In March 2021, various regional and United Nations bodies are meeting – mostly virtually – to continue their oversight and monitoring of human rights conditions. The regional bodies in session will include the European Committee of Social Rights, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and its counterpart Court, the Human Rights Council, and the UN human rights treaty bodies focused on
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In February 2021, various regional and United Nations bodies are meeting – mostly virtually – to continue their oversight and monitoring of human rights conditions. The regional bodies in session will include the African human rights court and commission, Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The United Nations bodies in session include the Human Rights Council and the UN human rights treaty
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The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has published a new practical guide on access to education in the context of COVID-19, the latest in a string of recent thematic publications and its second practical guide on the pandemic. [IACHR Press Release] The IACHR Rapid and Integrated Response Coordination Unit (SACROI) produced the guide in collaboration with the IACHR special
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In January, regional and United Nations bodies will convene – mostly virtually – to continue their oversight of States’ implementation of their human rights commitments. The bodies in session are the European Court of Human Rights, European Committee of Social Rights, Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Committee on the Rights of the Child, and Working Group on the Universal Periodic
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On this day in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, recognizing the inherent dignity and fundamental rights of all human beings. In May of that year, the countries of the Americas adopted a similar text, the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man. Both instruments reflect an understanding that life lacks
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On December 4, 2020, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR) published and delivered an advisory opinion declaring national laws that criminalize vagrancy to be incompatible with human rights standards. [AfCHPR Press Release] The opinion concludes that laws that essentially criminalize homelessness, poverty, or unemployment are overly broad and allow for abuse. The Court held that such laws
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In December 2020, various regional and United Nations bodies will convene, virtually, to continue their oversight of States’ implementation of their human rights commitments. The bodies in session will include the African, European, and Inter-American human rights oversight bodies; the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent; and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
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Following ratifications by Mexico and Argentina, the Escazú Agreement will enter into force 90 days from when both States have deposited their ratifications. The treaty is the first to address environmental contamination, natural resource governance, and human rights in Latin America and the Caribbean. It recognizes a human right to live in a healthy environment, protects environmental defenders, and ensures
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In November 2020, various regional and United Nations bodies will convene – mostly virtually – to continue their oversight of States’ implementation of their human rights commitments. The bodies in session will include the African and Inter-American human rights courts, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, Human Rights Committee, and the Committee
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In a new judgment, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) condemned the use of racial profiling in the 1996 arrest of José Delfín Acosta Martínez, a Black man who then died after being badly injured in police custody. [IACtHR Press Release (Spanish)] The Court called attention to the general context of racial discrimination, police violence, and racial profiling in
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