Oct 6, 2017 | Advocacy, Cases, Legal submissions
The ICJ and other human rights organisations intervened before the European Court of Human Rights in a case challenging the returns of migrants and refugees from Greece under the EU-Turkey deal.
The ICJ, the AIRE Centre, the European Council on Refugees and Exiles and the Dutch Council for Refugees have submitted a third party intervention before the European Court of Human Rights in the case of J.B. v. Greece. The case concerns the decision of Greek authorities to return a Syrian refugee to Turkey under the legal assumption that Turkey is a safe third country for refugees, that has been introduced following the EU-Turkey deal reached in reaction to the “refugee crisis”.
The interveners challenge the implementation of the rule of safe third country in these situations with regard to Greece’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). Specifically, the intervention focuses on:
- The principle of non-refoulement under the ECHR;
- The safe third country concept in international refugee law and EU law;
- The respect of the right to an effective remedy in cases of returns to Turkey under the safe third country rule.
Greece-JB_v_Greece-ECtHR-amicus-ICJ&others-final-eng-2017 (download the intervention)
Sep 11, 2017 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ today delivered an oral statement at the UN Human Rights Council, on the need for criminalisation and other effective measures against enforced disappearances in Asia.
The statement, which was delivered in an interactive dialogue with the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, read as follows:
“Mr President,
The ICJ echoes the Working Group’s recommendation that States should criminalize all acts of enforced disappearance, including enforced disappearances of migrants, which should be punished by appropriate penalties, taking into account their extreme seriousness.
As noted in the recent ICJ publication, “No more ‘missing persons’: the criminalization of enforced disappearance in South Asia”, despite the region having some of the highest numbers of reported cases of disappearances in the world, enforced disappearance is not presently a distinct crime in any South Asian country.
This is a major obstacle to ensuring justice in cases of enforced disappearance.
In Southeast Asia, the ICJ has highlighted the failure of authorities to effectively investigate cases of alleged enforced disappearance in the absence of national laws criminalizing enforced disappearance, for example with respect to emblematic cases of Sombath Somphone in Lao PDR and Somchai Neelapaijit and Porlajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen in Thailand.
Where there is no clear national legal framework specifically criminalizing enforced disappearance, unacknowledged detentions by law enforcement agencies are often treated by national authorities as “missing persons” cases.
On rare occasions where criminal complaints are registered against alleged perpetrators, complainants are forced to categorize the crime as “abduction”, “kidnapping” or “unlawful confinement”.
These categories do not recognize the complexity and the particularly serious nature of enforced disappearance, and often do not provide for penalties commensurate to the gravity of the crime.
They also fail to recognize as victims relatives of the “disappeared” person and others suffering harm as a result of the enforced disappearance, as required under international law.
Finally, the ICJ welcomes the Working Group’s migration study; we note that the ICJ Principles on the Role of Judges & Lawyers in relation to Refugees and Migrants, published earlier this year, includes key safeguards that could help prevent disppearances in this context.
Thank you.”
The statement is available in PDF format in English, in Thai and Laotian.
Jun 20, 2017 | News, Training modules
Today, the ICJ and Bundesfachverband unbegleitete minderjährige Flüchtlinge (BumF) are holding a training for lawyers on the rights of migrant children and on accessing international human rights mechanisms in Berlin.
The training aims to support the strategic use of national and international mechanisms to foster migrant children’s access to justice.
The training will take place over the course of two days: 20-21 June 2017.
The training will focus on accessing the international mechanisms in order to protect and promote the rights of migrant children, the child’s procedural rights including the right to be heard, the right to family life and family reunification.
A practical case analysis will be part of the training.
Trainers include Karolína Babická, Legal Adviser of ICJ’s Europe Programme, Claudia Kittel from the CRC Monitoring body in Germany, Sigrun Krause from JUMEN e.V. and Joris Sprakel, Lecturer at the Hague University.
The training is based on draft training materials prepared by the ICJ (to be published in the second half of 2017) and the ICJ Practitioners Guide no. 6: Migration and International Human Rights Law.
It is organized as part of the FAIR project co-funded by the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme of the European Union and OSIFE.
The past trainings on the rights of migrant children within the FAIR project took place in Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, Malta, Greece and Ireland. The Strategic litigation Retreat, which will bring three lawyers of each of the national trainings together with experts on in-depth insights and strategising on accessing international mechanisms will follow in October this year.
Download the agenda (in German) here:
Germany-FAIRtraining-Event-Agenda-2017 (in PDF)
Jun 9, 2017 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ today delivered an oral statement at the UN Human Rights Council, addressing global responses to corporate impunity, and addresing the role of judges and lawyers in relation to refugees and migrants.
The statement came in a clustered interactive dialogue with the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights and the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants. These independent experts appointed by the Council were presenting their respective annual reports to the Council.
The ICJ stated as follows:
The ICJ welcomes the Study of the Working Group on Business and Human Rights, on cross-border cooperation between States with respect to law enforcement in relevant cases (A/HRC/35/33). The ICJ concurs with the Working Group’s concern for the “lack of political will by States to address business-related human rights abuses through the lens of criminal law” (para. 4) and the near-total lack of investigations and prosecutions against companies regarding human rights abuses and international crimes (para. 87).
The ICJ also concurs that a global approach is needed to address corporate impunity and supports the Working Group’s recommendations for adoption of legal frameworks imposing liability on legal entities (para. 93), creation of specialized investigative and prosecutorial units in cross-border human rights cases, and joint investigations. The ICJ would like to ask how the Working Group will support States to put these recommendations into practice?
The ICJ also welcomes the proposal of the Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants for a 2035 agenda for facilitating human mobility. We particularly support the goal of effective access to justice for all migrants, and the targets and indicators on access to lawyers and courts for this goal, and in relation to returns and detention.
The ICJ has published a set of Principles on the Role of Judges and Lawyers in Relation to Refugees and Migrants, developed in consultation with leading practitioners and experts from around the world. We encourage States and other actors to take account of the detailed guidance in the ICJ Principles, including during the process for adoption of the Global Compacts foreseen by the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, and in considering the Special Rapporteur’s proposal. We would like to ask the Special Rapporteur how States can better recognise and enable the role of judges and lawyers in relation to migrants?
The Chair of the Working Group on Business and Human Rights, in his concluding remarks, recognised the statement of the ICJ, and answered that the Working Group plans to follow up its report with a continuing conversation about its recommendations, and will reach out to stakeholders for further consultation on what more the WG can do in this regard.
The Special Rapporteur on Human Rights of Migrants also recognised the statement of the ICJ, and in his reponse emphasised that access to justice for migrants is key, including competent well-resourced lawyers, access to meaningful recourse, better funding for National Human Rights Institutions and ombudspersons, and providing in administrative law procedural safeguards that are commensurate to the risks that migrants face when such decisions are applied to them.
Jun 7, 2017 | Events, News
The ICJ organised a panel discussion on 8 June 2017, on the role of judges and lawyers in relation to refugees and migrants, at a side event to the 35th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The Panel was held on the occasion of the publication of ICJ Principles and Commentary on the topic, developed in consultation with judges, lawyers and other expert practitioners from around the world.
The event took place on Thursday, 8 June 2017, from 10:30 to 11:30, in Room XXI of the Palais des Nations, Geneva.
Welcome remarks were delivered by:
- Saman Zia-Zarifi, Secretary General of the ICJ.
- Olivier Coutau, Délégué à la Genève internationale, Republic and Canton of Geneva
Panelists included:
- François Crépeau, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants.
- Carole Simone Dahan, Senior Legal Advisor on Judicial Engagement, UNHCR.
- Pia Oberoi, Advisor on Migration and Human Rights, OHCHR.
The discussion was moderated by Matt Pollard, ICJ Senior Legal Adviser.
At the event, each of the panelists emphasised the importance of access to independence courts and lawyers for securing the rights of refugees and migrants, and highlighted the importance and utlity of the ICJ Principles in this regard.
More background on the ICJ Principles and Commentary is available by clicking here.
For more information, email un(a)icj.org
A flyer for the event may be downloaded in PDF format here: Refugees-Migrants-ICJ-Event-HRC35-June2017
The consultations, development and publication of the ICJ Principles were made possible with the financial support of the Republic and Canton of Geneva, for which the ICJ is grateful.
