On September 17, 2020, the States parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) filled nine seats on the United Nations Human Rights Committee. [Centre for Civil and Political Rights] Nine electees will begin four-year terms on January 1, 2021, while one additional electee will immediately fill a vacancy in a term ending on December 31, 2020.
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In a judgment released on September 10, 2020, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) held that Italy had violated an autistic girl’s rights to non-discrimination and education when it failed to provide her the tailored learning assistance required by domestic law. [ECtHR Press Release] Italian authorities said they lacked the financial resources to pay for a support teacher. See
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The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and the Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General are engaged in an unprecedented struggle that implicates the independence and autonomy of the Americas’ principal human rights body, and also exposes concerns over working conditions for its staff. OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro is refusing to approve the IACHR’s choice of Executive Secretary,
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In September, regional and United Nations bodies will convene – mostly virtually – to continue their oversight of States’ compliance with their human rights obligations. The bodies in session include the African human rights court, African child rights committee, European Committee of Social Rights, the Inter-American human rights commission and court, the UN Human Rights Council, and four UN treaty
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Earlier this month, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) published its first judgment to identify States’ obligations to prevent and redress sexual violence in schools. See I/A Court H.R., Guzmán Albarracín and Others v. Ecuador. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of 24 June 2020. Series C No. 405 (Spanish). The case concerned Paola del Rosario Guzmán Albarracín, who was
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In a judgment issued on July 15, 2020, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR) again analyzed the independence and impartiality of Côte d’Ivoire’s election oversight body, in the context of an increasingly tense election year. The Court determined that it had competence to decide whether the State had complied with its 2016 judgment regarding the Independent Electoral
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As violence against women spikes around the world, at least two States are considering limiting their international human rights commitments to prevent and protect against gender-based violence. Poland and Turkey are both reportedly studying the possibility of withdrawing from the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence, commonly known as the Istanbul Convention.
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In August, the African human rights court and commission, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) will be in session, virtually. The UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) will continue the online session it began in May, in order
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In 15 decisions published last month, the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) determined that 14 European States are in violation of their obligations to ensure women’s rights to equal pay and equal opportunities in the workplace. [ECSR] In August 2016, University Women of Europe (UWE), an international nongovernmental organization, submitted the separate complaints against each of the 15 States
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The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has requested that Brazil protect the Yanomami and Ye’kwana peoples from the ongoing, heightened risk posed by COVID-19. [IACHR Press Release: Measures (Spanish)] In particular, the IACHR asked Brazil to protect the Indigenous communities’ rights to health, life, and personal integrity by taking steps to prevent the further spread of COVID-19 – including
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