massacres – Page 2 – International Justice Resource Center

IACtHR Publishes 2014 Annual Report

April 16, 2015 IJRC armed conflict, children, civil society, crime & impunity, death penalty, democracy & political rights, discrimination, due process & judicial protection, economic, social & cultural rights, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial executions, family, freedom of religion, human rights defenders, immigration & asylum, indigenous communities, Inter-American System, international human rights, judicial independence, LGBTI rights, liberty & security of person, massacres, military and humanitarian intervention, persons with disabilities, privacy, progressive development of law, property, reparations, reproductive and sexual rights, security & rule of law, thought, expression & association, women's rights

Last month, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued its Annual Report 2014, summarizing the Court’s structure, jurisprudence, and activities throughout 2014. The Report discusses the Court’s functions, summarizes the status of cases before the Court, breaks down the Court’s budget, and describes additional activities the Court undertook in 2014. See Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Annual Report 2014. The

Inter-American Court of Human Rights Holds 107th Session

February 19, 2015 IJRC armed conflict, children, conditions of detention, democracy & political rights, due process & judicial protection, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial executions, indigenous communities, Inter-American System, interim measures, massacres, property, thought, expression & association

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) convened its 107th regular session from January 26 to February 6, 2015 in San Jose, Costa Rica. The Court held hearings concerning five pending cases, provisional measures regarding Venezuelan prisons, and States’ compliance with four previous judgments. [IACtHR Press Release (Spanish)] Public hearings were held on the following pending cases: Rural Community of Santa Barbara

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,

As Blackwater Security Guards Are Convicted for Nisour Square Killings, UN Working Group Pushes for Enhanced Regulation of Private Security Companies

October 29, 2014 IJRC corporate accountability, crime & impunity, extrajudicial executions, international humanitarian law, massacres, military and humanitarian intervention, security & rule of law, U.S. courts, UN Special Procedures

On October 22, jurors in a United States federal district court found four former Blackwater security guards guilty of first-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter for the shooting deaths of 17 Iraqis on September 16, 2007. The killings occurred while a team of security guards – code-named Raven 23 – employed by the private security company escorted a U.S. State Department

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

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

IACHR Takes Dominican Republic to the Inter-American Court in Guayabín Massacre Case

February 20, 2011 IJRC crime & impunity, discrimination, due process & judicial protection, Inter-American System, liberty & security of person, massacres

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights announced last week that it has filed an application with the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in the case of Nadege Dorzema et al. v. Dominican Republic (Case No. 12.688). The case centers around the June 17, 2000 deaths and detention of a group of Haitians and one Dominican citizen at the hands of

News Clips – October 15, 2010

October 15, 2010 IJRC corporate accountability, crime & impunity, democracy & political rights, Inter-American System, International Criminal Court, massacres, security & rule of law, thought, expression & association, torture, transitional justice, U.S. courts, UN Special Procedures, UN treaty bodies

The loss of leading international human rights scholar Louis Henkin is mourned, while the legal community remembers his long career dedicated to the development of international law and the protection of human rights. [Human Rights First] Moldova has ratified the Rome Statute to become the newest State Party to the International Criminal Court, bringing the total to 114. [UN] Canadian

News Clips – October 3, 2010

October 3, 2010 IJRC children, civil litigation, crime & impunity, democracy & political rights, discrimination, domestic courts, immigration & asylum, indigenous communities, Inter-American System, International Criminal Court, international criminal law, internationalized criminal tribunals, massacres, security & rule of law, thought, expression & association, U.S. courts, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Special Procedures

In Ecuador, a state of emergency remains in place following last week’s uprising of members of the military against President Correa’s government, prompting human rights defenders to call for a quick restoration of full civil liberties. [CEJIL] The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights condemned the attack against Correa. [IACHR] Germany today commemorates 20 years of reunification and will use its