Civil Society Hundreds of people protested in Belarus on Monday in opposition to the current government, despite officials banning the demonstration. [Washington Post] On Tuesday, an estimated 2,000 students demonstrated outside of the West Rand campus in Johannesburg, South Africa in protest of alleged nepotism, racism, and intimidation tactics on campus. [IOL] On Monday, May Day marches took place all
Read more
Due to “serious concerns” about Turkey’s compliance with its human rights obligations and the erosion of democratic institutions and functions, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) decided in a resolution issued last week to reinstate Turkey into its monitoring procedure, a process by which PACE ensures Council of Europe Member States are in compliance with their human
Read more
Civil Society On Thursday, Palestinians organized a strike, which closed down schools, institutions, and transportation, to demonstrate solidarity with Palestinian prisoners on hunger strikes in Israeli jails. [Al Jazeera] On Thursday, 30 people in Turkey were detained and charged with membership in an armed terror organization as a result of their ties to a newspaper that was run by a
Read more
Civil Society On Wednesday, anti-government protesters marched in the streets of Caracas, Venezuela amid riot police while the government held counter-demonstrations. [Washington Post] On Tuesday, the Human Rights Commission in Ethiopia reported 669 deaths resulting from anti-government protests in the country. [BBC News] On Saturday, a United States aid worker was released from pretrial detention in Egypt after three years.
Read more
Civil Society This week, Thai authorities warned that the online dissemination of information from two academics and a journalist critical of the government could violate Thailand’s Computer Crime Act. [Guardian] On Wednesday, an Egyptian criminal court sentenced a human rights lawyer to ten years in prison for using Facebook to “harm national unity.” [Washington Post] Last week, a TV reporter
Read more
Civil Society On Thursday, a civil society organization called for an end to the targeting, prosecuting, and detention of journalists in Belarus. [Committee to Protect Journalists] On Wednesday, activists, politicians, and religious leaders protested unfair elections in Zimbabwe. [Fox News] This week in Macedonia, an estimated 50,000 individuals protested a potential coalition government, which includes Social Democrats and ethnic Albanians. [DW
Read more
On March 21st, the International Justice Resource Center (IJRC) was among the civil society organizations that appeared before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in Washington, D.C. to address the “travel ban” and two other United States executive orders in a hearing held at the IACHR’s own initiative. In a remarkable departure from recent administrations’ engagement with the region’s
Read more
International Criminal Law The Colombian Senate voted to approve the establishment of a court with jurisdiction over war crimes, fulfilling one part of the recent peace deal with the FARC. [VOA] A court in Poland issued an arrest warrant for a man living in the United States for war crimes committed during World War II. [Washington Post] Civil Society After
Read more
Civil Society On Wednesday, to mark International Women’s Day, women demonstrated around the world for equality. [Reuters] On Tuesday, in Argentina tens of thousands joined in a march protesting job cuts and other policies initiated under President Mauricio Macri. [Al Jazeera] On Monday, Israel passed a law denying entry visas to foreign nationals who support boycotts against Israel or its
Read more
In recently published country reports on Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, and Luxembourg, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) found several areas in which migrants, Roma communities, LGBTI persons, and other minorities are susceptible to discrimination and unequal treatment. [COE Press Release: ECRI] In each report, the ECRI – an independent human rights body of the Council of Europe
Read more