Human Rights Council: Establish an International Investigative Mission into the Beirut Blast
Joint Letter to the Human Rights Council calling for an International Investigative Mission into the Beirut Blast
Uganda: Government must reverse suppression of 54 NGOs
Uganda’s government must immediately reverse its effort to suppress the work of 54 civil society organizations, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) said today.
eSwatini: ICJ urges multinational mobile telecommunications company MTN to immediately restore internet access in eSwatini
In a letter dated 8 July 2021, ICJ expressed its concerns that the MTN Group has agreed to implement an unlawful request from the Swazi government to disrupt internet access in eSwatini.
Proposed Thailand Law Threatens Civil Society Organizations Combating Human Trafficking
ICJ along with dozens of worker rights and human rights organizations released a letter expressing deep concern regarding Thailand’s draft Act on the Operation of Not-for-Profit Organizations.
If enacted, this Council of State drafted law would pose serious threats to the functioning of Thai civil society as well as have a deeply damaging impact on both donors and international non-governmental organizations working to address human trafficking and improve labor rights in Thailand.
For this reason, the signatories called on the U.S. State Department, and in particular the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, to strongly advocate for the Thai government to withdraw this bill.
Eswatini Lawyers Bill: ICJ and partner organization send letter to authorities
Proposed legislation to regulate the operations and functions of the legal profession in Eswatini does not comply with international and regional standards and would severely undermine the right to an independent lawyer, the two organizations said.
The Eswatini Government is reportedly seeking to introduce a bill to Parliament to establish a Legal Services Regulatory Authority which would be responsible for issuing practicing certificates to lawyers, disciplining lawyers in case of unethical conduct, and developing and enforcing performance standards for legal practitioners.
If enacted into law, the bill would severely undermine the independence of lawyers in Eswatini and may set a dangerous precedent for other countries in the SADC region.
The ICJ jointly with Lawyers for Lawyers sent a letter addressing these concerns to the Eswatini Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.
Eswatini-Support to lawyers-Advocacy-open letters-2020-ENG (full letter, in PDF)
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