enforced disappearance – Page 5 – International Justice Resource Center

Remembrance, Truth and Justice.Credit: Lisa Reinsberg

On 4th International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, Advocacy and Monitoring Continue on Behalf of Victims and Families

August 29, 2014 IJRC children, civil society, enforced disappearance, human rights defenders, liberty & security of person, regional human rights protection, UN Special Procedures, UN treaty bodies

On August 30th, the international community will commemorate the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, honoring those who have been forcibly disappeared, while encouraging States to cease this practice and remedy the damage it has caused. Enforced disappearance is defined as arrest, detention, abduction, or other deprivation of a person’s liberty by agents of the State, combined with

ECCC Sentences Former Khmer Rouge Leaders to Life Imprisonment for Crimes Against Humanity, Marking the Latest Convictions of High-Level Officials by an Internationalized Criminal Tribunal

August 13, 2014 IJRC Asia, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial executions, ICTR, ICTY, International Criminal Court, international criminal law, international human rights, international humanitarian law, internationalized criminal tribunals, massacres, transitional justice

The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) last week issued its first convictions against former senior Khmer Rouge leaders, finding Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan guilty of crimes against humanity committed during the Khmer Rouge’s rule in the 1970s. [ECCC Press Release] The convictions, part of only the second set of charges to be resolved by the

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

In Landmark Ruling, Haitian Court Opens Investigation into Jean-Claude Duvalier for Crimes against Humanity

February 25, 2014 IJRC crime & impunity, domestic courts, due process & judicial protection, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial executions, international criminal law, liberty & security of person

On February 20, 2014, a historic Haitian appellate court ruling opened the door to the possible prosecution of former Haitian President Jean-Claude Duvalier (“Baby Doc”) for crimes against humanity. Survivors of the Duvalier regime’s abuses and human rights activists see the decision as an important victory in their quest for justice and accountability. [UN Radio; Reuters]

Committee on Enforced Disappearances Issues its First Concluding Observations, on State Reports from Uruguay and France

May 2, 2013 IJRC civil society, crime & impunity, due process & judicial protection, enforced disappearance, international human rights, judicial independence, liberty & security of person, UN treaty bodies

The United Nations Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) held its fourth session from April 8 to 19, 2013 and reviewed State reports for the first time. Uruguay and France were the first States to be reviewed by the CED, which has now issued its “concluding observations” on those governments’ compliance with the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from

Guatemala Abrogates Attempt to Limit the Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ Jurisdiction

January 23, 2013 IJRC crime & impunity, due process & judicial protection, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial executions, Inter-American System, international human rights, massacres, torture, transitional justice, universal 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

In Guatemala, Long-Awaited Step towards Accountability as Former Dictator Faces Genocide Charges

January 23, 2012 IJRC domestic courts, enforced disappearance, Inter-American System, international criminal law, international humanitarian law, massacres

On January 14, 2012, Efraín Ríos Montt lost the immunity against prosecution that he had enjoyed as a member of the national legislature (diputado al Congreso) since 2008, and previously from 1994-95 and 1999-2004. [PrensaLibre] After taking office through a coup d’état, Rios Montt presided over what is considered the bloodiest period in Guatemala’s thirty-six year internal conflict. As the

News Clips – June 1, 2010

June 1, 2010 IJRC ATCA litigation, crime & impunity, democracy & political rights, enforced disappearance, environmental rights, European System, indigenous communities, Inter-American System, interim measures, thought, expression & association, transitional justice, U.S. courts, Universal system

Protocol 14 to the European Convention on Human Rights enters into force today, introducing a number of changes to decrease the Court’s backlog, strengthen enforcement in order to reduce repetitive applications, concentrate its efforts on cases where applicants have suffered a “significant disadvantage”, and allow the European Commissioner for Human Rights to intervene as a third party [ECHR] Amnesty International

IACHR Submits Cases Involving Disappearance and Indigenous Land Rights to Inter-American Court

May 5, 2010 IJRC due process & judicial protection, enforced disappearance, environmental rights, indigenous communities, Inter-American System, property

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights announced today that it will litigate two cases before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (against Argentina and Ecuador), while the press and civil society reported that a third case against the Dominican Republic will also be heard by the court. The IACHR press release states: On April 18, 2010, the IACHR filed an