Sep 16, 2011
The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, transmitted to the President of the UN Human Rights Council the report of his Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka.
The report includes various conclusions and recommendations, including those directed to the Human Rights Council itself.
A coalition of non-governmental organisations has, by open letter, called on the President of the Council to issue a President’s Statement inviting the Government of Sri Lanka and the UN Secretary-General to present to the Council the Panel of Experts report and the Government’s own investigations during the 19th regular session of the Human Rights Council in March 2012.
Sep 2, 2011
In an open letter, the ICJ and other human rights groups are urging the government of Nepal to ensure that perpetrators of human rights abuses are held accountable. Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai of Nepal and his government should honor commitments, both by the government and by the Maoist party, to ensure that perpetrators of human rights abuses during and after the country’s armed conflict are held accountable before courts of law, Advocacy Forum, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the International Commission of Jurists said today in an open letter.
Nepal-withdrawing criminal cases-open letter-2011 (full text,PDF)
Nepal-withdrwing criminal cases-prime minister-open letter-2011 (full text, PDF)
Jul 25, 2011
ICJ and other human rights groups call on the President of Malawi to immediately launch an independent, impartial and thorough investigation into the use of firearms against protestors.
Malawi-violence-against-protestors-open letter-2011 (full text, PDF)
Jul 7, 2011
The ICJ and other human rights groups welcomed the ground-breaking judgment issued by the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Byatayan v. Armenia on 7 July. It affirms that states have a duty to respect individuals’ right to conscientious objection to military service as part of their obligation to respect the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. The organizations had submitted a third-party intervention in the case.
Photo by Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Armenia
Jul 4, 2011
The ICJ congratulates the Constitutional Committee on the progress that it has made in the Constitution-drafting process, and in settling contentious issues.
In the past, the ICJ has shared comments on the draft provisions prepared by the Fundamental Rights Committee, and made recommendations for how those provisions could be brought in line with Nepal’s international human rights obligations. Those detailed comments can be found in the attachments to this letter
