On 6 September 2023, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) made a submission to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) by the Philippines.
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the Due Process of Law Foundation (DPLF) submitted written legal comments to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) in relation to the Advisory Opinion requested by Mexico on “the activities of private companies engaged in the firearms industry and their effects in human rights”.
In their submission, the ICJ and DPLF set out some main tenets of international law and jurisprudence as developed by Inter-American human rights Court and Commission and the UN human rights treaty bodies.
We, nine international human rights organizations, have grave reservations about the Sri Lankan government’s proposed National Unity and Reconciliation Commission. Our concerns echo many of those already raised by victims of conflict-related abuses and their families. Sri Lanka has a long history of convening similar bodies, none of which has provided justice, truth or reparation to the many people who have engaged with them. The latest initiative risks repeating the mistakes of the past, exposing victims to renewed security threats and re-traumatization without any realistic chance of a different outcome. There have not been any genuine confidence-building measures, or steps to ensure a safe and conducive environment for such a commission to function effectively.
Escalating Attacks on Free Expression
Lebanese authorities’ arrest and investigation of prominent comedian Nour Hajjar, solely in retaliation for his jokes, represents a new escalation in Lebanon’s crackdown on public criticism, the Coalition to Defend Freedom of Expression in Lebanon said today.
The ICJ expressed concern about attacks on the independence of the judiciary in Sri Lanka under cover of parliamentary privilege.
On 22 August 2023, Sarath Weeresekera, a former Minister and a Member of Parliament belonging to the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, the country’s ruling political party, made an inflammatory speech with racist undertones in Parliament, referring to T. Saravanaraja, the Mullaitivu Court’s Magistrate repeatedly as “a mentally ill person”, and criticizing a court order Judge Saravanaraja had made, while making personal remarks about him, including a mention of his wife. Judge Saravanaraja has been the target of this invective following an order he made upholding the right of religious worship of Hindu devotees at a Hindu shrine on Kurundur Hill, a contested religious site in the North of the country.
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