international human rights – Page 40 – International Justice Resource Center

CESCR Issues Guidance on Right to Sexual and Reproductive Health

March 16, 2016 IJRC economic, social & cultural rights, health, international human rights, reproductive and sexual rights, UN treaty bodies, Universal system

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) recently issued a General Comment explaining States’ duties to ensure the right to sexual and reproductive health, as an integral part of the right to health protected by Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). See Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment

Rwanda Withdraws Access to African Court for Individuals and NGOs

March 14, 2016 IJRC African System, civil society, democracy & political rights, due process & judicial protection, international human rights, liberty & security of person, transitional justice

The government of Rwanda has announced it will no longer allow individuals and non-governmental organizations to directly file complaints against it with the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR). [Ministry of Justice Press Release] The decision comes as the African Court is set to decide a claim against Rwanda by a leading opposition politician, Victoire Ingabire, who alleges

ECtHR: Same-Sex Couples Must Be Equally Eligible for Family-Based Migration

March 8, 2016 IJRC discrimination, European System, family, immigration & asylum, international human rights, LGBTI rights

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,

IACHR Releases Report on Grave Human Rights Situation in Mexico

March 7, 2016 IJRC enforced disappearance, extrajudicial executions, human rights defenders, Inter-American System, international human rights, torture

In a report released March 2, 2016, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Inter-American Commission) has exposed the severity of Mexico’s ongoing human rights crisis. See IACHR, Situation of Human Rights in Mexico (2015). The report relies on information gathered during onsite visits conducted by the IACHR and its rapporteurships, as well as from IACHR hearings, precautionary measures, and petitions

March 2016: Regional and Universal Human Rights Bodies in Session

March 1, 2016 IJRC African System, Commission on the Status of Women, discrimination, economic, social & cultural rights, enforced disappearance, European System, human rights defenders, Inter-American System, international human rights, monthly overview, persons with disabilities, regional human rights protection, UN Human Rights Council, UN Special Procedures, UN treaty bodies, Universal Periodic Review, women's rights

During the month of March 2016, ten supranational human rights bodies will be in session. These include three regional human rights monitoring bodies: the African Court on Human and People’s Rights (AfCHPR), the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR), and the Inter-American Court on Human Rights (IACtHR). Additionally, seven United Nations mechanisms will meet in Geneva, Switzerland: the Human Rights

Human Rights Committee: Australia Violated Guantanamo Transferee’s Right to Liberty

February 23, 2016 IJRC armed conflict, domestic courts, due process & judicial protection, European System, international criminal law, international human rights, international humanitarian law, liberty & security of person, reparations, security & rule of law, U.S. courts, UN treaty bodies

The United Nations Human Rights Committee has found Australia in violation of the right to liberty protected by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) due to its continued detention of Guantanamo Bay prisoner David Hicks following his transfer to Australia, despite evidence that the American military proceedings against him had been unfair. See UN Human Rights Committee, Hicks v. Australia,

Increased Oppression of Chinese Human Rights Defenders Draws International Criticism

February 22, 2016 IJRC civil society, democracy & political rights, human rights defenders, international human rights, liberty & security of person, security & rule of law, thought, expression & association, torture, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Special Procedures

Human rights monitors have expressed alarm at China’s ongoing crackdown on those critical of the government. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, recently drew attention to the Chinese government’s continued oppression of human rights defenders and government critics, specifically referring to a wave of arrests and harassment of civil society actors that began after

ACHPR Publishes Guidelines on Human Rights while Countering Terrorism

February 18, 2016 IJRC African System, civil society, due process & judicial protection, human rights defenders, international human rights, liberty & security of person, publications and resources, right to life, security & rule of law, thought, expression & association

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) has released new principles intended to guide its Member States in implementing counter-terrorism and security measures that comply with regional and international human rights norms. As African States increasingly face real and practical challenges posed by terrorism, the Principles and Guidelines on Human and Peoples’ Rights while Countering Terrorism in Africa

UN Experts: Widespread Abuses and Killings of Detainees in Syria

February 17, 2016 IJRC armed conflict, conditions of detention, death penalty, due process & judicial protection, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial executions, international criminal law, international human rights, international humanitarian law, liberty & security of person, massacres, right to life, security & rule of law, torture, UN Human Rights Council, UN Security Council

A recent report from the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic (COI) has revealed that all sides to the conflict in Syria have subjected those captured, kidnapped, or arrested to violence and rights abuses that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. See UN Human Rights Council, Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Deaths in

Guatemala Prosecutes Soldiers For Sexual Slavery During Civil War

February 16, 2016 IJRC armed conflict, domestic courts, enforced disappearance, indigenous communities, Inter-American System, international criminal law, international human rights, torture, women's rights

A landmark trial of former Guatemalan soldiers for crimes against humanity commenced this month before the country’s High Risk Court A (Tribunal de Mayor Riesgo A). In 2014, the State arrested and charged former Sepur Zarco base commander Lieutenant Colonel Esteelmer Reyes Giron and former military commissioner Heriberto Valdez Asij with acts of sexual violence, sexual slavery, murder, and forced