Mar 12, 2021 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
Today, the ICJ delivered a statement to the UN Human Rights Council calling for accountability for crimes against humanity committed in Myanmar during the Interactive Dialogue on the report by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar.
The statement reads as follows:
“Madame President,
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) welcomes the recent report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar.
The widespread gross violations of human rights documented in the report – including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests and detention- underscore the need for urgent measures of accountability to redress these and to deter further violations.
ICJ has documented further evidence that the unlawful crackdown against peaceful protestors have continued to worsen leading to more extrajudicial killings. More than 50 people have already been unlawfully killed and several hundreds have been severely injured.
Hundreds of others have been arbitrarily arrested and detained, with some subjected to torture and ill-treatment. As the scale of violations continues to increase in many parts of the country, these attacks have become systematic and widespread, and must be investigated as crimes against humanity.
The ICJ therefore supports the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur, including for referral of the situation to the ICC.
The ICJ urges the Council to adopt a resolution that would strengthen and support the IIMM’s work to collect and preserve evidence for accountability; and to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, including to ensure the immediate, full and unrestricted monitoring of the situations and prompt and effective implementation of their recommendations.
Thank you.”
Contact:
Massimo Frigo, ICJ UN Representative, e: massimo.frigo(a)icj.org, t: +41797499949
Mar 12, 2021 | Advocacy, News
Several Iranian and international human rights organisations urge member states of the United Nations Human Rights Council to support the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran.
The letter reads:
We, the undersigned Iranian and international human rights organisations, call on your government to support the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran at the 46th session of the Human Rights Council. We also urge your government to use this opportunity to voice concern at the grave and systematic violations of human rights reported by the Special Rapporteur, and to call on Iranian authorities to put an end to the endemic impunity that surrounds these violations.
The renewal of this mandate is essential in light of the persistence of widespread and systematic violations of human rights committed by Iranian authorities with total impunity.
Iran remains second only to China in the number of executions carried out each year. In 2020, the authorities executed more than 240 people, including for drug offences and other acts that do not amount to the ‘most serious crimes’ under international law. Several people were executed in secret without prior notice to their families and lawyers. Among those executed was dissident and journalist Ruhollah Zam who was sentenced to death in connection with his anti-establishment social media news channel. Several protesters were sentenced to death and dozens of others faced capital crimes in relation to the nationwide November 2019 protests. The Iranian authorities executed at least three juvenile offenders in 2020, in violation of international law and despite repeated calls from UN bodies and member states for Iran to cease this unlawful practice and high-level bilateral engagement with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on this issue.
Fair trial rights continue to be systematically violated, making the hundreds of death sentences, corporal punishment sentences and long prison terms issued all the more egregious. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has raised alarm at ‘a familiar pattern of arrest and detention that does not comply with international norms’, including ‘lengthy detention pending trial with no access to judicial review; denial of access to legal counsel; incommunicado detention and solitary confinement; prosecution under vaguely worded criminal offences for the peaceful exercise of human rights; a closed trial and appeal by courts lacking in independence; disproportionately harsh sentencing; torture and ill-treatment; and denial of medical care’. In addition to these concerns, courts consistency rely on forced ‘confessions’ extracted under torture and other ill-treatment to issue convictions, as in the recent case of Navid Afkari, executed on 12 September 2020.
The Iranian authorities continue to routinely arbitrarily arrest, detain and sentence individuals to prison terms and flogging for the exercise of their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly. Among those who are targeted are protesters, media workers, journalists, political dissidents, artists, writers, and human rights defenders, including lawyers, women’s rights defenders, labour rights activists, minority rights activists, conservationists, anti-death penalty campaigners and
those demanding truth, justice and reparation for the mass extrajudicial executions of the 1980s.
Authorities in Iran have further quashed civic space through state policies and the recent introduction of new provisions in the Islamic Penal Code, which further criminalise the exercise of the rights to freedom of expression, religion or belief. Violent crackdowns on protests have become intertwined with the imposition of internet shutdowns or disruptions in recent years. These measures stifle internet freedom and have been used by the authorities to prevent protesters from mobilising and to conceal the scale of grave human rights violations and international crimes carried out by the state and its security forces.
Conditions in many prisons and detention facilities are cruel and inhuman, with prisoners suffering from overcrowding, bad ventilation, lack of adequate food, poor hygiene and sanitation and inadequate access to toilet and washing facilities. Despite such conditions providing a breeding ground for infectious diseases, authorities have failed to adequately resource prisons to control the spread of COVID-19 and treat infected prisoners. They have excluded prisoners of conscience and others held for politically motivated reasons from temporary releases or pardons announced to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and have deliberately denied them access to adequate health care.
As highlighted in the report of the Special Rapporteur before the Human Rights Council, discrimination in law and practice remains pervasive and a daily reality for women and girls, for persons belonging to ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities, as well as for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals. Women and girls continue to face widespread and systematic discrimination in law and practice in all aspects of their lives, amid the authorities’ continued failure to protect them from gender-based violence.
Ethnic minorities, including Ahwazi Arabs, Azerbaijani Turks, Baluchis, Kurds and Turkmen continue to face entrenched discrimination, which curtails their economic, social, cultural and other rights. The High Commissioner has recently noted that ‘an apparently coordinated campaign has been targeting minority groups since December, including in Sistan and Balochistan; Khuzestan; and in the Kurdish provinces. Mass arrests and enforced disappearances have been reported, as well as increasing
numbers of executions, following deeply flawed processes’. Some ethnic minorities have also been disproportionately affected by the imposition of the death penalty in 2020.
Freedom of religion or belief continues to be systematically violated, including for Baha’is who face widespread and systematic persecution, hate speech and obstacles to access education and work. Christian converts, the Yarsan (Ahl-e Haq), Sunni Muslims and non-believers also face discrimination and persecution for expressing or practising their faith or beliefs.
These long-standing patters of human rights violations have been facilitated by systematic impunity and lack of transparency. An illustration of this crisis of impunity is the continued failure of the authorities to investigate and prosecute crimes and human rights violations committed in the context of the violent repression of the nationwide protests of November 2019. The state repression resulted in the unlawful killing of hundreds of men, women and children, the arrest of at least 7,000 others, and widespread patterns of enforced disappearances and torture and other ill-treatment of detainees to obtain ‘confessions’ that have been used to issue convictions in unfair trials. In his report before the Human Rights Council, the UN Special Rapporteur has expressed dismay that ‘more than one year on, the Government has failed to conduct an impartial, independent and transparent investigation into the use of excessive and lethal force during nationwide demonstrations in November 2019’. On the contrary, the authorities have engaged in harassment and violence against victims and their families for seeking truth, justice and reparation, as documented in the recent reports of the Special Rapporteur.
In this context, the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran continues to be critical to monitor, document and report to this Council on steps taken by Iran to uphold its human rights obligations or of its failure to take such measures. It is essential to engage with Iranian authorities on issues of concern, and to make potentially life-saving urgent appeals and other communications. The mandate draws the attention of this Council to the voices of victims, and its expert findings and recommendations steer and inform the efforts of UN bodies and member states to encourage Iran’s authorities to undertake long overdue human rights reforms and hold them to account for human rights violations.
For these reasons, we urge your government to support the renewal of the mandate of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran at this session and to press Iran to give unfettered access to the Special Rapporteur. We also call on your government to voice concern at the dire situation of human rights in Iran, and to send a strong message to the Iranian authorities that the cycle of impunity must be broken, and that members of the Council expect without delay the adoption of long-overdue
human rights reforms and tangible improvements to the human rights situation in the country.
Download
Joint letter with a list of organizations in English.
Mar 11, 2021 | Incidencia
Hoy, la CIJ pidió à la Oficina de la Alta Comisionada para los Derechos Humanos de asegurar transparencia y participación de sus actividades en Venezuela, durante el dialogo sobre la actualización oral de Alta Comisionada para los Derechos Humanos sobre la situación en Venezuela
Aqui la Declaración Oral:
“Señora Presidenta,
La Comisión Internacional de Juristas agradece la actualización oral de la Alta Comisionada sobre la situación en Venezuela, particularmente respecto de la cooperación entre su oficina y las autoridades venezolanas.
La CIJ subraya la importancia de la transparencia en las actividades realizadas bajo el Memorándum de Entendimiento (MDE) firmado por ambas partes. La publicación del MDE para informar al público y asegurar el óptimo involucramiento de las partes interesadas, es fundamental para su éxito.
La CIJ enfatiza que además de los derechos civiles y políticos, los derechos económicos sociales y culturales continúan siendo violados en Venezuela; esta situación se ha visto agravada por la pandemia de COVID-19. En enero de 2021, al menos 37 trabajadores habían fallecido debido a la falta de equipos de protección y suministros básicos en los centros de salud.
Además, a la luz de los recientes anuncios de autoridades venezolanas, parecen existir consideraciones políticas en las prioridades del plan de vacunación contra la COVID-19, en lugar de criterios objetivos y de salud pública, lo que podría dar lugar a discriminación y denegación de igual protección ante la ley.
La CIJ recomienda que la Alta Comisionada monitoree y reporte sobre el cumplimiento de sus recomendaciones previas que fueron realizadas a las autoridades estatales, así como sobre el involucramiento más amplio de su oficina con organizaciones de la sociedad civil local, con miras a proteger los derechos humanos
Gracias.”
Contact:
Massimo Frigo, ICJ UN Representative, e: massimo.frigo(a)icj.org, t: +41797499949
Mar 11, 2021 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
Today, the ICJ called on the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to guarantee transparency and participation in its activities in Venezuela in an oral statement delivered during the interactive dialogue on the oral update by the UN’s High Commissioner of Human Rights on Venezuela.
The statement reads as follows:
“Madame President,
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) welcomes the High Commissioner’s oral update on the situation of human rights in Venezuela, particularly regarding the cooperation between her office and the Venezuelan authorities.
The ICJ underscores the importance of transparency on the activities conducted under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by both parties. Publication of the MoU to inform the public and ensure the optimal engagement of stakeholders is critical to its success.
The ICJ stresses that in addition to civil and political rights, economic, social, cultural rights continue to be violated in Venezuela, a situation aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. As of January 2021, at least 37 health workers have died due to the lack of protective equipment and basic supplies in healthcare centers.
In light of recent announcements by Venezuelan authorities, political considerations appear to be a driving factor in the COVID-19 vaccine prioritization plan, instead of objective and public health criteria, which could lead to discrimination and a denial of equal protection of law.
The ICJ recommends that the High Commissioner monitor and report on the status of the Venezuelan authorities’ compliance with her previous recommendations, and on her broader engagement with local civil society with a view to protecting human rights.
Thank you.”
Contact:
Massimo Frigo, ICJ UN Representative, e: massimo.frigo(a)icj.org, t: +41797499949
Mar 10, 2021 | Incidencia
Hoy, la CIJ alertó el Consejo de Derechos Humanos de la ONU sobre la persistencia de las graves y generalizadas violaciones a los derechos humanos en Venezuela, en el contexto du un dialogo sobre actualización oral de la Misión Internacional Independiente para la Determinación de los Hechos sobre la situación en Venezuela.
La declaración oral:
“Señora Presidenta,
La Comisión Internacional de Juristas (CIJ) agradece la actualización oral presentada por la Misión Internacional Independiente para la Determinación de los Hechos (FFM) acerca de la situación en Venezuela.
La CIJ llama la atención sobre la persistencia de las graves y generalizadas violaciones a los derechos humanos reportadas por la FFM en su informe de 2020, incluyendo las ejecuciones extrajudiciales.
Las autoridades venezolanas han incumplido totalmente las recomendaciones de la Misión, incluida la necesidad de realizar “investigaciones rápidas, eficaces, exhaustivas, independientes, imparciales y transparentes de las violaciones de los derechos humanos y los delitos”. Esto resalta el déficit de independencia de los jueces y de los fiscales, lo que ha socavado el derecho a un juicio justo.
La CIJ está extremadamente preocupada por los ataques a defensores de derechos humanos y organizaciones de la sociedad civil en Venezuela por parte de las autoridades, que incluyen la criminalización de la defensa de los derechos humanos, siendo que esta defensa está protegida por el derecho internacional de los derechos humanos. Las organizaciones afectadas en 2020 incluyen a “Acción Solidaria”, “Provea”, “Alimenta la Solidaridad” y “CONVITE”, y a principios de este año cinco miembros de “Azul Positivo” fueron detenidos arbitrariamente y continúan siendo acosados.
La CIJ insta a las autoridades venezolanas a garantizar su plena cooperación con la FFM y a cesar de inmediato los ataques contra defensores de derechos humanos; a realizar investigaciones independientes y llevar ante la justicia a los responsables de graves violaciones de derechos humanos; y a eliminar los obstáculos para el acceso a la justicia de las víctimas.
Gracias.”
Contacto:
Massimo Frigo, Representante de la CIJ ante la ONU, e: massimo.frigo(a)icj.org, t: +41797499949
