torture – Page 9 – International Justice Resource Center

UN Human Rights Committee Reviews 6 States’ Civil and Political Rights Records

March 30, 2015 IJRC children, civil society, conditions of detention, democracy & political rights, discrimination, freedom of religion, human rights defenders, immigration & asylum, indigenous communities, international human rights, international humanitarian law, judicial independence, labor rights, LGBTI rights, persons with disabilities, privacy, thought, expression & association, torture, UN treaty bodies, women's rights

The UN Human Rights Committee is holding its 113th session from March 16 to April 2, to consider the State reports of Cambodia, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Monaco, and Russia on their implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). During the session, representatives from each State will engage in a dialogue with members of the Human

African Commission to Review Eight States’ Human Rights Records

March 25, 2015 IJRC African System, civil society, conditions of detention, death penalty, democracy & political rights, discrimination, economic, social & cultural rights, human rights defenders, immigration & asylum, indigenous communities, international human rights, judicial independence, liberty & security of person, persons with disabilities, reproductive and sexual rights, security & rule of law, thought, expression & association, torture, women's rights

The African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) will open its 56th Ordinary Session on April 21, 2015 in Banjul, the Gambia. During this session, which continues through May 7, the Commission’s agenda includes discussion of the human rights situation in Africa, consideration of State reports, and hearing activity reports from members of the Commission and its special mechanisms. This

A witness testifies during Rios Montt's first genocide trial.Credit: Elena Hermosa/Trocair

Guatemalan Court Suspends Genocide Retrial of Former Dictator

January 8, 2015 IJRC armed conflict, domestic courts, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial executions, Inter-American System, international humanitarian law, judicial independence, massacres, torture, UN treaty bodies

The retrial of former Guatemalan dictator José Efraín Ríos Montt reopened on January 5, 2015, but was quickly suspended. [La Prensa; BBC] Charged with committing genocide and crimes against humanity against indigenous Ixil Maya of the Quiché region, the 88-year-old ex-army general is allegedly responsible for 15 massacres carried out against indigenous Mayans during his rule from 1982 to 1983,

The U.S. appears before the Committee Against Torture

Human Rights Experts Call for Prosecution, Reparations in Wake of U.S. Torture Report

December 16, 2014 IJRC crime & impunity, Inter-American System, liberty & security of person, reparations, security & rule of law, torture, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Special Procedures, UN treaty bodies, universal jurisdiction

On Tuesday, December 9, the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (Intelligence Committee) published a report detailing the “abuses and countless mistakes” of the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) detention and interrogation program in the years after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. See Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Committee Study of the Central Intelligence Agency’s Detention and Interrogation Program:

Chadian Court Initiates First Trial against Habré-Era Security Agents

November 25, 2014 IJRC crime & impunity, domestic courts, due process & judicial protection, extrajudicial executions, International Court of Justice, internationalized criminal tribunals, liberty & security of person, torture

November 14 marked the start of the trial against 26 former security agents accused of committing murder, torture, kidnapping, arbitrary detention, assault, and battery during former dictator Hissène Habré’s rule in Chad from 1982 to 1990. [Reuters; HRW: Alleged Habré Accomplices] Advocates hope that the trial, set to take place before national courts in N’Djaména, Chad, will deliver a measure

IACHR to Assist Mexico in Investigating 43 Students’ Disappearance

November 19, 2014 IJRC civil society, crime & impunity, enforced disappearance, Inter-American System, interim measures, torture, UN Special Procedures

In response to the disappearance of 43 student protesters in the Mexican state of Guerrero, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has signed a tripartite agreement with the government of Mexico and a group of nongovernmental organizations representing the student victims and their families to provide technical assistance with the search for the students, the investigation and subsequent actions

New United Nations Report Details Human Rights Abuses by Militias in Libya’s Ongoing Armed Conflict

September 9, 2014 IJRC crime & impunity, due process & judicial protection, extrajudicial executions, immigration & asylum, International Criminal Court, international criminal law, international human rights, international humanitarian law, liberty & security of person, property, security & rule of law, torture, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Security Council

Last week, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) published a joint report providing an overview of human rights abuses committed in Libya from May through August 2014, amid ongoing fighting among militias for control of Benghazi and Tripoli. See UNSMIL & OHCHR, Overview of Violations of International Human Rights

European Court of Human Rights: Poland Responsible for Secret Detention, Torture, and Rendition of Two Guantánamo Detainees

July 30, 2014 IJRC death penalty, due process & judicial protection, European System, international human rights, liberty & security of person, regional human rights protection, security & rule of law, torture, Uncategorized

In its first judgment concerning the human rights of current Guantánamo detainees, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found that Poland failed to uphold its international obligations by allowing the secret detention, torture, and extraordinary rendition of a Saudi Arabian national and a stateless Palestinian, both suspected of terrorist acts. See ECtHR, Al Nashiri v. Poland, no. 28761/11, Judgment of 24

IACtHR Hears Cases involving Forced Disappearance, Indigenous Land Rights, Torture, and Violence Against Women in its 50th Special Session

April 7, 2014 IJRC children, crime & impunity, due process & judicial protection, enforced disappearance, indigenous communities, Inter-American System, interim measures, liberty & security of person, property, torture, women's rights

From March 31 to April 4, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights celebrated its 50th Special Session at its headquarters in San José, Costa Rica. The Court held public hearings on three pending cases concerning forced disappearance, indigenous land rights, and torture in arbitrary detention. The Court also conducted private deliberations to prepare its judgment in a case concerning the

ECtHR Finds Granting Civil Immunity for Torture to Foreign State Officials Does Not Violate European Convention on Human Rights

January 21, 2014 IJRC crime & impunity, due process & judicial protection, European System, international human rights, torture

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued a judgment last week upholding a British court’s grant of immunity to Saudi Arabia and Saudi officials who allegedly tortured British citizens. See ECtHR, Jones and Others v. United Kingdom, nos. 34356/06 and 40528/06, ECHR 2014, Judgment of 14 January 2014. The UK House of Lords had blocked the plaintiffs’ civil suits