepali security forces at the Birgunj border last month.
“The Nepal government has a responsibility to protect the rights and security of its people and to re-establish the rule of law in the Terai,” said Zarifi. “However, Nepal must at all times respect the people’s right to peaceful protest and free assembly, and ensure that security forces exercise maximum restraint when responding to the demonstrations.”
The ICJ emphasizes that India and Nepal have an obligation to protect the human rights, including the economic and social rights, of persons impacted by their acts or the actions of those under their jurisdiction, and accordingly have an obligation to remove obstacles to the enjoyment of those rights.
“Nepal has an obligation to ensure that all available resources at their disposal have been mobilized to alleviate the human rights and humanitarian impact of the border blockade on the most vulnerable sections of the population,” Zarifi added. “The Nepal government must provide a clear plan to assess and address the impact of the blockade by prioritizing available supplies to the most urgently needed areas throughout the country, not just in Kathmandu.”
“The impact of the blockade is all the more acute because the country is still reeling from the 25th April earthquake and its ongoing aftershocks,” Zarifi said. “The international community, particularly neighboring India, should do all it can to ensure that urgent humanitarian assistance gets to the Nepali people.”
Contact
Nikhil Narayan, ICJ Senior Legal Adviser for South Asia, t: +977 9813187821 ; e: nikhil.narayan(a)icj.org
Photo credit: HRW
Nov 15, 2015
This new Guide published today by the ICJ aims at providing legal practitioners and human rights advocates with updated knowledge about the applicable standards for the protection of economic, social and cultural rights (ESC rights) in Zimbabwe.
The Guide is an adaptation of existing publications elaborated by the ICJ in the past years. It is largely based on the ICJ Practitioners Guide No. 8: “Adjudicating Economic, Social and Cultural Rights at National Level”.
It can be downloaded here: Zimbabwe-Guide ESCR web-Publications-Thematic Report-2015-ENG (full report in PDF)
Nov 13, 2015 | Comunicados de prensa, Noticias
Las autoridades peruanas deben revisar algunas de sus leyes y políticas para proteger mejor los derechos económicos, sociales y culturales en el país, pidió hoy en Lima la CIJ.
La petición se hace al final de una misión de una semana realizada por la CIJ para recoger información y evaluar el impacto de las industrias extractivas en el disfrute de los derechos económicos, sociales y culturales de la población, en especial, los campesinos y las comunidades indígenas.
En particular, la CIJ está preocupada por el impacto negativo en los derechos humanos del Decreto 30230, que busca facilitar la inversión privada.
Mientras la inversión puede contribuir de manera importante al disfrute de los derechos humanos, la CIJ considera que esta norma en particular conduce en la práctica a la falta de respeto de los derechos humanos en cuanto reduce los estándares de protección ambiental y social.
La CIJ saluda la adopción de legislación que protege los derechos humanos, incluido el derecho a la consulta previa de los pueblos indígenas y la regulación del uso de la fuerza por parte de la Policía.
Sin embargo, la CIJ nota que con frecuencia esas leyes en la práctica no son implementadas efectivamente.
Durante su misión, la CIJ pudo verificar la información sobre el incremento del número de conflictos violentos y de protestas sociales relacionadas con los proyectos mineros.
“Un gran número de los conflictos sociales actuales tienen lugar en áreas donde se llevan a cabo actividades de la industria extractiva. La tendencia a disminuir la protección de los derechos económicos, sociales y culturales y del ambiente, para facilitar la inversión, genera un alto riesgo de que la violencia de los conflictos se incremente”, dijo Sandra Ratjen, Asesora Jurídica Sénior del programa de la CIJ para los derechos económicos, sociales y culturales.
“Hay una brecha entre las obligaciones internacionales de Perú de respetar y proteger los derechos humanos y las amenazas sistemáticas que enfrentan las comunidades que se encuentran en las áreas mineras para disfrutar realmente derechos como el derecho al agua, a la salud y a la vivienda o a la consulta previa, libre e informada de las comunidades indígenas”, agregó.
La CIJ está particularmente preocupada por las afirmaciones de uso contrario al derecho internacional de la fuerza letal para controlar las manifestaciones y las protestas en zonas mineras, como ocurrió recientemente en Las Bambas.
La CIJ recibió información de diversas fuentes en el sentido que en varias ocasiones las fuerzas de seguridad han usado la fuerza en contra de los principios de necesidad y proporcionalidad.
La CIJ exhorta a las autoridades peruanas a tomar las siguientes medidas para fortalecer la protección de los derechos económicos, sociales y culturales en el país:
- Mantener y fortalecer las leyes y las políticas que protegen los derechos humanos, en particular los económicos, sociales, culturales y del ambiente;
- En consecuencia, revisar la legislación que impida que el Estado cumpla con sus obligaciones internacionales de derechos humanos, incluidas las relativas al disfrute de derechos como el derecho al trabajo decente, el derecho a la salud y al agua potable o el derecho a la protección frente a desalojos forzados;
- Asegurar plenamente el ejercicio del derecho de reunión y de la libertad de expresión de las personas y los grupos, incluidos los defensores de derechos humanos.
Información adicional
La misión de la CIJ incluyó a María Clara Galvis, abogada colombiana especialista en derecho internacional de los derechos humanos y profesora de la Universidad Externado de Colombia; Rafael Uzcátegui, sociólogo venezolano y Coordinador General del Programa venezolano de educación y acción en derechos humanos (PROVEA); Sandra Ratjen, Asesora Jurídica Sénior del Programa de Derechos Economicos, Sociales y Culturales de la CIJ y Olivier van Bogaert, Director de prensa y comunicaciones de la CIJ.
La delegación se reunió con autoridades de varios ministerios, representantes de empresas extractivas, agencias de cooperación, organizaciones de derechos humanos, sindicatos y organizaciones sociales. En diciembre, la CIJ publicará el informe final con sus hallazgos y recomendaciones sobre la situación de los derechos económicos, sociales y culturales en el contexto de las industrias extractivas y el aumento de los conflictos sociales en el Perú.
Contacto:
Sandra Ratjen, Senior Legal Adviser for ICJ’s Programme on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, t: +55 96 48 13 628; e: sandra.ratjen@icj.org
Sep 18, 2015 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ today delivered an oral statement at the UN Human Rights Council in the General Debate on item 3, concerning judicial accountability, and on the link between ESC rights and enforced or involuntary disappearances.
In the statement, the ICJ welcomed the focus on judicial reform and accountability of judges in the report of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence.
The ICJ also welcomed the initiative of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances to address more systematically and comprehensively the relationship between disappearances and the realization (or lack thereof) of economic, social and cultural rights.
The full statement may be downloaded in PDF format, here: UN-Advocacy-HRC30-OralStatement-GDItem3-2015-ENG
Jul 14, 2015 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
Today, the ICJ delivered an oral statement before the Human Rights Committee during a half a day of general discussion in view of the Committee’s ongoing elaboration of a new General Comment on Article 6 (Right to Life) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The ICJ’s oral statement focussed on the following:
- the principles of equality before the law, equal protection of the law and non-discrimination, as well as non-refoulment;
- State Parties’ duty to protect the right to life in respect of conduct of private actors;
- State Parties’ duty to take measures to protect and ensure the right to life in connection with acts of gender-based violence against women and violence against individuals based on their real or imputed sexual orientation and/or gender identity or expression;
- the relationship between the right to life and certain economic, social and cultural rights;
- the extraterritorial reach of the Covenant; and
- the application of Article 6 during situations of armed conflict.
Universal-ICJ oral statement HALF DAY GENERAL DISCUSSION ON GC-Advocacy-2015-ENG (full text in PDF)
