The ICJ made an intervention in the Human Rights Council during the Interactive Dialogue with the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights following her update report on the situation in Syria.
The ICJ and the Transitional Justice Law Committee of the Nepal Bar Association are organizing a High–Level Interaction Program on general amnesty, case withdrawal and pardon.
The ICJ published today its observations on the 1 June 2011 recast of the European Union “Directive on common procedures for granting and withdrawing international protection”.
The ICJ commends the Independent Expert on the question of human rights and extreme poverty. Ms. Magdalena Sepulveda Carmona (picture above) has made consistent efforts to pursue and strengthen the work on the issue of poverty and human rights that had been initiated by the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, the ICJ says.
In particular, the ICJ welcomes the progress report (HRC/15/41) prepared by the Independent Expert that entails substantial recommendations for the improvement of the Draft Guiding Principles (DGPs) on extreme poverty and human rights.
The ICJ hopes that the consultation process including the present questionnaire, and the upcoming consultation meeting organized by the OHCHR on 22 and 23 June 2011, will give the opportunity to progress towards the finalization of the DGPs and towards their eventual adoption in 2012.
ICJ contribution to the consultation on extreme poverty and human rights-non-legal submission-2011 (full text, PDF)
The ICJ welcomes the first-ever UN Human Rights Council resolution on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The resolution, introduced by South Africa and Brasil with 39 additional co-sponsors, expresses concern about violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and calls for the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights to prepare a study to document discriminatory laws and practices and acts of violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, in all regions of the world, and how international human rights law can be used to end violence and related human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The study will be followed by a panel discussion at the Human Rights Council at its 19th Session. The ICJ congratulates South Africa and Brasil on this historic achievement.
HRC Resolution Sexual Orientation Gender Identity-web story-2011 (Full text, PDF)
South Africa: Constitutional Court’s affirmation that principles of judicial independence are fully applicable to military courts is a welcome step forward
EU: Lawyers and civil society call for mandatory humanitarian clause in anti-smuggling directive
EU: Access to a lawyer in juvenile justice proceedings remains a key concern in several EU Member States