Oct 29, 2019
The ICJ, together with 22 other civil society organizations and individuals, called on speakers at the United Arab Emirates’ World Tolerance Summit to be held on 13 and 14 November 2019 to withdraw from the event.
“The Summit, which purportedly aims to “strengthen the UAE’s position as a model of co-existence and cultural tolerance around the world,” effectively serves to conceal the UAE’s dismal human rights record,” the ICJ says.
The Emirati government has systematically repressed the exercise of fundamental human rights, including the exercise of freedom of expression by human rights defenders and other critical voices, and has committed other violations of international human rights law, including arbitrary arrests and detention, enforced disappearances, torture and ill-treatment and denial of the right to a fair trial.
As determined by the UN Group of Eminent Experts on the situation of Human Rights in Yemen, the UAE bears significant responsibility for many of the violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in the conflict in Yemen, including unlawful killings arising from direct and indiscriminate attacks against civilians and those resulting from restrictions on humanitarian aid, as well as enforced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial killings.
UAE-Tolerance Summit-Advocacy-open letters-2019-ENG (full text of open letter in English, PDF)
UAE-Tolerance Summit-Advocacy-open letters-2019-ARA (full text of open letter in Arabic, PDF)
Oct 25, 2019 | News
Today the ICJ condemned the response of Lebanese security forces to predominantly peaceful protests that erupted across Lebanon on 17 October following the government’s attempt to introduce a daily tariff on voice calls made through applications such as WhatsApp.
The ICJ called on the Lebanese authorities to respect and protect the right of protestors to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression; to refrain from using unlawful force to disperse protests and ill-treatment of protestors and; to effectively investigate and ensure accountability for any abuses committed in connection with the protests.
Security forces in Lebanon have employed excessive and unlawful force against protestors, amid nationwide dissent over Lebanon’s worsening economic crisis.
NGOs and video footage circulating on news and social media platforms document a number of disproportionate measures used to disperse crowds and quell the unprecedented protests, including by firing tear gas, beating protestors and forcefully removing them from their peaceful sit-ins.
“The Lebanese authorities must ensure the effective investigation and prosecution of all abuses committed in the context of these protests by State or Non-state actors, including the arbitrary use of force, arrests and ill-treatment,” said Said Benarbia.
With respect to the use of force, the Lebanese authorities are bound by international law and standards, which stipulate that the use of force by law enforcement officials is only permissible when it is a last resort, is strictly necessary and is used to the extent required for the performance of their duty.
Attacks by armed groups affiliated with the Amal Movement and Hezbollah have also been reported by local organizations and media.
At least 15 protesters were injured in Nabatieh and six persons in Riad al-Solh and admitted to hospital. Additional violent attacks on protesters, allegedly attributed to the Amal Movement, also took place in the city of Soor.
Background
The protests purportedly broke out in response to years of rampant corruption, unemployment and poverty.
By 18 October, protests were characterized by calls to oust governmental authorities perceived as Lebanon’s ruling elite, including the president, government and legislative authority, and fundamental change to the sectarian political system.
In an attempt to diffuse the increasingly tense situation and appease protestors, Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced the adoption of a raft of economic reforms on 21 October.
Anti-government protests however, which have now entered their ninth consecutive day, have gained considerable momentum.
Lebanon is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Arab Charter on Human Rights. Both of these treaties require the State to guarantee and protect the rights to freedom expression and freedom of assembly and freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including through the unlawful use of force.
Lebanon-Protests-News-web story (story in Arabic, PDF)
Oct 24, 2019
The ICJ and other NGOs today sent an open letter to all State delegations in New York, urging them to uphold the protection of human rights while countering terrorism, in forthcoming negotiations on resolutions at the UN General Assembly.
The open letter urges all States to restore the focus of relevant General Assembly resolutions on human rights while countering terrorism, including the human rights of victims of terrorism.
In particular, it calls for States to reject efforts by Egypt and others to dilute, distract or distort this focus by introducing the overbroad concept of “effects of terrorism on all human rights” which seems primarily concerned with the impacts of terrorism more generally on macro-economic conditions, government budgets, and foreign industry and investment, as well as duplicating text from elsewhere in the UN system prescribing particular counter-terrorism measures.
While these may be valid topics for the UN to address in other discussions or fora, the ICJ and other NGOs feel strongly that the limited resources and attention within the UN allocated to the specific focus on human rights while countering terrorism, including human rights of victims of terrorism, should not be lessened or weakened by bringing in such other issues which are only remotely, if at all, linked to human rights. Indeed, the ICJ and other NGOs believe the longer term aim of such efforts is in fact to undermine the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism.
The open letter can be download in full in PDF format here: UN-Advocacy-OpenLetter-TerrorismHumanRights-2019
For more background, see here and here.
The ICJ has published a compilation on human rights of victims of terrorism available to download in PDF format here.
Oct 21, 2019 | News
The ICJ has condemned the arbitrary arrest of at least 186 individuals – 24 of whom are still detained solely for their opinions publicly expressed against the Turkish intervention in northern Syria. The ICJ calls for their immediate and unconditional release and for all charges against them to be dropped.
At least 186 individuals had been arrested by Turkish authorities by 16 October after publicly criticizing Turkey’s military intervention in northern Syria.
They are accused of “provoking the public to hatred and animosity”, “carrying out propaganda for a terrorist organization” and “openly degrading the State of the Republic of Turkey” as prohibited by Articles 216, 220, 301 and 314 of the Turkish Penal Code and Article 7/2 of Prevention of Terrorism Law. Further such arrests are reportedly continuing.
Moreover, an investigation was launched against Istanbul MP Sezgin Tanrıkulu, a member of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), due to his social media messages and statements. HDP co-chairs and MPs were also investigated over “terrorism links” for their statements on the Peace Spring Operation.
“The Turkish Penal Code and Prevention of Terrorism Law in particular with their overly broad definition of terrorism, place excessively restrictive limitations on the exercise of the right to freedom of expression protected under Article 26 of the Turkish Constitution and give law-enforcement bodies sweeping powers to proceed to arbitrary arrests,” said Massimo Frigo, Senior Legal Adviser of the ICJ Europe and Central Asia Programme.
The ICJ is concerned that these arrests have been undertaken in contravention of the right to freedom of expression under article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), treaties to which Turkey is party.
In particular, these restrictions do not appear to be necessary in a democratic society and proportionate, as required by international law.
Detention ordered in breach of these rights is also inherently arbitrary and therefore not in line with Turkey’s obligations to respect the right to liberty under Article 9 ICCPR and Article 5 ECHR.
“These prosecutions violate the Turkish Constitution and international law and should be immediately dropped”, said Massimo Frigo.
“As a priority identified in its Judicial Reform Strategy, Turkey must also quickly abrogate these criminal provisions that cause undue and arbitrary restrictions on freedom of expression,” he added.
The ICJ recalled that the Venice Commission, in its 2016 report, concluded that the provisions of the Turkish Penal Code under which they are charged “provide for excessive sanctions and have been applied too widely, penalizing conduct protected” under international human rights law.
Similar issues were identified last July by Turkey’s Constitutional Court regarding prosecution for terrorism propaganda, of signatories of a petition calling for peace (the “Academics for Peace” petition) in the southeastern part of the country.
The Constitutional Court ruled that the criminal proceedings violated the right to freedom of expression safeguarded by Article 26 of the Turkish Constitution.
Contact:
Róisín Pillay, Director, ICJ Europe Programme, t +32 476 974263; e roisin.pillay(a)icj.org
Oct 16, 2019
In an open letter, the ICJ and 139 other groups are calling the authorities of the United Arab Emirates to immediately and unconditionally release human right defender and 2015 Martin Ennals Award Laureate Ahmed Mansoor.
The full letter can be downloaded below in English and Arabic.
UAE-Free Ahmed Mansoor-Advocacy-Open letters-2019-ENG (English version, PDF)
UAE-Free Ahmed Mansoor-Advocacy-Open letters-2019-ARA (Arabic version, PDF)
