Several universal bodies and experts and one regional court will review States’ compliance with their human rights obligations through the review of State reports, debates, review of individual complaints, and country visits in the month of August. Three United Nations treaty bodies will meet throughout August to engage with States regarding their treaty obligations related to torture, racial discrimination, and
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The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) held last week that Belgium violated the rights of Rene Rooman – a prisoner with mental health problems who only speaks German – because the State failed to provide access to a psychologist who could also speak German. See ECtHR, Rooman v. Belgium, no. 18052/11, ECHR 2017, Judgment of 18 July 2017 (in
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Civil Society Around the world, people went to the ocean this week to commemorate the death of Liu Xiaobo, a Chinese dissident who recently died in custody, after his ashes were spread in the sea. [Guardian] A journalist in Russia reported this week that he received threatening text messages demanding he halt his current work. [CPJ] A court in Turkey
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In a recently published decision, the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR) found that Greece’s legislation enacted between 2010 and 2014 in response to the economic crisis violated the rights to work, to just conditions of work, to fair pay, to protection for children and young persons against hazards, and to participate in decision making processes on working conditions established
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Civil Society Liu Xiaobo, a Chinese dissident who previously won the Nobel Peace Prize, died from cancer on Thursday. [New York Times] On Wednesday, protesters in Zimbabwe demonstrated in favor of fair elections but were met with tear gas and water cannons. [Al Jazeera] Last weekend, tens of thousands of protesters in Istanbul, Turkey demonstrated against the state of emergency
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On July 5, 2017, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) selected Soledad García Muñoz to be the first Special Rapporteur on Economic, Social, Cultural, and Environmental Rights (ESCER). [IACHR Press Release: Muñoz (in Spanish)] The mandate of the newly established Rapporteurship is to promote, protect, and defend economic, social, cultural, and environmental rights in the Americas by addressing issues
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The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) recently published the Cotonou Declaration on strengthening and expanding the protection of all Human Rights Defenders in Africa that recommends repealing harmful and discriminatory laws, ensuring compliance with existing international standards that impact human rights defenders, and developing standards on women human rights defenders, among other recommendations. Adopted earlier this year during the 2nd
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Civil Society On Tuesday, Amnesty International joined a boycott protesting the mandatory reporting rules for foreign-funded groups recently put into force in Hungary. [Washington Post] On Monday, Mexican reporter Salvador Adame was found dead in Mexico; seven journalists have been murdered in the country this year. [Guardian] Over the weekend, police forces in Istanbul, Turkey detained 44 people attending LGBT
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On June 20, 2016, a chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that legislation in Russia banning the promotion of homosexuality, especially to minors, violated three gay activists’ rights to the freedom of expression and the prohibition of discrimination, enshrined in articles 10 and 14, respectively, of the European Convention on Human Rights. See ECtHR, Bayev and
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In the month of July, various universal and regional bodies will assess States’ compliance with their human rights obligations by engaging in interactive dialogues, considering State and civil society reports, conducting country visits, and reviewing individual complaints. Four United Nations treaty bodies will meet to engage with States regarding their treaty obligations related to the rights of women, civil and
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