IJRC – Page 73 – International Justice Resource Center

Human Rights Day is the Final Day of Campaign 501 – Please Show Your Support Today

December 10, 2011 IJRC human rights defenders

To celebrate its launch as a public charity, IJRC is conducting Campaign 501 to gain 501 supporters over the next 50 days, ending December 10 (Human Rights Day). Please make a contribution today; no amount is too small. Every dollar raised will help us inform, advise and support human rights defenders. The International Justice Resource Center (ijrcenter.org) is a new

The International Emergence of South Africa and South African Civil Society

December 5, 2011 IJRC civil society, environmental rights, military and humanitarian intervention, reproductive and sexual rights

Adam Nord contributes this post illustrating and reflecting on the growing prominence of South Africa and its developing civil society in international legal affairs of significance for the entire globe. In his position as Lobbying and Engagement Manager at CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation, based in Johannesburg, Adam plays an active role in influencing high-level decision makers with local

Kwoyelo Amnesty Raises Questions about Ugandan Justice

November 30, 2011 IJRC crime & impunity, International Criminal Court, transitional justice

In Uganda, amnesty for an alleged Lord’s Resistance Army commander, Thomas Kwoyelo, by the country’s High Court has raised questions regarding the future of transitional justice there. Kwoyelo had been the first person charged by the International Crimes Division of the High Court for murder and other acts allegedly committed during nearly two decades of attacks by LRA forces on civilians

Mexican Advocates Seek ICC Investigation of Violence, Deaths in Crack Down on Drug Trade

November 29, 2011 IJRC regional human rights protection

Mexican advocates have submitted a communication seeking an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into Mexican officials’ complicity in the deaths, torture and kidnapping of civilians in the country’s ongoing drug-related violence. [Reuters] The request for an investigation, submitted by attorney Netzai Sandoval and signed by 23,000 Mexican citizens, names President Felipe Calderon, Mexico’s most-wanted drug cartel head, the

UN Committee Against Torture Examines Belarus, Bulgaria, Djibouti, Germany, Others in 47th Session

November 28, 2011 IJRC torture, UN treaty bodies

The Committee Against Torture (CAT) completed its 47th Session on Friday, having adopted observations and recommendations on periodic reports from States party to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. [UN] Up for review during this session were: Belarus, Bulgaria, Djibouti, Germany, Madagascar, Morocco, Paraguay and Sri Lanka. The Committee also requested that Syria to submit

African Children's Rights Committee in Session This Week

November 28, 2011 IJRC African System, children

This week, the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) will hold its 18th session in Algiers from November 27 to December 1, to engage in a dialogue with States, civil society actors and other stakeholders. [OSF] The ACERWC is based in Addis Ababa and is composed of eleven experts elected by the AU Assembly of

Inter-American Court in Session through December 3

November 28, 2011 IJRC Inter-American System, regional human rights protection

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is in session in San Jose, Costa Rica through December 3. [IACtHR] During this 93rd Regular Period of Sessions, the Court will hold public hearings on two contentious cases (Néstor José and Luis Uzcátegui et al. v. Venezuela, and Díaz Peña v. Venezuela) and on compliance with three previous judgments (Yakye Axa, Sawhoyamaxa and Xákmok Kásek Indigenous Communities v. Paraguay, and Mapiripán

News Clips- November 28, 2011

November 28, 2011 IJRC thought, expression & association, transitional justice

Today, elections will be held in the Democratic Republic of Congo and in Egypt. In both countries, rights groups have warned of restrictions on freedom of assembly and expression, as well as violence. [HRW; Washington Post; MONUSCO] This week, States will convene for the Durban Climate Change Conference, with the UN urging countries to finally come to an agreement on

New Members Elected to International Law Commission

November 22, 2011 IJRC progressive development of law, UN General Assembly, Universal system

Last week, the United Nations General Assembly elected new members to the International Law Commission (ILC), a United Nations body charged with promoting “the progressive development of international law and its codification”. The International Law Commission, which was created by the General Assembly and began its work in 1949, is composed of thirty-four individual expert members of distinct nationalities who identify and

Khmer Rouge Tribunal Trial Underway in Case 002

November 22, 2011 IJRC internationalized criminal tribunals, right to life, transitional justice

This week, the Trial Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), commonly referred to as the “Khmer Rouge tribunal” began hearing opening statements by the prosecution in Case 002, in which Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith and Khieu Samphan are accused of crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, and genocide in connection with