Oral Statement of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) at the interactive dialogue on the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights report on the situation of human rights in Belarus in the run-up to the 2020 presidential election and its aftermath.
Today, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) Regional Office for Central Asia (ROCA) and the Nationwide Movement “Yuksalish,” in cooperation with the National Centre for Human Rights of the Republic of Uzbekistan, are holding an International Public Discussion on monitoring and coordination of implementation of the UN human rights treaties in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan is a party to most of the principal human rights treaties, but the UN Committees that review compliance of States with obligations those treaties have identified a number of shortcomings in the country’s implementation and have recommended what needs to be done ensure better compliance.
Ahead of the continuation of the misdemeanour trial of Seán Binder and Sarah Mardini and 22 others, that is set to start today, the ICJ calls on the Greek authorities to support rather than criminally prosecute people who provide humanitarian assistance to migrants and refugees. The humanitarian volunteers should be acquitted.
“The use of the criminal law to punish persons courageously performing life-saving humanitarian assistance for people on the move is deplorable,” said Karolína Babická, legal adviser at the International Commission of Jurists. “There are concerns that major procedural flaws in the proceedings stand to undermine the defendants’ rights to a fair trial.“
On 23-24 January, the ICJ will hold two events in Brussels on the impact of immigration detention on children and on alternatives to detention for migrant children.
The ICJ today called on the Government of Ukraine to strengthen its judiciary and its independences before the UN Human Rights Council during the dialogue with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for his update on the situation of human rights in Ukraine.
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