IJRC advisors Katrina Anderson and James Ross, together with Jamil Dakwar, member of the IJRC Board of Directors, share their thoughts on the relevance of international law to human rights advocacy in the United States.
Read moreCategory: Universal system
UN Committee Against Torture Examines Belarus, Bulgaria, Djibouti, Germany, Others in 47th Session
The Committee Against Torture (CAT) completed its 47th Session on Friday, having adopted observations and recommendations on periodic reports from States party to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. [UN] Up for review during this session were: Belarus, Bulgaria, Djibouti, Germany, Madagascar, Morocco, Paraguay and Sri Lanka. The Committee also requested that Syria to submit
Read moreNew Members Elected to International Law Commission
Last week, the United Nations General Assembly elected new members to the International Law Commission (ILC), a United Nations body charged with promoting “the progressive development of international law and its codification”. The International Law Commission, which was created by the General Assembly and began its work in 1949, is composed of thirty-four individual expert members of distinct nationalities who identify and
Read moreLive Webcast of UN Committee Against Torture Sessions on Germany, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Belarus and Greece
Five non-governmental organizations (Alkarama, Amnesty International, the Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF), the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) and the World Organisation against Torture (OMCT)) have collaborated to jointly webcast the 47th session of the Committee Against Torture (CAT), a United Nations treaty body. [OMCT press release] The Committee, which is charged with monitoring State compliance with the Convention against Torture and Other
Read moreIACHR, ACHPR, HRC, UNGA in Session this Week
In Geneva, the 103rd Session of the Human Rights Committee (the treaty body charged with monitoring compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) is underway; it will examine the compliance of Jamaica, Kuwait, Norway, Iran, Malawi (no report submitted), and convene Country Task Forces regarding Armenia, Lithuania, Kenya, Cape Verde (no report submitted), Uruguay, Cameroon, Monaco, Denmark,
Read moreUN and Human Rights Orgs Highlight Religious Persecution of Christians
Christians are the most persecuted religious group in the world, according to a Holy See report to the United Nations. [OHCHR] Human rights groups have urged Iran and Egypt to protect Christians facing religious persecution, including by halting the planned execution of Iranian pastor Yousef Nadarkhani sentenced to death for the crime of apostasy, and by investigating the deaths of
Read moreNew Special Rapporteurs on Truth, Justice and Reconciliation & Promotion of Democratic International Order
The UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution (A/HRC/18/L.22) creating a new Special Rapporteurship on Truth, Justice and Reparation. [OHCHR] The three-year mandate holder will be charged with “gathering relevant information on national situations relating to the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence in addressing gross violations of human rights and serious violations of international humanitarian law,
Read moreCivil Society Describes Human Rights Concerns in Syria, Venezuela, 14 Other States, in Lead Up to October Universal Periodic Review
Sixteen United Nations Member States face the Universal Periodic Review of their human rights records in October of this year, among them Syria, Zimbabwe, East Timor, Uganda and Venezuela. Other countries to go before the UPR in October are: Tajikistan, Tanzania, Antigua and Barbuda, Swaziland, Trinidad and Tobago, Thailand, Togo, Iceland, Lithuania, and Moldova. Some States’ national reports are already
Read moreRight to Prior Consultation Highlighted on International Day of Indigenous Peoples
On August 9, the International Day of Indigenous Peoples, the Inter-American Commission and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights highlighted the importance of procedural safeguards that adequately protect indigenous communities’ land rights and way of life – including the right to prior consultation on projects or policies that will impact them. [IACHR; OHCHR] The right to prior consultation is also
Read moreCoalition Urges UN to Increase Protection for DRC Civilians in Run up to Fall Elections
The Democratic Republic of Congo will be holding national elections for the presidential and parliamentary offices on November 27, 2011. [CongoPlanet] Amidst fears of attacks by the Lord’s Resistance Army and other acts of violence, 47 organizations issued a press release calling on the UN Security Council to direct adequate resources to the UN stabilization mission in DRC (MONUSCO) to
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