Jan 29, 2015
Today, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) salutes Dr Lydia Foy for her courage and determination and congratulates her for bringing legal recognition of transgender people finally within reach in Ireland.
During a period spanning over two decades, Dr Lydia Foy was forced repeatedly to bring legal proceedings challenging the Irish authorities’ continuing failure to issue her with a new birth certificate reflecting legal recognition of her female gender.
The ICJ intervened before the High Court in Dublin as an amicus curiae, a friend of the court, in the latest case brought by Dr Foy. She sought an effective remedy against the Irish State’s violation of her right to respect for her private life as a result of the authorities’ failure to make provisions for the legal recognition of her acquired gender identity.
Today, 29 January 2015, the Irish state and Dr Foy formally settled the case before the High Court following the publication and introduction of the Gender Recognition Bill in the Oireachtas (the Irish Parliament), and the start of the parliamentary debate on the Bill.
It is high time that Ireland enacts legislation giving effect to their international human rights legal obligation to legally recognize people’s preferred gender identity. The ICJ urges the Irish authorities to proceed promptly to ensure that trans persons in Ireland obtain as of right a birth certificate showing the gender that they prefer. In doing so, the Irish authorities should ensure that each person, whatever their gender identity, may enjoy their internationally recognized human rights without discrimination, including their right to respect for their private life.
Background
In October 2014 the ICJ filed written legal submissions in Dr Foy’s case to assist the High Court in the determination of certain points of law relating to the right to an effective national remedy under the European Convention on Human Rights. The organization’s submissions addressed, among others, the requirement that a domestic remedy be effective in law and practice. Namely, that a remedy must be accessible and enable the enforcement of the substance of the rights at stake; and that the national authority before which recourse is had must be capable of granting an appropriate relief, and offer reasonable prospects of success.
The ICJ was represented pro bono by Gráinne Gilmore BL and Elizabeth Mitrow and Wendy Lyon of KOD Lyons Solicitors.
Nov 21, 2014
The ICJ welcomes the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee’s adoption of resolution A/C.3/69/L.47 on Extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions on 19 November most recently.
The resolution, which is introduced biennially, urges States to protect the right to life of all people. Importantly, it calls upon States to investigate killings based on discriminatory grounds, including killings that target people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. It is the only resolution at the General Assembly to make specific reference to sexual orientation and gender identity.
The resolution was introduced by Finland and co-sponsored by 62 additional states. The support came after a concerted effort by civil society to ensure the successful adoption of the resolution, culminating in a joint letter to all States by 30 NGOs, including the ICJ.
An effort led by Egypt to weaken the resolution, by introducing an amendment that would have removed reference to any of the groups particularly at risk of extrajudicial killings, was defeated by a vote of 86 against, 53 in favour and 24 abstaining.
The resolution was adopted 111 to 1, with 63 abstentions. Kiribati after the vote declared their intention to change their ‘no’ vote to abstention.
Nov 18, 2014 | Advocacy, Cases, Legal submissions
On 17 November 2014, the ICJ and ILGA-Europe filed their joint written submissions with the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Milica Đorđević and others v. Serbia (Application Nos. 5591/10, 17802/12, 23138/13 and 25474/14).
The case concerns the authorities’ decision in 2009 to relocate the applicants’ “Pride Parade” to promote the equality and visibility of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people away from central Belgrade, Serbia, and the authorities’ repeated banning of Pride Parades in central Belgrade in 2011, 2012 and 2013.
The ICJ and the European Region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA-Europe)’s submissions to the Court focus on:
- the essential role of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly in a democratic society, and the scope of discretion afforded to States in determining measures required to prevent disorder at an assembly where counter-demonstrators threaten violence against groups most at risk; and
- the nature and scope of the State’s obligation in relation to the right to freedom of peaceful assembly under the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, focusing in particular on States’ duty to adopt legislative and administrative measures in order to fulfil their legal obligations.
SERBIA-ECHR amicus Dordevic-Advocacy-Legal Submission-2014-ENG (full text in PDF)
Oct 9, 2014
The ICJ has submitted information to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in preparation for the Committee’s examination of the initial periodic report of Uganda under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
During its pre-sessional working group meeting in December 2014, the Committee will adopt a ‘List of Issues’ for the examination in June 2015 of the initial periodic report of Uganda under ICESCR.
In this submission, the ICJ draws the Committee’s attention to the detrimental impact of the adoption and enforcement of the Anti-Homosexuality Act 2014, as well as the effect of pre-existing and extant criminalization of consensual same-sex sexual conduct on the respect for and the protection and realization of certain Covenant rights.
The organization considers that those laws violate the following Covenant rights of Uganda’s population generally, and in particular of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, living or working in Uganda:
- The principle of non-discrimination (article 2(2));
- The right to work (article 6) and to just and favourable conditions of work (article 7);
- The right to an adequate standard of living, including adequate housing (article 11);
- The right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health (article 12);
- The right to education (article 13).
Uganda-CESCR_LOI-legalsubmission-2014-ENG
Oct 3, 2014
The ICJ has made a submission to the CEDAW in advance of the examination of the combined combined initial and second periodic reports of Brunei Darussalam under Article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
The ICJ submission draws the Committee’s attention to concerns related to the criminalisation of consensual adult sexual relations and marital rape.
The Committee will examine the combined initial and second periodic reports of Brunei during its 59th session from 20 October to 7 November 2014, following which it will adopt Concluding Observations setting out recommendations to the Government of Brunei Darussalam.
Brunei-CEDAWsubmission-LegalSubmission-2014-ENG
