UN High Commissioner for Human Rights – Page 7 – International Justice Resource Center

Deterioration of Rights Environment in Turkey Violates International Obligations

May 16, 2016 IJRC conditions of detention, due process & judicial protection, economic, social & cultural rights, enforced disappearance, European System, extrajudicial executions, human rights defenders, international human rights, migrants, right to life, thought, expression & association, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN treaty bodies, Universal system

Human rights experts and civil society groups have issued repeated calls for Turkey to address the ongoing deterioration of the rights environment in the country amidst a failed Kurdish peace process, a sharp escalation of violent anti-terrorism operations, border guards’ attacks against Syrian refugees, and a severe crackdown on journalists and political dissidents. [Washington Post; CPJ] In a statement delivered

Increased Oppression of Chinese Human Rights Defenders Draws International Criticism

February 22, 2016 IJRC civil society, democracy & political rights, human rights defenders, international human rights, liberty & security of person, security & rule of law, thought, expression & association, torture, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Special Procedures

Human rights monitors have expressed alarm at China’s ongoing crackdown on those critical of the government. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, recently drew attention to the Chinese government’s continued oppression of human rights defenders and government critics, specifically referring to a wave of arrests and harassment of civil society actors that began after

Paris Climate Change Agreement Lauded, but Feared Not Strong Enough

January 8, 2016 IJRC economic, social & cultural rights, environmental rights, human rights defenders, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Special Procedures, Universal system

The 21st session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21) concluded on December 12, 2015 with the adoption of the Paris Agreement, described as the first universal, legally binding instrument to impose specific obligations on both developed and developing nations to address climate change. [Earth Justice Press Release; BBC] The agreement will

Six United Nations Human Rights Bodies Meet in November 2015

November 11, 2015 IJRC civil society, discrimination, international human rights, torture, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Human Rights Council, UN treaty bodies, Universal Periodic Review, women's rights

During the month of November 2015, six United Nations human rights mechanisms will meet in Geneva, Switzerland. The UN Human Rights Committee, Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW Committee), Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group, Committee Against Torture (CAT), Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (SPT), and the Committee on

Burkina Faso’s President Reinstated and Elections Rescheduled after Coup

September 28, 2015 IJRC African System, armed conflict, civil society, democracy & political rights, human rights defenders, international human rights, liberty & security of person, military and humanitarian intervention, security & rule of law, transitional justice, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Burkina Faso’s interim President Michel Kafando was reinstated on September 23, 2015, following a truce agreement between coup leaders and the national army. [BBC News: Reinstated; Al Jazeera: Coup leaders sign truce] This truce agreement came after the September 16th coup in which members of the Regiment of Presidential Security (RSP, for its French name: Régiment de sécurité présidentielle), calling themselves

UN Report Highlights Human Rights Violations in Sri Lanka and Urges Creation of Hybrid Court

September 22, 2015 IJRC armed conflict, Asia, children, civil society, democracy & political rights, discrimination, due process & judicial protection, economic, social & cultural rights, family, human rights defenders, international criminal law, international human rights, international humanitarian law, internationalized criminal tribunals, judicial independence, liberty & security of person, military and humanitarian intervention, persons with disabilities, privacy, property, reparations, right to life, security & rule of law, thought, expression & association, transitional justice, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Human Rights Council, UN Special Procedures, UN treaty bodies, women's rights

On September 16, 2015, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, released a report on the human rights violations, including unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, and gender-based violence, committed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and Sri Lankan government forces from 2002-2011. See Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Report of the OHCHR

Human Rights Council Adopts Landmark Resolution Regulating Private Education Providers

July 22, 2015 IJRC children, civil society, discrimination, economic, social & cultural rights, international human rights, reparations, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Human Rights Council, UN Special Procedures, UN treaty bodies, women's rights

On July 1, 2015, the United Nations Human Rights Council met in Geneva and adopted a landmark resolution urging States to monitor and regulate private education providers. The resolution aims to address the emergence of large-scale for-profit “low cost” private school chains that target poor families in developing countries and compromise the right to education. See UN Human Rights Council, Resolution

Human Rights Council Addresses Discrimination, Conflict, and Children

March 3, 2015 IJRC children, discrimination, international human rights, international humanitarian law, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Human Rights Council, UN Special Procedures, Universal Periodic Review

From March 2 to 27, the United Nations Human Rights Council is holding its 28th regular session in Geneva, Switzerland. The agenda includes high-level panel discussions, interactive dialogues with special procedures, debates on racial discrimination and on the rights of persons with disabilities, and the consideration of Universal Periodic Review (UPR) outcomes. The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner

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:

The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination reviews the United States

Human Rights Bodies Respond to Killings by Police in U.S.

December 12, 2014 IJRC crime & impunity, discrimination, due process & judicial protection, extrajudicial executions, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Special Procedures, UN treaty bodies

Recent decisions by two grand juries in the United States not to indict white police officers for the shooting deaths of two black men, Eric Garner in New York and Michael Brown in Missouri, have sparked “legitimate concerns” about American police practices among United Nations human rights experts. [UN News Centre] The deaths of Garner and Brown in separate incidents