International Justice Resource Center

April 2017: Eight UN Working Groups, Treaty Bodies in Session

April 3, 2017 IJRC discrimination, economic, social & cultural rights, environmental rights, health, indigenous communities, international human rights, labor rights, liberty & security of person, migrants, monthly overview, persons with disabilities, torture, UN Special Procedures, UN treaty bodies, Universal system

In the month of April, various universal bodies will assess States’ compliance with their human rights obligations by conducting country visits, engaging in interactive dialogues, and reviewing reports from States and civil society. Four United Nations treaty bodies will meet to engage with States regarding their treaty obligations pertaining to the rights of persons with disabilities, the rights of migrants,

News Clips- March 31, 2017

March 31, 2017 IJRC armed conflict, assembly and association, democracy & political rights, discrimination, European System, human rights defenders, International Criminal Court, international criminal law, international human rights, labor rights, migrants, News Clips, regional human rights protection, right to life, thought, expression & association, Universal system

Civil Society This week, hundreds of people in Johannesburg, South Africa protested recent xenophobic attacks. [Al Jazeera] On Tuesday, 17 anti-deportation protesters locked themselves to an aircraft due to remove asylum seekers from the United Kingdom to Nigeria and Ghana. [Guardian] Lawyers and activists allege Russian authorities in Crimea are detaining and abusing human rights activists in psychiatric hospitals. [Guardian]

ICC Issues Sentences for Witness Tampering, Orders Payment of Reparations

March 28, 2017 IJRC International Criminal Court, international criminal law, reparations

Last week, in two separate cases, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued its first decision on sentences for witness tampering and first order for a convicted war criminal to pay reparations to victims. A chamber of the ICC delivered a decision on March 22 regarding the sentences of five convicted individuals in the case of The Prosecutor v. Jean-Pierre Bemba

News Clips- March 24, 2017

March 24, 2017 IJRC African System, armed conflict, assembly and association, civil society, discrimination, economic, social & cultural rights, environmental rights, immigration & asylum, Inter-American System, international human rights, LGBTI rights, migrants, News Clips, regional human rights protection, right to life, thought, expression & association, Universal system

Civil Society On Thursday, a civil society organization called for an end to the targeting, prosecuting, and detention of journalists in Belarus. [Committee to Protect Journalists] On Wednesday, activists, politicians, and religious leaders protested unfair elections in Zimbabwe. [Fox News] This week in Macedonia, an estimated 50,000 individuals protested a potential coalition government, which includes Social Democrats and ethnic Albanians. [DW

IACHR Holds Hearing on U.S. Executive Orders, U.S. Fails to Appear

March 23, 2017 IJRC assembly and association, civil society, economic, social & cultural rights, environmental rights, freedom of religion, IJRC Updates, immigration & asylum, Inter-American System, international human rights, liberty & security of person, migrants, regional human rights protection, thought, expression & association

On March 21st, the International Justice Resource Center (IJRC) was among the civil society organizations that appeared before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in Washington, D.C. to address the “travel ban” and two other United States executive orders in a hearing held at the IACHR’s own initiative. In a remarkable departure from recent administrations’ engagement with the region’s

Guterres Reveals Strategy to Address Sexual Exploitation by UN Peacekeepers

March 21, 2017 IJRC crime & impunity, international human rights, reproductive and sexual rights, Universal system, women's rights

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres released a report on February 28 detailing his strategy to prevent and respond to sexual exploitation and abuse perpetrated by UN peacekeepers against vulnerable communities. See UN Secretary General, Special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and abuse: a new approach, UN Doc. A/71/818, 28 February 2017. The report comes less than three months

ECJ: Employer’s Objective Rule, Not Customer Preferences May Prohibit Headscarf

March 20, 2017 IJRC European System, freedom of religion, international human rights, labor rights

In two separate opinions issued this week, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) found that while an employer may prohibit a Muslim woman from wearing a headscarf at work through a rule applied consistently to all religious beliefs, an employer may not prohibit a Muslim woman from wearing religious clothing based on a customer’s preferences. These are the first cases

News Clips – March 17, 2017

March 17, 2017 IJRC Asia, assembly and association, civil society, discrimination, domestic courts, economic, social & cultural rights, education, European System, freedom of religion, immigration & asylum, Inter-American System, international criminal law, international human rights, labor rights, LGBTI rights, migrants, News Clips, persons with disabilities, regional human rights protection, reproductive and sexual rights, thought, expression & association, U.S. courts, UN treaty bodies, universal jurisdiction, Universal system, women's rights

International Criminal Law The Colombian Senate voted to approve the establishment of a court with jurisdiction over war crimes, fulfilling one part of the recent peace deal with the FARC. [VOA] A court in Poland issued an arrest warrant for a man living in the United States for war crimes committed during World War II. [Washington Post] Civil Society After

ECtHR: Holding Prisoners in Facilities Far from Family Violates Rights

March 14, 2017 IJRC European System, family, international human rights, liberty & security of person, regional human rights protection

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued a unanimous judgment on March 7 holding that imprisoning individuals thousands of miles away from their families violates their right to private and family life protected under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). See ECtHR, Polyakova and Others v. Russia, Nos. 35090/09, 35845/11, 45694/13, 59747/14, Judgment of 7

African Union: Despite Progress Women Still Lack Equality, Basic Rights

March 13, 2017 IJRC African System, children, democracy & political rights, discrimination, economic, social & cultural rights, education, equal protection, family, health, international human rights, labor rights, liberty & security of person, property, regional human rights protection, reproductive and sexual rights, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Universal system, women's rights

Ahead of International Women’s Day, the African Union in conjunction with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and UN Women launched the inaugural report of a planned series concerning the human rights of women in Africa; the report indicates that while women’s participation in politics has increased, women’s rights and equality are severely lacking