I was deeply saddened and appalled to learn of the cruel abduction and murder of Natalya Estemirova. She was one of the most courageous and inspiring human rights defenders I have met.
The ICJ and other human rights groups underscored the rejection by the international human rights bodies of the use of military prosecutors and courts in cases involving abuses against civilians in Mexico.
The organizations said that the jurisdiction of military courts should be limited to offenses that are strictly military in nature. It was pointed to the practices by the Mexican military prosecutors and courts that routinely investigate members of the military accused of committing human rights violations, which violate Mexico’s obligations under international law and appear to contravene Article 13 of Mexico’s Constitution.
Mexico-Joint Oral statement-non-legal submissions-2009 (full text, PDF)
The ICJ welcomes the convening of a Human Rights Council’s special session today in Geneva to address for the first time the humanitarian and human rights crisis in Sri Lanka.
“The human rights and humanitarian crisis continues to unfold following the Government of Sri Lanka’s announcement last week that its military operations against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had ended and that all civilians had left the conflict zone,” said Wilder Tayler, Acting Secretary General of the International Commission of Jurists.
SriLanka-UNcouncil-IDPs-news-2009 (full text, PDF)
“There is a continuing and acute need for the Human Rights Council to act on Sri Lanka notwithstanding a reported end of fighting between the Sri Lankan Army and the Tamil Tigers.”
“Even though the fighting may have dissipated, any nation’s reconstruction requires respect for international law, accountability and the rule of law principles, which today remain largely absent in the wake of this lengthy conflict,” said Wilder Tayler, Acting Secretary-General of the ICJ.
SriLanka-UNCouncilspecialsessions-news-2009 (full text, PDF)
“Reviving Military Commissions is a setback for the rule of law. It will entrench a fundamentally flawed system with some amendments and set a terrible precedent to the rest of the world.”
“We need a clear break with the past and the laws and policies grounded in the ill-conceived concept of a ‘war on terror’,” said Wilder Tayler, Acting ICJ Secretary General.
The comment comes as the US administration announced that it would revive the suspended military commission system to try certain detainees presently held in Guantánamo Bay.
According to this information the administration will introduce amendments to the Military Commission Act (MCA) 2006 increasing legal protections, including the prohibition of evidence obtained by torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and the introduction of greater choice of legal counsel.
United States-Reinstituting military commission wrong way out-Press releases-2009 (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