Civil Society On Tuesday, Amnesty International joined a boycott protesting the mandatory reporting rules for foreign-funded groups recently put into force in Hungary. [Washington Post] On Monday, Mexican reporter Salvador Adame was found dead in Mexico; seven journalists have been murdered in the country this year. [Guardian] Over the weekend, police forces in Istanbul, Turkey detained 44 people attending LGBT
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On June 20, 2016, a chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that legislation in Russia banning the promotion of homosexuality, especially to minors, violated three gay activists’ rights to the freedom of expression and the prohibition of discrimination, enshrined in articles 10 and 14, respectively, of the European Convention on Human Rights. See ECtHR, Bayev and
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In the month of July, various universal and regional bodies will assess States’ compliance with their human rights obligations by engaging in interactive dialogues, considering State and civil society reports, conducting country visits, and reviewing individual complaints. Four United Nations treaty bodies will meet to engage with States regarding their treaty obligations related to the rights of women, civil and
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Civil Society On Thursday, several civil society organizations urged for the prompt and independent investigation into the “barrage of assaults and threats” against human rights lawyers in Pakistan. [ICJ] On Saturday, thousands of protesters in Madrid, Spain marched to demand that the government fulfill its pledge to take in 17,000 refugees. [Al Jazeera] Violence & Humanitarian Crises On Thursday, the
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Joel Hernández García (Mexico), Antonia Urrejola Noguera (Chile), and Flávia Cristina Piovesan (Brazil) were elected to join the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) at the 47th Regular Session of the Organization of American States (OAS) General Assembly held in Cancun, Mexico between June 19 and June 21, 2017. See OAS, 47th Regular Session. They will join four other IACHR
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Civil Society On Monday, courts in Russia began sentencing anti-corruption demonstrators arrested during protests led by an opposition leader. [Guardian] On Tuesday, the parliament of Hungary approved regulations requiring certain foreign-funded civil society groups to register with the government. [Al Jazeera] International Criminal Law On Thursday, the International Criminal Court unanimously affirmed its jurisdiction over the charges of war crimes
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The newly appointed United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Agnes Callamard, presented her first report at the 35th regular session of the Human Rights Council in which she addressed the key elements of a gender-sensitive approach to the right to life, concluding that gender-based killings may constitute arbitrary execution and that systemic discrimination based on sex,
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On June 2, upon the request of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) issued a preliminary opinion on Hungary’s draft law regarding foreign-funded non-governmental organizations (NGOs), concluding that while the law serves the legitimate aim of achieving transparency within civil society, its requirements and penalties are too strict.
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Activities of International Human Rights Bodies and Experts Independent experts from the United Nations and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued a joint statement condemning recent attacks in Brazil on indigenous peoples’ rights and on environmental rights. [OHCHR Press Release] This week the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances announced its first visit to the Gambia
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In its first judgment on the treatment and rights of indigenous people, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR) held that Kenya violated the Ogiek peoples’ rights to land, religion, culture, development, and non-discrimination. See AfCHPR, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights v. Kenya, App. no. 006/2012, Judgment of 26 May 2017. Specifically, the African Court held
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