Nov 10, 2015
The ICJ today joined other organisations in calling for a special session of the UN Human Rights Council to address the rapidly deteriorating human rights situation in Burundi.
The joint letter cited, among other concerns, continuing unlawful killings and other human rights violations and abuses, as well as the use of incendiary language by a number of high-level officials in the last two weeks. The organisations fear that Burundi may be on the verge of widespread violence. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has expressed extreme concern about the situation.
On 6 November, the body of Welly Nzitonda, the son of prominent human rights defender Pierre Claver Mbonimpa, was found dead a few hours after he was arrested in the Mutakura neighborhood of Bujumbura where protests have taken place. On 3 August, Mr. Mbonimpa was himself shot in the face and neck. He was forced to seek medical treatment abroad. His son-in-law, Pascal Nshimirimana, was shot dead outside his home in Bujumbura on 9 October.
The open letter can be downloaded here (in english, PDF format): Burundi-UN-OpenLetter-2015
(en français): Burundi-UN-OpenLetter-2015-FR
Nov 10, 2015 | Plaidoyer
Appel à la tenue d’une session spéciale du Conseil des droits de l’Homme afin de contribuer aux efforts onusiens et régionaux visant à prévenir la commission d’atrocités au Burundi
Lors de sa dernière session ordinaire, le Conseil des droits de l’Homme a exprimé de vives inquiétudes quant à la situation des droits humains au Burundi et a démontré sa capacité à répondre à une situation d’urgence en matière de droits humains en adoptant la résolution 30/271, qui lui permettra de discuter de la situation au Burundi à l’occasion de dialogues interactifs devant se tenir lors de ses trois sessions ordinaires en 2016.
Malheureusement, le Gouvernement du Burundi a échoué à répondre à l’appel à la retenue envoyé par le Conseil (notamment son appel à « s’abstenir de toute action susceptible d’exacerber les tensions au Burundi »), et la détérioration rapide de la situation des droits humains dans le pays ne permet pas au Conseil d’attendre sa trente-et-unième
session (mars 2016) pour prendre des mesures additionnelles afin de prévenir la commission d’atrocités au Burundi.
Suite dans le PDF ci-dessous:
Burundi-UN-OpenLetter-2015-FR (Lettre complète en PDF)
Oct 6, 2015 | News
Judges and representatives of judicial training institutions from 9 countries across Southeast Asia gathered in Jakarta, Indonesia, to discuss how judicial decision-making can be further strengthened from a gender perspective.
A two-day event (5-6 October 2015), this judicial dialogue, entitled Regional Judicial Dialogue on Judging with a Gender Perspective, was organized by the ICJ, in collaboration with the Supreme Court of Indonesia and UN Women.
Participants discussed key topics such as initiatives of various courts in Southeast Asia that promote and protect women’s human rights, what are gender stereotypes and how gender stereotyping could be avoided in judicial decisions.
Speakers from the Supreme Court of Mexico were invited to speak about the initiative taken by the judiciary in the country to establish a protocol on judging with a gender perspective.
Senior judges from courts in Southeast Asian countries attended the event: Justice Dr. Takdir Rahmadi of the Supreme Court of Indonesia, Justice Suntariya Muanpawong, Chief Judge of the Research Division of the Supreme Court of Thailand; Justice Teresita De Castro of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, Justice Maria Natercia Gusmao Pereira of the Court of Appeal of Timor Leste; and Ms. Natalia Calero Sanches and Ms. Macarena Saez of the Mexican Supreme Court.
This dialogue is aimed at strengthening the participants’ ability to make decisions based on the rights to equality and freedom from discrimination.
UN Women also launched an online interactive platform that seeks to enhance dialogue among judges, prosecutors, court personnel, judicial training institutions, women’s machineries, scholars and other experts in the region.
The platform called, “Equality for All: community of change makers”, will enable users to access tools such as e-discussion forums, blogs and quick fact sheets that offer tailored learning solutions.
Sep 30, 2015 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ today delivered an oral statement to the UN Human Rights Council, commenting on the landmark UN investigation and report on violations of human rights and humanitarian law in Sri Lanka.
The statement also welcomes recommendations for integration of international judges, prosecutors, lawyers and investigators into any accountability mechanism:
“The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) welcomes the OHCHR Report on Promoting Reconciliation, Accountability and Human Rights in Sri Lanka (UN Doc A/HRC/30/61), which sets out the principal findings of the Report of the OHCHR Investigation on Sri Lanka (OISL Report, UN Doc A/HRC/30/CRP.2) documenting alleged serious violations and abuses of human rights and related crimes during the armed conflict in Sri Lanka. The ICJ commends the investigation team for its historic contribution towards reconciliation and the realization of victims’ rights in Sri Lanka.
The ICJ works with judiciaries, governments, civil society and victims around the world to address impunity and victims’ right to remedy for violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, including in situations of transition.
For over thirty years, the ICJ has documented and reported on a gradual erosion of judicial independence, impartiality and integrity under successive governments in Sri Lanka, and the resulting culture of impunity, including in the judiciary.[1]
The ICJ considers the International Criminal Court (ICC) to be the preferred mechanism for individual accountability where national authorities and courts lack the capacity or the willingness to genuinely investigate and prosecute all war crimes and crimes against humanity. In the absence of an ICC process, the ICJ’s extensive experience demonstrates that any credible and effective accountability process in Sri Lanka must involve, at a minimum, a majority of international judges, prosecutors and investigators.
The ICJ therefore welcomes the High Commissioner’s recommendation for a hybrid court and prosecutor’s office that fully integrates international judges, prosecutors, lawyers and investigators.
Also essential are the OHCHR recommendations on: mandate and resources of these mechanisms; legislating retroactive recognition of international crimes under national law; justice and security sector reform; repealing the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA); strengthening the Witness and Victim Protection Act; accession to the International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances (CED), the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Convention, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court; and continued monitoring of implementation through an OHCHR country office and the Council.
The ICJ welcomes that the tabled draft resolution explicitly recognises the need for international judges, prosecutors, lawyers and investigators. We call on the Council to adopt the resolution with, and call on the Government of Sri Lanka to urgently implement, these and other key elements of the recommendations of the High Commissioner’s Report in full.
[1] See, e.g., ICJ, Authority Without Accountability: The Crisis of Impunity in Sri Lanka (2012)
The statement can be downloaded in PDF format here: Sri Lanka-ICJ Oral Statement HRC-Advocacy-Non Legal submission-2015-ENG
Sep 26, 2015
The ICJ submitted a briefing to the UN Human Rights Committee in advance of the Committee’s examination of Greece’s compliance with its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
In its submission the ICJ expressed concern and made recommendations about the following issues:
i. the Greek asylum system’s failure to comply in practice with the
non-refoulement obligations and the right to an effective remedy (article 2.3, read in conjunction with articles 6, 7, 9 and 14 ICCPR, in particular);
ii. the immigration detention of refugees, asylum seekers and other migrants and the conditions of their detention (article 7, 9 and 10 ICCPR);
iii. the treatment and immigration detention of unaccompanied children (articles 7, 9 and 24 ICCPR); and
iv. the reception and living conditions of asylum seekers amounting to
destitution (article 7 ICCPR).
Contact:
Massimo Frigo, Europe Programme Legal Adviser, email: massimo.frigo(a)icj.org
Greece-Europe-HRC Briefing-Advocacy-non-legal submissions-2015-ENG (full text in PDF)
