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
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Hristovi v. Bulgaria: Police Must Be Identifiable When Using Masks – EHCR
The European Court of Human Rights‘ judgment this week in Hristovi v. Bulgaria, App. No.42697/05, Judgment of 11 October 2011, concerned allegations of excessive force, intimidation and threats against a Bulgarian couple by armed, masked police officers who burst into their apartment to conduct an arrest and search. The Court held that, while the applicants had not sufficiently proved the
Read moreICC Approves Investigation into 2010 Election Violence in Côte d'Ivoire
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has authorized the ICC prosecutor to pursue an investigation into crimes committed during post-election violence in Côte d’Ivoire, from November 28, 2010 onward. [ICC] Although not a party to the Rome Statute, Côte d’Ivoire submitted a declaration accepting the ICC’s jurisdiction as to events occurring after September 19, 2002. The ICC judges have instructed the prosecutor to
Read moreFive New Orleans Police Officers Convicted in Post-Katrina Shooting Deaths of Civilians on Danziger Bridge
On August 5, in the culmination of a federal criminal trial, a jury convicted five police officers of various civil rights violations, but not murder, for having shot into a crowd of civilians fleeing New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, killing two individuals and injuring four more. [USHR Network] The Department of Justice, which prosecuted the four officers
Read moreIACHR to Begin Hearings Today – Rights of Women, Indigenous Communities, Sexual Minorities and Human Rights Defenders on Today's Agenda
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights begins holding hearings today in its 141st Period of Sessions. The forty-four scheduled hearings will be held on March 25 (today), 28 and 29 at the OAS General Secretariat Building at 1889 F Street, N.W. in Washington, D.C. and are open to the public (with the exception of two closed hearings on Venezuela). No
Read moreIACHR Takes Dominican Republic to the Inter-American Court in Guayabín Massacre Case
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights announced last week that it has filed an application with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the case of Nadege Dorzema et al. v. Dominican Republic (Case No. 12.688). The case centers around the June 17, 2000 deaths and detention of a group of Haitians and one Dominican citizen at the hands of
Read moreRecent ECHR Decisions Highlight Continued Problem of Impunity
Situations of impunity arise when a State fails to adequately investigate and prosecute serious crimes affecting individuals’ human rights. In many countries in the world, a lack of sufficient resources or training, attacks against law enforcement and the judiciary, discriminatory attitudes and/or official corruption contribute to high levels of impunity – such as in Guatemala, where an estimated 98% of
Read more2010 in Review: IACHR Merits Reports
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has published two merits reports so far this year, having to do with deportation of non-citizens without consideration for humanitarian factors (against the United States) and impunity in the death of a journalist (against Brazil). In addition to the two merits reports, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has published thirty-six favorable admissibility decisions,
Read moreNews Clips – October 25, 2010
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights begins holding hearings today in its 140th Period of Sessions. Issues to be discussed today include the Situation of Environmentalists in Mesoamerica, and Discrimination against the Transsexual, Transgender, and Transvestite Population in Brazil. See the week’s schedule of hearings here. Webcast of some hearings is available here. The role of humanitarian aid in contributing
Read moreNews Clips – October 15, 2010
The loss of leading international human rights scholar Louis Henkin is mourned, while the legal community remembers his long career dedicated to the development of international law and the protection of human rights. [Human Rights First] Moldova has ratified the Rome Statute to become the newest State Party to the International Criminal Court, bringing the total to 114. [UN] Canadian
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