Feb 21, 2011

The Maldives remains a country in transition. It holds the deepening promise of a constitutional democracy with institutions founded upon respect for the rule of law, fundamental rights, and the separation of powers. But the legacy of an authoritarian past, in which the President was also the supreme judicial authority, has tested the transition.
A delegation of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), comprised of Dr. Leandro Despouy, former UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Roger Normand, ICJ Asia-Pacific Director, and John Tyynela, ICJ Senior Legal Adviser, visited the Maldives from 12 to 17 September 2010 in order to assess advances in establishing an independent judiciary.
Maldives-independent judiciary-fact-finding mission-2011
Feb 17, 2011 | News
Seven years after the arrest and killing of Maina Sunuwar, the Government of Nepal should take immediate steps to ensure that criminal proceedings move forward, the ICJ and other Human Rights groups said today.
Advocacy Forum (AF), Amnesty International (AI), Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the ICJ express their solidarity with Maina’s family, and call on the Nepali authorities to immediately transfer Major Niranjan Basnet to the Kavre District Court where he has been charged with murder, and arrest Babi Khatri, Sunil Prasad Adhikari and Amit Pun who have all been implicated in her death.
That Maina’s family is still waiting for justice for her killing, as in so many cases of crimes during the armed conflict, suggests that the realization of victims’ right to a judicial remedy for serious crimes remains a distant dream in Nepal.
Nepal-MainaSunuwar-news-2011 (full text, PDF)
Jan 20, 2011 | Agendas
The International Commission of Jurists, with FORUM-ASIA and NNC-UPR, cordially invite you to a parallel event to the 10th Session of the Universal Periodic Review on “Background to the Human Rights Crisis in Nepal: Impunity for Human Rights Violations”.
Nepal-humanrightsviolations-news-2011 (full text, PDF)
Jan 5, 2011 | News
The ICJ condemns the violent assault against the Maldives Judicial Services Commission (JSC) member Aishath Velezinee on 3 January 2011.
The ICJ calls on the Government of the Maldives to immediately launch an independent, impartial, and transparent investigation into this incident.
Maldives-attack-news-2011 (full text, PDF)
Photo by Sun.mv
Dec 10, 2010
Nepalese and international human rights groups called on the government and political leaders to honour their commitments to address human rights abuses committed during the country’s ten-year conflict.
Nepal-humanrightsviolations-advocacy-2010 (full text, PDF)