Sep 16, 2014 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
ICJ affiliate the Colombian Commission of Jurists today delivered an oral statement at the UN Human Rights Council, concerning enforced disappearances in Thailand.
The statement noted that of the 81 cases transmitted by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances to the Royal Thai Government between 1980 and 2014, the Government has clarified only two (A/HRC/27/49, 5 August 2014).
The statement highlighted the case of Somchai Neelapaijit, a lawyer and human rights defender, who was subjected to enforced disappearance more than 10 years ago but whose case remains unresolved. I also described the recent disappearance of Pholachi “Billy” Rakchongcharoen, a Karen minority human rights activist, who has not been seen since April 2014, when he was last seen in the custody of certain public officials with whom he and his community were engaged in an ongoing legal dispute.
The statement emphasised that Thailand must effectively investigate all cases and provide victims, including family members, withfull remedies and reparation. Enforced disappearance should be a distinct crime in domestic law, with penalties reflecting its extreme seriousness. Thailand should also accept the 30 June 2011 visit request of the Working Group and ratify the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which it signed on 9 January 2012.
Thailand exercised its right of reply to respond to the oral statement.
The statement can be downloaded in PDF format here: Thailand-EnforcedDisappearance-Advocacy-non legal submission-2014-ENG
The statement and reply can be viewed in the UN video archive, here.
A written version of the reply by Thailand (unofficial, the official reply is as delivered in the video above) can be downloaded in PDF format here: Thailand_R of Reply_GD_18
Sep 16, 2014 | Events
Amnesty International, with support from the ICJ, will hold a parallel event, in the margins of the UN Human Rights Council’s 27th session in Geneva, on armed drones and international law, to be held on Thursday 18 September 2014 at 13:30 in room XXIV of the Palais des Nations.
Sep 15, 2014 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ supports a joint oral statement, delivered by ARC International, in relation to the Panel on “Protection of the Family”, at the UN Human Rights Council today.
The oral statement emphasised the importance of recognising the diversity of forms of families around the world.
It also noted that familes can be sites for transmissions of values, and that this can on the one hand include the promotion of human rights values, or on the other hand values incompatible with respect for human rights.
Finally, the statement highlighted that a human rights-based approach to family policies must recognise that individuals within families have human rights that require protection. Indeed, while families have the potential to help protect the human rights of their members from violations, families also have the potential to conceal abuses of human rights within the family.
The full statement in PDF format may be downloaded here: Universal-ProtectionofFamily-Advocacy-nonlegalsubmission-2014.EN
Sep 15, 2014
The ICJ published today a collection of international case-law extracts on migration and international human rights law in Greek.
Sep 15, 2014 | Events, News
The International Commission of Jurists and the Greek Council for Refugees will hold today a two-day conference on administrative detention of migrants and asylum seekers according to international and Greek law.
The conference will address the interplay of international law, EU law and national law in the domain of administrative detention of third country nationals. With presentations given by international experts and Greek experts and practitioners, the conference will address issues such as the nature of detention, its lawfulness, conditions of detention and treatment and judicial review of situations of deprivation of liberty.
Greece-conference-detention-ICJGCR-2014 (programme in English)
Greece-conference-detention-ICJGCR-2014-greek (programme in Greek)
Migration_and_International_Human_Rights_Law_Greek_materials (Collection of case law materials in Greek)
