In South Sudan, opposing armed forces backing President Kirr and Vice President Machar may have committed war crimes by attacking civilians and humanitarian personnel and facilities in recent weeks, according to UN representatives, prompting a decision by the African Union to send additional troops to join the UN peacekeeping force there. [NPR; UN News Centre: Juba; OHCHR Press Briefing] Renewed
Read moreCategory: UN treaty bodies
News Clips – July 8, 2016
Human Rights Bodies’ Activities The UN Human Rights Council has adopted a resolution supporting online users’ human rights and criticizing internet shutdowns. [Access Now; TechCrunch] The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women met with civil society representatives from the Philippines, Myanmar, and France ahead of those States’ interactive dialogues with the CEDAW Committee, which also took place this week as it
Read moreJuly 2016: UN and European Bodies Meet, IACHR Session Canceled
During July 2016, the European Committee of Social Rights and the United Nations human rights treaty bodies focused on civil and political rights, discrimination against women, and torture will convene to review States’ compliance with their treaty obligations. Additionally, the UN experts on freedom of assembly and association and on the rights of persons with disabilities will carry out country visits
Read moreNews Clips- June 17, 2016
Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) heard from civil society organizations on adherence to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights by the United Kingdom, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Angola. [OHCHR Press Release] As the French government debated a new labor bill that would ease restrictions on
Read moreJune 2016: Human Rights Bodies’ Sessions, Hearings, and Country Visits
During the month of June 2016, supranational human rights bodies’ activities will include discussion of broad human rights concerns, assessment of specific States’ practices, and visits to three countries. Two political organs, the United Nations Human Rights Council and Organization of American States General Assembly, will convene to debate issues of concern to their Member States; the latter is also
Read moreDeterioration of Rights Environment in Turkey Violates International Obligations
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
Read moreUN Committee Finds Denial of Accommodation for Jury Duty Discriminatory
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) recently found that Australia violated the rights of two deaf people who were called up for jury service but told that they could not participate because sign language or real-time steno-captioning could not be provided. See CRPD, Gemma Beasley v. Australia, Communication No. 11/2013, Views of 25 April
Read moreMay 2016: Human Rights Bodies’ Sessions, Hearings, and Country Visits
During the month of May 2016, supranational human rights bodies’ activities will include review of dozens of States’ compliance with their treaty obligations, public hearings on individual complaints, and 11 country visits. The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) will hear a Finnish case concerning the tension between privacy and freedom of expression and a Belgian case
Read moreApril 2016: African, Inter-American, and Universal Human Rights Sessions
During the month of April 2016, six supranational human rights bodies will be in session. These include three regional human rights monitoring bodies: the Inter-American Court on Human Rights (IACtHR), the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR). Each will consider pending cases and human rights topics of concern in their
Read moreCESCR Issues Guidance on Right to Sexual and Reproductive Health
The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) recently issued a General Comment explaining States’ duties to ensure the right to sexual and reproductive health, as an integral part of the right to health protected by Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). See Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment
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