The ICJ believes that the Human Rights Council should retain an independent, expert and collegial body, with a mandate focused on studying unexplored, new challenges and areas of human rights.
Expert body HRC-Web stories-2006 (full text, PDF)
The ICJ addressed the persistent failure of Iran to meet many of its human rights obligations and the wave of fresh human rights violations in the country in the aftermath of the June 2009 disputed presidential election.
The ICJ urged Iran to refrain from torture and ill treatment, end violations of freedoms of expression and assembly, abolish the death penalty and co-operate with international human rights mechanisms, including the Special Procedures of the UN Human Rights Council and the treaty bodies.
Iran-UPR-advocacy-2009 (full text, PDF)
The ICJ expressed dismay at the Sri Lankan government’s complacent responses to mounting criticism of deteriorating human rights situation in the country.
On 14 April 2008, the UN Human Rights Council began assessing human rights compliance in Poland as part of a new mechanism monitoring the condition of human rights in the world.
As part of the Universal Periodic Review, the situation in each of the countries will be assessed every four years on the basis of reports submitted by the governments of those countries and documents prepared at the same time by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (among others, on the basis of reports submitted by NGOs). At yesterday’s UN meeting, the Polish delegation, led by the under-secretary of state at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Witold Waszczykowski, presented the report of the Government of the Republic of Poland on human rights and answered questions asked by the representatives of other countries.
Poland-Polish Government Submits Report to the UN Human Rights Council-Web-2008 (full text, PDF)
The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has compiled a document on the application of procedures and mechanisms of the UN Human Rights Council.
It outlines its interpretation of the way in which the Council’s institutional architecture must function in order to ensure the Council can fulfill its mandate to protect and promote human rights worldwide.
Application HRC-Occasional Papers-2007 (full text, PDF)
South Africa: Constitutional Court’s affirmation that principles of judicial independence are fully applicable to military courts is a welcome step forward
EU: Lawyers and civil society call for mandatory humanitarian clause in anti-smuggling directive
EU: Access to a lawyer in juvenile justice proceedings remains a key concern in several EU Member States