Sep 28, 2020 | Events, News
Join this panel discussion with ICJ, the Tahrir Institute, and the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, Wednesday 30 September 2020, 13:00.
Targeting the Last Line of Defense:
Egypt’s attacks against lawyers
A Virtual Side Event to the Human Rights Council 45th Session
Wednesday 30 September 2020, 13:00 – 14:30 (Geneva time)
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy (TIMEP) cordially invite you to join this online side event, including the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, this coming Wednesday.
The ICJ and TIMEP will present their joint report Targeting the last line of defense: Egypt’s attacks against lawyers. The report documents systematic targeting of lawyers through arbitrary arrests and detention, physical assaults, torture and enforced disappearances, as well as politicized criminal proceedings under counter-terrorism and other overbroad laws.
In the report, the ICJ and TIMEP call on the Egyptian authorities to immediately end their crackdown on lawyers and to unconditionally release all lawyers who are detained or convicted solely on the basis of the peaceful exercise of their human rights and/or the legitimate discharge of their professional duties.
Speakers:
- Mary Lawlor, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
- Saïd Benarbia, International Commission of Jurists
- Mai El-Sadany, The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy
Register for the event here:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8432589390374705675.
For more information contact: un(a)icj.org
Sep 25, 2020 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
Today at the UN Human Rights Council, the ICJ together with the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, drew attention to ongoing attacks on the independence and role of lawyers in Egypt.
The ICJ made the oral statement during the general debate on country situations of concern, speaking on behalf also of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy. The statement read as follows:
“The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy draw the Council’s attention to the continuing deterioration of the situation for human rights and the rule of law in Egypt.
Today our organizations published a new report, Targeting the Last Line of Defense: Egypt’s Attacks against Lawyers, to be followed by a virtual side event on 30 September.
As the last line of defense against the government’s sustained and broad crackdown on human rights and fundamental freedoms, Egypt’s lawyers have been increasingly and systematically targeted by authorities. Since 2018, at least 35 lawyers have been arrested and arbitrarily detained for their legal defense work and exercise of fundamental freedoms.
Lawyers have been subject to arbitrary arrest and detention, physical assault, torture and other ill-treatment, and enforced disappearances, as well as unfounded and politicized criminal proceedings based on charges under grossly overbroad criminal laws on “terrorism,” “spreading false news,” and “misusing social media.” Arrests of lawyers spiked in the wake of the September 2019 protests. Arrests continue despite the risk of a COVID-19 outbreak in detention facilities.
The ICJ and Tahrir Institute call on Egyptian authorities to end these violations of the rights and role of lawyers, to take measures to protect the independence of the Bar Association, and to amend all relevant legal frameworks in line with Egypt’s constitution and international human rights law and standards.
Thank you.”
The full statement can be downloaded (PDF) here: UN-Advocacy-Egypt-HRC45-2020
For more information, contact: un@icj.org
Sep 25, 2020 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
At the UN Human Rights Council, the ICJ and other NGOs have highlighted the joint civil society call for an international human rights monitoring mechanism on China.
The oral statement was delivered on behalf of the group of NGOs by Human Rights Watch, during the general debate on country situations. The statement builds on a joint open letter by more than 300 civil society organizations, including the ICJ, issued earlier this month.
The statement to the Human Rights Council read as follows:
“We join together to call for an international mechanism to address the Chinese government’s human rights violations, and urge the Human Rights Council to take decisive action to achieve this goal.
On 26 June 2020, an unprecedented 50 United Nations experts called for ‘decisive measures to protect fundamental freedoms in China.’ They highlighted China’s mass human rights violations in Hong Kong, Tibet, and Xinjiang, suppression of information in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, and attacks on rights defenders, journalists, lawyers and critics of the government across the country.
Our organizations are also concerned about the impact of China’s rights violations world-wide. China has targeted human rights defenders abroad, suppressed academic freedom in countries around the world, and engaged in internet censorship and digital surveillance. We deplore China’s promotion of rights-free development and the ensuing environmental degradation at the hands of government-backed extractive industries, as well as the racist treatment of people in China, or by Chinese state actors in other parts of the world.
We are dismayed at China’s efforts to distort the mandate of the UN Human Rights Council by promoting ‘cooperation’ over accountability, and opposing initiatives to bring scrutiny of serious rights violations and international crimes in countries around the world. It has used its seat on the UN’s NGO Committee to baselessly deny accreditation to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), while accrediting government-organized NGOs (GoNGOs). It has sought to deny access to human rights defenders to UN premises, denounced speakers on NGO side events as ‘terrorists,’ and threatened delegates to deter them from attending UN side events on rights violations, including abuses in Xinjiang.
When the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Special Procedures, and dozens of states urged China to comply with international human rights standards, China contended that they were ‘improper remarks’ that ‘grossly interfered’ with China’s sovereignty.
A state that tries to hold itself above any kind of scrutiny presents a fundamental threat to human rights. That China—a state with extraordinary global power—expects such treatment affects us all.
We therefore endorse the call by UN experts for a Special Session or Urgent Debate at the Human Rights Council to evaluate the range of violations by China’s government, and to establish an impartial and independent UN mechanism to closely monitor, analyze, and report annually on that topic. We urge the UN Secretary-General to appoint a Special Envoy, consistent with his Call to Action on Human Rights, and we call on the High Commissioner for Human Rights to fulfil her independent mandate to monitor and publicly report on China’s sweeping rights violations. We support the call that UN member states and UN agencies use all interactions with Chinese authorities to insist that the government comply with its international human rights obligations.
In the spirit of global solidarity and partnership, we urge the Council swiftly to counter and remediate grave human rights violations committed by Chinese authorities. No state should be above the law.”
Sep 25, 2020 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ has joined other NGOs in urging the UN Human Rights Council to respond effectively to the crisis for human rights in the Philippines.
The joint oral statement was delivered by the World Organization against Torture (OMCT) on behalf of the group of international and Philippino NGOs, during a general debate on country situations. It read as follows:
“Madam President,
I speak on behalf of 35 organisations, deeply concerned by the situation in the Philippines. We urge this Council to respond credibly to the grave findings and recommendations of the recent OHCHR report.
Developments since that report indicate further deterioration, with ongoing incitement to kill by the President, the promotion of an architect of the anti-drug strategy to police chief, the passing of an overbroad anti-terror law ripe for abuse, the conviction of journalist Maria Ressa and shutdown of media network ABS-CBN, the murder of activists and a journalist and a new spike in police killings.
In terms of cooperation, the Philippines refused access to OHCHR in the preparation of the report and continues to bar entry to Special Procedures. The Secretary-General and High Commissioner have raised significant concerns over reprisals. The Government does not acknowledge widespread and systematic killings as a problem, in fact it encourages them and rejects the OHCHR’s findings. Serious violations continue.
The Government’s announced Inter-Agency Panel lacks any transparency and directly involves branches of Government implicated in these abuses. As such, it clearly cannot satisfy international standards of independence,[1] nor can it be seen as credible or safe for victims to engage with.
Madam President,
Our organisations have urged and continue to urge this Council to launch an independent international investigation.
The High Commissioner has clearly asked the Council to renew her mandate to monitor and report on the wider situation, as well as to provide technical cooperation to “implement the report’s recommendations,” and “continue to pursue accountability”. We urge this Council – at absolute minimum – to ensure continued monitoring and reporting on all aspects of the situation as clearly recommended by the High Commissioner. Anything less would not only be an insult to victims and their families, but send a green light to perpetrators that they can continue with impunity, with disastrous consequences on the ground.
Thank you.”
Co-signatories:
- Action Network Human Rights Philippines (AMP)
- Amnesty International
- Article 19
- Child Alert Mindanao
- Children’s Legal Rights and Development Center (CLRDC)
- CIVICUS Alliance
- Coalition Against Summary Executions
- Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance (FIND)
- Franciscans International
- Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate Conception
- Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG)
- Freedom House
- Harm Reduction International
- Human Rights Watch
- In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement (iDEFEND)
- International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP)
- International Commission of Jurists
- International Drug Policy Consortium
- International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
- International Service for Human Rights
- Karapatan Alliance Philippines
- Medical Action Group
- National Union of Journalists of the Philippines
- Network Against Killings in the Philippines (NakPhil)
- Partnership Mission for People’s Initiatives (PMPI)
- Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA)
- Philippine Misereor Partnership Inc. (PMPI)
- Philippine Human Rights Information Center
- Salinlahi Alliance for Children’s Concerns
- Swiss Catholic Lenten Fund (SCLF)
- Tambayan
- The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
- Task Force Detainees of the Philippines
- World Council of Churches
- World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
[1] See for instance the UN Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions, adopted by the Economic and Social Council in its resolution 1989/65 of 24 May 1989; and Human Rights Committee, General Comment no. 36 on the right to life (article 6).
Sep 25, 2020 | News
On 24 September 2020, the ICJ held a webinar in collaboration with the Lesotho National Federation of Organisations of the Disabled on the right to education for children with disabilities.
Presenters and participants included representatives from civil society organizations, teachers’ unions, teachers and the Lesotho Department of Education.
“Children with disabilities have a right to access to education on an equal basis with all other children. The COVID-19 pandemic must not hamper the Lesotho governments efforts to ensure access to inclusive education for all children,” said Kaajal Ramjathan-Keogh, ICJ’s Africa Director.
Participants highlighted accessibility-related problems faced by learners with disabilities in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Some examples include:
- Ordinary masks necessary to combat the spread of COVID-19 inhibit communication for learners with hearing disabilities who often communication in part by lip-reading. These require access to face visors and/or transparent masks. Some deaf students also had difficulty in understanding the COVID-19 pandemic and virus, despite efforts to explain it to them.
- Blind learners need more access to hand sanitizer as they need to touch their surroundings for mobility. This also makes social distancing more difficult for them.
- Teachers have trouble understanding how to comply with social distancing measures while assisting learners experiencing epileptic seizures.
- Many learners with disabilities have stayed at home during the pandemic, not understanding why they were not at school.
- Many children with disabilities are rendered more vulnerable to sexual violence and exploitation as they observe stay at home rules.
A representative of the Department of Education explained various measures which government had put in place to ensure that these obstacles could be overcome so that learners with disabilities could enjoy their right to education in the context of COVID-19. Learners’ health and safety would also remain a priority.
The Department noted the delays in the implementation of its inclusive education policy as a result of a lack of funding as government resources are diverted to COVID-19 responses.
The need for compliance with Lesotho’s global and regional international human rights obligations was also highlighted with participants agreeing about the importance of ensuring that there is “strength in numbers” in advocacy efforts toward the realization of children with disabilities’ right to education.
“Ensuring the right to education of persons with disabilities does not imply sacrificing and compromising their right to health. All human rights are interdependent and Lesotho should be guided by all of its human rights obligations as it continues to implement its domestic inclusive education policy during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Ramjathan-Keogh added.
Background
Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Africa require States parties to ensure that their education systems are inclusive and fully realize the right to education of all children with disabilities. The normative content of Article 24 of the CRPD and corresponding obligations of member States are expanded on in the General Comment No 4 of the Committee on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities.
For more information on the impact of COVID-19 on access to education, find the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education’s report here.
Contact
Nokukhanya (Khanyo) Farisè, Legal Adviser (Africa Regional Programme), e: nokukhanya.farise(a)icj.org
Tanveer Jeewa, Communications Officer (Africa Regional Programme), e: tanveer.jeewa(a)icj.org
