UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Mr. Juan Méndez, presented last week a controversial report to the UN Human Rights Council asserting that certain acts under national healthcare systems may violate the Convention against Torture (CAT). Special Rapporteur Méndez recognized that the report may arguably extend beyond his mandate as traditionally defined and into the realm of the “right to health,”
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Extraordinary African Chambers: Hybrid Court to Try Former Chad Dictator Hissène Habré
The Extraordinary African Chambers, a special criminal court, opened on February 8, 2013 in the West African nation of Senegal to prepare a case against former Chadian president Hissène Habré. [NY Times] Habré has been accused of responsibility for the deaths of more than 40,000 people and the torture of more than 20,000 during his eight-year rule of Chad, from 1982
Read moreIACtHR Swears in New Judges, Hears Cases on Range of Issues during Ongoing 98th Session
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) is holding its 98th Ordinary Session from February 4 through February 15, 2013 at its seat in San José, Costa Rica. [IACtHR Press Release (Spanish)] During this session, the Court will hear evidence and legal arguments from the parties in six cases pending before it, preside over private hearings on States’ compliance with three previous judgments,
Read moreInternational Human Rights Experts, States Call for Inquiry into Human Rights Abuses in North Korea
The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, human rights advocates, and some States are publicly supporting the creation of an expert committee to more fully investigate and address the human rights situation in North Korea. Recent reports by victims have revealed shocking allegations, but relatively little is known about the extent of suspected abuses, given the
Read moreGuatemala Abrogates Attempt to Limit the Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ Jurisdiction
On January 17, 2013, Guatemalan President Otto Pérez Molina announced the derogation of a resolution that would have attempted to limit the Inter-American Court of Human Right’s jurisdiction over alleged human rights violations that took place before 1987. [IACHR; Procuraduría de Derechos Humanos] In December 2012, the Guatemalan Congress passed Resolution 370-2012, the purpose of which was to restrict the Inter-American Court of
Read moreUK Exercises Universal Jurisdiction to Prosecute Nepalese Colonel for Torture
On Thursday, January 3, 2013, British Metropolitan Police arrested Colonel Kumar Lama, a former Nepalese army officer, during a visit with his wife and children at their home in East Sussex, England. [BBC] Col. Lama was charged with two counts of torture allegedly committed in 2005 during Nepal’s civil war and faces trial in Britain. Charges and Basis of British
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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
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In El Haski v. Belgium, ECHR Finds Fair Trial Violation where 'Real Risk' that Evidence Was Obtained through Torture by Other States
Last Tuesday, the European Court of Human Rights held in El Haski v. Belgium, no. 649/08, Judgment of 25 September 2012, that Belgium should have excluded evidence where there was a real risk that the evidence had been obtained through torture or inhuman or degrading treatment. ECtHR, El Haski v. Belgium, no. 649/08, Judgment of 25 September 2012 (available in French only). The Court
Read moreThe Status of Guantánamo and Extraordinary Rendition Litigation before Regional Tribunals
On September 8, Adnan Latif became the ninth Guantánamo Bay detainee to die in U.S. custody. [NY Times] The military publicly announced Latif’s identity today, the eleventh anniversary of the tragic attacks of September 11, 2001. Those terrorist attacks gave rise to a more public, aggressive and extensive “war on terror” whose features have included the use of “black sites”
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Reprisals for Reporting Human Rights Violations
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, will present his annual report on government reprisals against persons who report human rights abuses to the UN at the Human Rights Council in September 2012. The Secretary-General’s report (A/HRC/21/18) presents numerous countries and cases where human rights defenders were subjected to intimidation and harassment by government for interacting or communicating with
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