The ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) published on August 1, 2016 its annual report on activities and progress for the period of July 2015 to July 2016, marking the first time an AICHR annual report was made public on its website. [AICHR Press Release] The AICHR, a regional human rights body founded in 2009 under the auspices of
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Civil Society & Human Rights Defenders After a video revealed the harassment of aboriginal boys in detention in an Australian jail, Australians protested, demanding an investigation. [Al Jazeera] A human rights lawyer in China, Wang Yu, who was in detention for over a year, made a public confession this week that appeared scripted. [Washington Post] A court in Bahrain postponed
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Human Rights Defenders and Civil Society Civil society organizations called for the release of Bahraini Human Rights defender, Nabeel Rajab, ahead of the start of his trial this week. [FIDH Press Release] Evan Mawarire, the organizer of recent protests in Zimbabwe, has been charged with inciting public disorder. [The Guardian] A pride parade scheduled to take place in Beersheba, Israel was
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During the month of May 2016, supranational human rights bodies’ activities will include review of dozens of States’ compliance with their treaty obligations, public hearings on individual complaints, and 11 country visits. The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) will hear a Finnish case concerning the tension between privacy and freedom of expression and a Belgian case
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The United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights held its first Asia Regional Forum on Business and Human Rights from April 19 to 20 in Doha, Qatar, bringing together governments, business representatives, trade unions, civil society organizations, affected communities, academics, and others to discuss the region’s implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (“Ruggie Principles”).
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In the wake of recent revelations of widespread tax evasion by government officials and others, observers have emphasized the human rights concerns raised by lost tax revenue and secrecy in financial transactions. These funds, in particular, could have been used to lessen inequality and to advance the realization of economic, social, and cultural rights in countries around the world. [CESR]
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RightsCon, an annual conference on technology and human rights, took place in San Francisco this year with three days of panel discussions. The conference brings together human rights defenders, lawyers, engineers, government officials, corporate representatives, and technologists to discuss technology’s benefits as a tool for protecting human rights and its pitfalls as a catalyst for rights abuses. The conference was
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On March 8, 2016 the appeals panel of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) reversed the contempt conviction of Karma Khayat, the deputy head of news of the television news station Al Jadeed, and upheld the acquittal of the station itself, in connection with the broadcast of information concerning the identity of confidential witnesses. See Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Al
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On May 22, 2015, David Kaye, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression (Special Rapporteur), submitted his annual report to the Human Rights Council. His report evaluates whether the rights to privacy and freedom of opinion and expression protect secure online communication by methods including encryption and anonymity. Secondly, his
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On October 22, jurors in a United States federal district court found four former Blackwater security guards guilty of first-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter for the shooting deaths of 17 Iraqis on September 16, 2007. The killings occurred while a team of security guards – code-named Raven 23 – employed by the private security company escorted a U.S. State Department
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