The ICJ today urged the Government of Nepal to reverse its decision to extend the tenure of Colonel Raju Basnet, alleged to have been involved in systematic enforced disappearance and torture and ill-treatment.
The ICJ and the The Equal Rights Trust (ERT) is inviting government representatives, civil society and human rights experts to a dialogue on Statelessness, Discrimination and Human Rights.
The ICJ and Amnesty International welcome the initiative of the Committee of Ministers to prepare guidelines on the obligations of Council of Europe Member States to prevent and counter impunity.
The ICJ today deplored the decision of the US Justice Department to clear the legal architects of the US torture policy from any professional misconduct.
The decision by Associate Deputy Attorney General (ADAG) David Margolis reversed the July 2009 findings of the Office of Professional Conduct (OPR) that Bush administration legal advisers John Yoo and Jay Bybee had engaged in professional misconduct by giving advice which approved as lawful the program of “enhanced interrogation”. This program consisted in clear acts of torture and ill treatment.
The OPR had been poised to refer Yoo and Bybee, who is presently a US federal judge, for disciplinary action by the state regulatory authorities. The ADAG report, while affirming that the legal advisers had exercised ‘poor judgement’, determined that they had not breached rules of misconduct because it could not be established that they had intended to give misleading advise.
USA-torture serious crime-press release-2010 (full text, PDF)
Photo by acameronhuff
International and local human rights organizations have today urged the Nepali authorities to stop obstructing criminal proceedings over the alleged torture and murder of 15-year-old Maina Sunuwar by four army officers.
Nepal-Authorities must provide justice for torture and murder-press release-2010 (full text, PDF)
See also the open letter Government obstruction of justice and defiance of judicial authority
Strong push back against US sanctions on the International Criminal Court at UN Human Rights Council
ECtHR Grand Chamber Ruling in Semenya v. Switzerland: Joint Statement of Third-Party Interveners
UN Human Rights Council struggles to fulfil its mandate in the midst of global attacks on human rights, the rule of law and multilateralism
South Africa: ICJ urges high court to apply international law protecting migrants and refugees from discrimination and xenophobia in case involving vigilante attacks