The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) violated the human rights of people who lived in its camps following the 1999 conflict there by exposing them to unsafe living conditions and lead poisoning, according to the body established to evaluate human rights complaints against UNMIK. On April 8, 2016, the Human Rights Advisory Panel rendered its opinion in
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In a recent decision regarding family reunification for a same-sex couple, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found Croatia to have violated a non-citizen’s human rights by denying her application for a residence permit to join her partner in Croatia. See ECtHR, Pajić v. Croatia, no. 68453/13, Judgment of 23 February 2016. The ECtHR unanimously held that Croatia’s Aliens Act,
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The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) held last week that Switzerland violated the European Convention on Human Rights by assessing disability benefits in a manner that disproportionately penalized women who reduced their working hours after having children, resulting in gender discrimination. See ECtHR, di Trizio v. Switzerland, no. 7186/09, Judgment of 2 February 2016 (in French only). The application
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On January 18, 2016, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) announced that, through the Special Rapporteur on Rights of Women in Africa, it will be launching a continental Campaign for the Decriminalization of Abortion in Africa. [ACHPR Press Release] Of the ACHPR’s 57 Member States, 25 reportedly have legislation in place that either completely prohibits abortion or
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On January 27, 2016 the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR or the Committee) published its 2015 conclusions regarding 31 States’ implementation of the European Social Charter’s provisions related to the rights of children, families, and migrants. It found 239 instances in which governments’ policies and practices failed to adequately protect these rights. [ECSR Press Release] The Committee also reiterated 38
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During the month of January 2016, a number of bodies will be in session whose mandates are relevant to the protection of human rights. These include one regional human rights monitoring body, the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR), in addition to four United Nations mechanisms: the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Working Group on the Universal Periodic
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On September 16, 2015, the Constituent Assembly of Nepal adopted a new constitution almost a decade after the end of its civil war. The country’s constitution, the first to be drafted by popularly elected representatives, establishes Nepal as a secular federal republic. The constitution also divides Nepal into seven provinces and establishes a proportional electoral system to elect federal and
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On September 16, 2015, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, released a report on the human rights violations, including unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, and gender-based violence, committed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and Sri Lankan government forces from 2002-2011. See Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Report of the OHCHR
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On September 14, 2015 the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) commenced its 70th session in Geneva, Switzerland. During this session, which will end on October 2, the Committee will review the reports of Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Kazakhstan, Poland, Timor-Leste, and the United Arab Emirates concerning the States’ implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child;
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The United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) is currently holding its 9th session in Geneva, Switzerland from September 7th to 18th. The CED is reviewing State reports of Iraq and Montenegro regarding their implementation of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (Convention). During the session, the CED and each State engage in dialogue
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