Jul 23, 2014
The UN Human Rights Council today decided to establish an independent, international commission of enquiry to investigate all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in the OPT, including East Jerusalem, particularly in the occupied Gaza Strip.
The Human Rights Council’s decision, in its Resolution S-21/1, came at the conclusion of a special session of the Council on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. The ICJ itself called on the establishment of a commission of enquiry, emphasising that certain attacks by the Israel Defense Forces and Palestinian armed groups constituted crimes under international law and that all perpetrators must be held to account.
The newly established commission of inquiry will report to the Human Rights Council at its 28th regular session in February-March 2015.
OPT-HRC-SpecialSession-OralStatement-2014 (download ICJ oral statement in PDF)
A-HRC-RES-S-21-1_en (download Human Rights Council Resolution S-21/1 in Word)
Go to webpage on ICJ’s written statement to the Human Rights Council
Jun 13, 2014
The ICJ has submitted information to the Human Rights Committee in advance of the Committee’s examination of the fourth periodic report of Ireland under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The ICJ submission draws the Committee’s attention to concerns related to access to safe and legal abortion in Ireland.
The Committee will examine the fourth periodic report of Ireland during its 111th session held in July 2014, following which it will adopt Concluding Observations setting out recommendations to the Government of Ireland.
Ireland-HRCttee111-LegalSubmission-2014 (download ICJ submission in PDF)
Jun 11, 2014 | Events
The ICJ’s Senior Legal Adviser on women’s human rights participated in a panel discussion on ‘Gains, gaps and challenges in addressing violence against women’, convened on 10 June 2014 in the margins of the Human Rights Council’s 26th regular session in Geneva.
The event was co-sponsored by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Permanent Missions of Canada and Chile and was moderated by Jane Connors, Chief of the OHCHR Special Procedures Branch. Panelists included Rashida Manjoo, Special Rapporteur on violence against women; Her Excellency Elisa Goldberg, Ambassador of Canada; Her Excellency Marta Maurás Peréz, Ambassador of Chile; and Leah Hoctor, ICJ Senior Legal Adviser.
The ICJ’s intervention focussed on remaining challenges, including the lack of prompt and effective investigations into allegations of violence against women (VAW); systemic failures in some States’ implementation of their due diligence obligations; and a series of disconnects at the international level pertaining to the link between VAW and other forms of discrimination and rights violations that women face, the lack of a holistic conceptualisation and treatment of VAW, and the insufficient integration of legal and normative progress in the discussions and approach of international fora.
Jun 10, 2014 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ joined other non-governmental organisations in issuing a joint statement ahead of the 2014 annual treaty body chairpersons meeting, to be held on 24-27 June 2014.
The statement, made by NGOs that regularly contribute to the work of the treaty bodies, broadly welcomed the outcome of the UN General Assembly process to strengthen the treaty bodies. It, in particular, highlights a number of priority areas for consideration by treaty body chairpersons as critical to implementation of the General Assembly resolution and the ongoing process of strengthening the UN treaty bodies.
UNTBs-AnnualChairpersonsMeeting-JointStatement-Non-LegalSubmission-2014 (download full statement in PDF)
Mar 27, 2014 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ made an oral statement on the recommendations made to Israel by the UN Human Rights Council, following Israel’s Universal Periodic Review.
The ICJ statement focussed on recommendations related to:
- compliance with international humanitarian and international human rights law , including particularly for thorough and impartial investigations into all allegations of human rights and humanitarian law violations committed in the context of the prolonged occupation of the OPT, and accountability of individuals responsible for such violations;
- Israel’s unlawful settlement policy;
- the separation wall; and
- administrative detention.
The full statement can be downloaded in PDF: Advocacy-UN-HRC25-IsraelUPR-20032014
Video of the discussion, including the ICJ statement, may be viewed here.
