The Taliban’s severe restrictions and unlawful crackdown on women and girls’ rights should be investigated as possible crimes under international law, including the crime against humanity of gender persecution, Amnesty International and the International Commission of Jurists said today in a new report.
The ICJ today welcomed the determination by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka regarding the constitutionality of the private member’s bill entitled Penal Code (Amendment) Bill 2023 whose stated objective is to repeal “provisions that make sexual orientation a punishable offence”. The Bill had been challenged by three petitioners who sought a determination by the Supreme Court that the Bill was inconsistent with provisions of the Constitution relating to Sovereignty, Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy, and that it required the approval of a two-thirds majority in Parliament and the approval of the People at a referendum. Petitions in support of the Bill were also filed by a number of interveners, such as civil society organizations working to advance the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons in Sri Lanka, academics, and activists, including Professor Savitri Goonesekere who had previously served as a member of the Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and Dr. Radhika Coomaraswamy, who had formerly been a United Nations Under Secretary General and the Special Representative on Children and Armed Conflict.
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has sent a letter to Vietnam’s Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and Ministry of Public Security (MPS) urging a halt to the continued harassment and criminal investigations of human rights lawyers Dang Dinh Manh and Nguyen Van Mieng for allegedly “abusing democratic freedoms” under article 331 of Vietnam’s Penal Code.
The Lao authorities must carry out a prompt, independent, impartial and effective investigation into the shooting of Anousa “Jack” Luangsouphom, a prominent human rights defender, to identify and bring to justice those responsible, called the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) today.
In a briefing paper released today, the International Commission of Jurists points out that, “while the right to clean and healthy environment is protected under the 2013 Fiji Constitution, it must be actioned, which requires a whole of government and a whole of society approach and technical and financial resources must be reflected accordingly.” This paper provides recommendations on how the environmental laws and policies in Fiji can be strengthened to protect women’s rights to a clean and healthy environment.
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