Mar 24, 2014 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ made an oral statement to the UN Human Rights Council during the general debate on the situation of human rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
The ICJ noted that, almost ten years after the International Court of Justice ruled the construction of the separation wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) to be unlawful, States and international organizations have failed to take effective measures to hold Israel accountable for violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law arising from the wall.
As the International Court of Justice held, States must not “recognize the illegal situation resulting from the construction of the wall” and must not “render aid or assistance in maintaining the situation created by such construction.” Israel, for its part, must dismantle the wall and its associated regime and provide reparation to victims.
At the same time, Palestinian armed groups must renounce all direct or indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian objects. Israel must also cease its own violations of international humanitarian law.
The ICJ further addressed the human rights impacts of Israeli settlements in the occupied territory, and the need for the Security Council effectively to address the issue.
The full statement can be downloaded in PDF here: Advocacy-UN-HRC25-IsraelOPT-24032014
Mar 20, 2014
National and global human rights organizations today called upon the Arab League’s member States to suspend efforts to adopt a draft statute of the Arab Court of Human Rights (the Arab Court).
Our organizations are concerned, ahead of the Arab League’s summit to be held in Kuwait on 25 and 26 March, that efforts to adopt a draft statute are being rushed in a way that would be detrimental to the efficacy of the court.
Our organizations believe efforts should be suspended until broad discussions and consultations have taken place with all interested stakeholders, who must be permitted to participate meaningfully in all stages of the process of establishing the Arab Court.
Our organizations call on the on the member States of the League of Arab States (LAS), LAS Summit, and Secretariat to amend the draft statute as detailed in the attached documents.
This statement is supported by:
International Commission of Jurists; International Federation for Human Rights; Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights; Al Haq; Human Rights Watch; Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies; Human Rights Information Training Center; Gulf Center for Human Rights; Human Rights Organization for the Documentation of War Crimes in Libya; Damascus Center for Human Rights Studies; Mauritanian Association for Human Right; Open Society Foundations – Arab Regional Office; Arab Women Organization of Jordan; African Center for Justice and Peace Studies; Bahrain Center for Human Rights; The Yemeni Organization for Defending Rights and Democratic Freedoms – Aden; Legal Agenda
Contact:
Said Benarbia, Director, Middle East & North Africa Programme, t + 41 22 979 38 17, said.benarbi(a)icj.org
Further information:
MENA-Arab Court-Press Release-2014-Eng (Full press release, PDF, English)
MENA-Arab Court-Press Release-2014-Ara (Full press release, PDF, Arabic)
MENA-Arab Court-Position Paper-2014-Eng (Position paper, PDF, English)
MENA-Arab Court-Position Paper-2014-Ara (Position paper, PDF, Arabic)
Mar 18, 2014 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ made an oral statement to the UN Human Rights Council, during the session with the Commission of Inquiry on Syria, concerning failures to protect the civilian population and the need for justice and calling for referral of the situation to the International Criminal Court.The ICJ underscored that for more than three years, the international community has failed to respond in a meaningful or effective manner to serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law and other human rights abuses committed in the context of the Syrian conflict, to ensure that perpetrators on all sides are held accountable, and to implement concrete measures towards justice for victims.
The statement called on the Human Rights Council to request the Security Council to take effective measures, in accordance with the UN Charter, to protect the civilian population, bring an end to the conflict, and restore and maintain peace and security in the region.
The ICJ said that states, including the member States of this Council, should also act to provide urgent humanitarian relief to refugees, IDPs, and those trapped in besieged areas.
The statement emphasised that as the armed conflict continues to escalate, government forces and opposition groups have both been responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity and other crimes under international law, including murder, hostage-taking, torture and other ill-treatment (including rape and other sexual violence), enforced disappearance, recruiting and using children in the hostilities, and disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks against civilians and civilian objects.
To address the pervasive and structural culture of impunity, the ICJ called on the Council to request the Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court. States, individually and collectively, must also comply with their obligations under international law to prevent war crimes and crimes against humanity and to exercise all grounds of jurisdiction at their disposal to investigate and prosecute anyone suspected of responsibility for such crimes.
The full statement, in PDF: Advocacy-UN-HRC25-Syria-OralStatement-032014
Mar 14, 2014
The ICJ brought to the attention of the UPR mechanism issues regarding the effective impunity of the security and armed forces in Egypt for past and present human rights violations, and other key issues to be addressed in the review of Egypt’s compliance with international human rights.
From 27 October to 7 November 2014, the Human Rights Council’s Working Group on the UPR will consider the situation of human rights in Egypt. Ahead of the Working Group’s review, the ICJ has made a submission in which it has identified suggested recommendations concerning:
- The rule of law and civilian oversight of the armed forces;
- The independence of the judiciary and the use and jurisdiction of military courts; and
- The effective impunity of the security and armed forces for past and present human rights violations.
Egypt-UPR20-StakeholderSubmission-LegalSubmission-2014 (download full submission in pdf)
Jan 31, 2014
In a position paper published today, the ICJ assesses the conformity of key provisions of the new Constitution with international law and standards.
On 26 January 2014, three years after the ouster of President Ben Ali, the Tunisian National Constituent Assembly voted for the new Constitution.
The ICJ believes that the adopted Constitution is the product of a representative and inclusive process.
The Constitution provides for better guarantees for upholding the rule of law and protecting human rights.
It expands on the rights provided for by the 1959 Constitution and establishes a more balanced separation of powers.
Nevertheless, in certain key respects, the Constitution falls short of international law and standards.
The ICJ recommends that the Tunisian authorities take into account the deficiencies in the Constitution highlighted in this paper when enacting legislation to implement constitutional provisions and defining public policy.
Tunisia-New Constitution assessment by ICJ-Advocay-Position Paper 2014 (full text in pdf)
