On Sunday, November 11, Syrian opposition groups signed a draft agreement to form the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary Opposition Forces. [BBC] Sheikh Moaz al-Khatib, a former imam of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus who is considered a moderate and unifying force, was chosen to lead the new coalition. The Gulf Arab States have recognized the coalition as the sole legitimate
Read moreCategory: international human rights
UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty Reports on Individual Access to Justice
On November 5, U.N. Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Magdalena Sepúlveda Carmona, presented her annual report to the U.N. General Assembly. The Special Rapporteur highlights the obstacles faced by individuals living in extreme poverty when they attempt to access courts and other remedies. Linking access to justice to numerous other human rights, her report concludes that States
Read moreUN Human Rights Council to Gain 18 New Members in Criticized Election Process
On November 12, the UN General Assembly will hold elections to fill eighteen soon-to-be vacant membership positions on the UN Human Rights Council. As in the past, this election is controversial both for the lack of competition on most regional slates, thereby depriving the General Assembly of the ability to choose from among multiple States to fill the open slots, and
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Death Penalty & Human Rights: Comments of UN Special Rapporteurs
Although a growing number of countries have abolished the death penalty, 50 of the 193 UN Member States continue to either impose the death penalty or legally allow for it, and thus the death penalty continues to be widely debated internationally. During their presentations to the UN General Assembly in October 2012, two UN Special Rapporteurs presented their findings on
Read moreSouth African Development Community Tribunal to Lose its Human Rights Mandate
At the close of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Summit held in August, 2012 in Maputo, Mozambique, SADC issued a final meeting communiqué. While much of the communiqué was unremarkable, tucked away towards the end was a short paragraph stating: …a new Protocol on the [SADC] Tribunal should be negotiated and that its mandate should be confined to interpretation
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International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Commences its Final Trial
The final case pending before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) involves Goran Hadžić, the former president of the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina, who is indicted for persecution and murder of non-Serbs, as well as unlawful imprisonment, torture, inhumane acts, cruel treatment, forcible transfer, deportation and wanton destruction, and plunder of private or public property. Hadžić was
Read moreWhy the Fuss? Understanding the Human Rights Council’s Resolution on Traditional Values
On September 27, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a contentious resolution on the relationship between human rights and traditional values. Though only two pages long, the resolution reignited concerns that State claims of traditional values might be used to thwart the existing human rights framework rather than strengthening it. Specifically, human rights advocates remain wary of traditional values language
Read moreThe Gambia Suspends Executions after International Outcry
President Yahya Jammeh of the Gambia announced on September 15 that he will be suspending further executions of death row inmates. [BBC] In August, President Jammeh had unexpectedly announced all of the remaining forty-eight prisoners on death row would be executed by September, ending the country’s over twenty-five year old moratorium on executions. [BBC] The following Sunday, nine prisoners were executed
Read moreVacancy: UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) announced a call for applications for the position of Deputy High Commissioner with the deadline of October 15, 2012. The OHCHR, led by High Commissioner Navi Pillay since July 2008, is the main UN entity responsible for creating policies and programs to promote and protect human rights. The OHCHR
Read moreBusiness and Human Rights: Towards Greater Accountability
At the time of their establishment, international human rights instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the international covenants on civil and political rights and on economic, social, and cultural rights were intended to hold States accountable to mutually agreed principles. However, the international community’s understanding of human rights has gradually evolved to recognize that although only countries formally sign on to treaties,
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