On 11 October 2024, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) made a submission to the UN Human Rights Council’s Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in advance of its consideration of Lesotho’s human rights record during the 49th session of the UPR in April and May 2025.
In view of the participation of members of South Africa’s executive and judiciary in the annual African Bar Association conference, which this year is being co-sponsored by Family Watch International, an organisation that has been accused of spreading hate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, non-binary and other gender- diverse people (LGBTQ+) persons, among others, the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC), the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and Gender Dynamix (GDX) call on the South African authorities participating in this event to uphold the South African Constitution, human rights, equality and non-discrimination and denounce any attacks against LGBTQ+ persons.
The ICJ hails the interim order made by the Supreme Court (SC) of Nepal on 28 June 2023 directing the establishment of a “transitional mechanism ensuring the marriage registration of same-sex couples and non-heterosexual couples”. The organization urges the government of Nepal to promptly implement the order by setting up an effective mechanism for registration of such marriages.
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has welcomed the Supreme Court of Namibia’s recent landmark ruling ordering the government to interpret the country’s immigration laws so as to recognize same-sex marriages concluded abroad. Nonetheless, the organization is gravely concerned at the country-wide protests against the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI+) people and against the ruling, including through a petition calling for the removal of the judges responsible for it and for the Minister of Justice to be fired. Such public attacks on judges threaten judicial independence and, in turn, undermine the rule of law.
On 17 and 18 April 2023, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the People’s Matrix Association held a workshop with the Lesotho judiciary where a range of human rights issues related to sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics (SOGIESC) were discussed. The workshop took place in Maseru, the country’s capital, and was aimed at facilitating exchanges among participants, including judges and magistrates, with a view to enhancing everyone’s understanding of the human rights of LGBTIQ+ persons in Lesotho and the challenges they face in accessing justice and effective remedies for violations of their human rights. It was a follow-up to the initial half-day judicial engagement workshop co-hosted by ICJ and OutRight International at the request of Lesotho’s judiciary in October 2022.
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