The United Nations General Assembly will host its first UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants (the Summit) on Monday September 19, 2016 at the UN Headquarters in New York to address one of the greatest current global challenges: the millions of refugees and migrants on the move. [UN News Centre] The Summit will bring together heads of state and government officials,
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Migrants and Refugees Amnesty International reported that tens of thousands of refugees have been cut off from humanitarian aid for the last two months in an area between Syria and Jordan. [Al Jazeera] The hunger strike of a former Guantanamo detainee currently residing in Uruguay as a refugee prompted a judge this week to order a medical evaluation. [Washington Post]
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Migrants and Refugees The United Nations Children’s Fund released a report on refugee and migrant children around the world, finding that over 28 million children have migrated in an effort to leave violence and insecurity. [UN News Centre] Locals in Calais, France gathered to protest the migrant camp in the town where over 7,000 people live. [BBC] Civil Society The
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During the month of September 2016, several supranational bodies will review States’ implementation of their treaty obligations, regional judicial bodies will conduct hearings, and four UN special procedures mechanisms will conduct country visits. Four United Nations treaty bodies will hold interactive dialogues with more than 20 States regarding their implementation of treaty obligations related to economic, social, and cultural rights and
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Civil Society A member of the United Democratic Party, an opposition political party in Gambia, died while in detention last Saturday, prompting the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to condemn the death and conditions of detention. [UN News Centre] The Ethiopian government announced this week that it will not prosecute the Olympic athlete who publically
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Civil Society Ahead of a constitutional referendum scheduled for September, Azerbaijani authorities have arrested several activists critical of the government within the last week. [RSF] In order to make room for civil society members arrested after the coup, Turkey announced that it will release inmates convicted of nonviolent offenses from its prisons. [NYT] Following the recent re-election of Zambia’s president,
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International Criminal Law Nada Kiswanson, a permanent representative at the International Criminal Court who works on evidence of war crimes in Palestine, has received death threats. [MEMO] The International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh issued sentences to eight individuals for crimes against humanity. [Jurist] German investigators have identified eight individuals who they suspect of war crimes during the Nazi era. [The
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The intergovernmental organization responsible for facilitating and promoting orderly and humane migration management is set to formally join the United Nations system. On July 25, 2016 the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution approving a draft agreement to make the International Organization for Migration (IOM) a related organization. [UN News Centre: IOM] The agreement will supersede a previous 1996 cooperation
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Human Rights Defenders and Civil Society A car bomb in Kiev killed a journalist who was often critical of the government leaders in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. [The Guardian] Four Kenyan police officers were charged with the murder of human rights defender, Willie Kimani. [The Jurist] In the midst of anti-government demonstrations, several armed men have been holding policemen as
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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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