Civil Society After demonstrators in Poland protested a new law to ban abortion early this week, a parliamentary committee recommended parliament vote against the bill. [Guardian] Anti-government protests continued in Ethiopia this week after tear gas and shots from the police instigated a stampede at a religious festival last weekend, trampling between 55 and over 100 people. [Al Jazeera] The authorities
Read moreCategory: international human rights
Inter-American Commission Refers Four Cases to Inter-American Court
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has referred four cases over the last two months to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) involving Mexico, Chile, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. Two of the cases, against Mexico and Nicaragua, involve sexual violence against women and girls. The case against Chile concerns the need to obtain informed consent prior to medical proceedings
Read moreOctober 2016: UN Treaty Bodies, UPR, Regional Bodies in Session
During the month of October 2016, numerous universal and regional human rights bodies will assess States’ compliance with their human rights obligations, visit countries, and hold hearings on individual complaints. Five UN treaty bodies meeting this month will engage in dialogues with States regarding their implementation of treaty obligations related to civil and political rights; economic, social, and cultural rights;
Read moreSeptember 2016 News from IJRC
Read our September 2016 newsletter for the latest human rights news, details of our recent training, new additions to the Online Resource Hub, and more.
Read moreNews Clips- September 30, 2016
Civil Society A court in China sentenced three activists to three years imprisonment in one case and over a year for the other two individuals. [Jurist] The Facebook accounts of Palestinian journalists who work in occupied Palestinian territories were frozen last week. [Al Jazeera] United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association called
Read moreSymposium Recap: Protecting the Human Rights of Migrants in California
On September 23, 2016 more than 100 people gathered at University of California Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco for a training on the human rights of migrants hosted by the International Justice Resource Center and the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies. The distinguished line-up of speakers included experts on international human rights advocacy and on migrants’
Read moreUN Investigation Confirms Rights Abuses in Burundi, Recommends Increased Accountability
In response to the ongoing crisis in Burundi, the United Nations Independent Investigation on Burundi (UNIIB) presented its final report to the Human Rights Council on September 27, 2016, which documented evidence of gross human rights abuses perpetrated by the government and its affiliates. [OHCHR Press Release] UNIIB was formed in light of increasing instability in Burundi, which was prompted
Read moreECtHR: Police Violated Due Process Rights of London Bombing Suspect
The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) held last week that the United Kingdom did not violate the rights to access to counsel and to a fair trial when, without an attorney present, authorities questioned three men suspected of involvement in the July 21, 2005 London bombing attempt; the State did violate those rights, the ECtHR
Read moreNews Clips- September 23, 2016
Refugees and Migrants The UN held the Summit for Refugees and Migrants on Monday and the United States President Barack Obama hosted the Leaders’ Summit on the Global Refugee Crisis on Tuesday. [IJRC; UN News Centre: Bold; UN News Centre: Integration] The International Justice Resource Center and the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies are hosting a training on the
Read moreUN High Commissioner Criticizes State Compliance Ahead of Council Elections
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, voiced clear dissatisfaction with Member States’ lack of cooperation with UN human rights monitors, in his recent address to the United Nations Human Rights Council, which begun its 33rd session on September 13, 2016. The High Commissioner directed the international community’s attention to the growing number of Member States
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