Feb 21, 2011
The Maldives remains a country in transition. It holds the deepening promise of a constitutional democracy with institutions founded upon respect for the rule of law, fundamental rights, and the separation of powers. But the legacy of an authoritarian past, in which the President was also the supreme judicial authority, has tested the transition.
A delegation of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), comprised of Dr. Leandro Despouy, former UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Roger Normand, ICJ Asia-Pacific Director, and John Tyynela, ICJ Senior Legal Adviser, visited the Maldives from 12 to 17 September 2010 in order to assess advances in establishing an independent judiciary.
Maldives-independent judiciary-fact-finding mission-2011
Feb 20, 2011
Report of mission to to monitor the hearings of the trial of Haytham Al-Maleh, prominent Syrian human rights lawyer. The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN), and the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders – a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) carried out six missions1 to Damascus between February and July 2010 to monitor the hearings of the trial of Haytham Al-Maleh, an 80-year-old prominent Syrian human rights lawyer and former President of the Human Rights Association in Syria (HRAS). Haytham Al-Maleh was unlawfully arrested by officers of the General Intelligence Service on 14 October 2009 and prosecuted before the Second Military Court of Damascus on the grounds of “transferring false and exaggerated news that weaken national sentiments,” “spreading false or exaggerated information abroad which undermines the prestige of the State,” and “slandering the judicial system.”
Feb 17, 2011 | News
Seven years after the arrest and killing of Maina Sunuwar, the Government of Nepal should take immediate steps to ensure that criminal proceedings move forward, the ICJ and other Human Rights groups said today.
Advocacy Forum (AF), Amnesty International (AI), Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the ICJ express their solidarity with Maina’s family, and call on the Nepali authorities to immediately transfer Major Niranjan Basnet to the Kavre District Court where he has been charged with murder, and arrest Babi Khatri, Sunil Prasad Adhikari and Amit Pun who have all been implicated in her death.
That Maina’s family is still waiting for justice for her killing, as in so many cases of crimes during the armed conflict, suggests that the realization of victims’ right to a judicial remedy for serious crimes remains a distant dream in Nepal.
Nepal-MainaSunuwar-news-2011 (full text, PDF)
Feb 17, 2011 | News
The ICJ and other Human Rights groups call on Governments, NGOs and others to identify eligible candidates for the upcoming vacancy for the Special Rapporteur on countering terrorism.
special rapporteur-humanrights-web story-2011 (full text, PDF)
Feb 16, 2011
The NGO Coalition for an Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural has launched a Toolkit for Action to support the ratification and implementation of the Protocol.
