International Justice Resource Center

European Human Rights Body Reviews Four Countries, Finds Discriminatory Practices

March 7, 2017 IJRC children, cultural rights, discrimination, economic, social & cultural rights, education, equal protection, European System, health, immigration & asylum, international human rights, migrants, regional human rights protection

In recently published country reports on Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, and Luxembourg, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) found several areas in which migrants, Roma communities, LGBTI persons, and other minorities are susceptible to discrimination and unequal treatment. [COE Press Release: ECRI] In each report, the ECRI – an independent human rights body of the Council of Europe

ILO Finds Asian Countries Inconsistently Protect Indigenous Peoples’ Rights

March 6, 2017 IJRC Asia, cultural rights, democracy & political rights, economic, social & cultural rights, education, environmental rights, health, human rights defenders, ILO, indigenous communities, international human rights, Universal system

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has identified trends in national policy in Asia that deny indigenous peoples certain rights, such as to property and to consultation, in a recent human rights-based review of the region’s domestic laws. See ILO, The right of indigenous peoples in Asia, Human rights-based overview of national legal and policy frameworks against the backdrop of country

News Clips- March 3, 2017

March 3, 2017 IJRC armed conflict, assembly and association, children, civil society, discrimination, domestic courts, family, human rights defenders, immigration & asylum, international criminal law, international human rights, international humanitarian law, LGBTI rights, migrants, News Clips, right to life, thought, expression & association, Universal system

Civil Society On Wednesday, Russian security officials raided the home of well-known journalist and human rights defender Zoya Svetova. [Committee to Protect Journalists] On Tuesday, hundreds protested the evacuation of settlers from homes in the West Bank settlement of Ofra, after courts found the homes were built on Palestinian land in violation of the law. [CNN] Last Friday, United States

UN Finds Libyan Trial Violated Rights of Gaddafi Regime Members

February 28, 2017 IJRC African System, domestic courts, due process & judicial protection, international criminal law, international human rights, liberty & security of person, regional human rights protection, torture, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Universal system

In a report published on February 21, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) concluded that the trial of 37 former members of the Gaddafi regime, including Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, failed to meet international due process standards. See UNSMIL & OHCHR, Report on the Trial of

March 2017: United Nations and Regional Human Rights Bodies in Session

February 27, 2017 IJRC African System, children, civil society, cultural rights, economic, social & cultural rights, European System, health, indigenous communities, Inter-American System, international human rights, judicial independence, LGBTI rights, liberty & security of person, monthly overview, persons with disabilities, regional human rights protection, reproductive and sexual rights, UN Human Rights Council, UN Special Procedures, UN treaty bodies, Universal system, women's rights

In the month of March 2017, various universal and regional bodies and experts will assess States’ compliance with their human rights obligations through consideration of State and civil society reports, country visits, review of individual complaints, and deliberation over thematic reports. Five United Nations treaty bodies will meet to engage with States regarding their treaty obligations related to economic, social,

News Clips- February 24, 2017

February 24, 2017 IJRC armed conflict, Asia, assembly and association, children, civil society, crime & impunity, democracy & political rights, discrimination, domestic courts, economic, social & cultural rights, environmental rights, equal protection, freedom of religion, health, International Criminal Court, international criminal law, international human rights, liberty & security of person, migrants, News Clips, right to life, thought, expression & association, Universal system

Civil Society This week, civil society reported that journalist Shamael Al-Bur has been attacked and threatened by radical Islamists in response to her column criticizing Sudan’s spending on health and education. [Reporters Without Borders] On Wednesday, ten protesters in the United States were arrested during the closure of the Dakota Access pipeline central camp. [Guardian] On Thursday, eight demonstrators were

European Court: Syrian Migrant Faces Threat to Life Upon Return

February 22, 2017 IJRC armed conflict, due process & judicial protection, European System, immigration & asylum, liberty & security of person, migrants, regional human rights protection, right to life, torture

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued a unanimous decision on Tuesday, February 14 preventing Russian authorities from removing a Syrian national to his home country because the security and humanitarian situation in Syria poses a threat to the rights to life and prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment. [ECtHR: Press Release] In addition to finding violations of

Yemeni Civilians Suffer Famine, Mass Casualties in Ongoing War

February 21, 2017 IJRC armed conflict, children, crime & impunity, economic, social & cultural rights, education, health, international criminal law, international human rights, liberty & security of person, right to life, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Universal system, women's rights

Due in large part to an ongoing civil war as well as high levels of poverty, civilians in Yemen face a worsening food crisis, death and injury due to direct targeting in the conflict, and other human rights abuses, including forced displacement, sexual abuse, child marriage, and harassment of journalists and human rights defenders. [UN News Centre; OHCHR Press Release]

New Clips- February 17, 2017

February 17, 2017 IJRC armed conflict, assembly and association, civil society, crime & impunity, democracy & political rights, discrimination, economic, social & cultural rights, environmental rights, International Criminal Court, international criminal law, international human rights, labor rights, migrants, News Clips, right to life, thought, expression & association, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Universal system

Civil Society On Wednesday, the Court of Appeals in Kenya released seven imprisoned doctors’ union officials who had been jailed in relation to a strike demanding promised wage increases. [Washington Post] On Sunday, more than 60,000 Romanians protested for the 13th consecutive day in Bucharest, Romania, prompting the Romanian parliament to agree to a national referendum on anti-corruption reforms. [Al

OHCHR Reports Unprecedented Violence Against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar

February 15, 2017 IJRC Asia, children, crime & impunity, discrimination, due process & judicial protection, economic, social & cultural rights, education, enforced disappearance, equal protection, extrajudicial executions, family, freedom of religion, health, immigration & asylum, international criminal law, liberty & security of person, migrants, reproductive and sexual rights, right to life, torture, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Universal system, women's rights

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recently published its findings from over 200 interviews with Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh that described severe human rights violations against Rohingya in Myanmar since an October 9, 2016 attack on the police in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. See OHCHR, Report of the OHCHR mission to Bangladesh: Interviews with Rohingyas fleeing from