International Justice Resource Center

News Clips- October 14, 2016

October 14, 2016 IJRC armed conflict, Asia, assembly and association, democracy & political rights, discrimination, domestic courts, economic, social & cultural rights, human rights defenders, immigration & asylum, International Criminal Court, international criminal law, international human rights, migrants, News Clips, right to life, thought, expression & association, U.S. courts, UN General Assembly, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Special Procedures, Universal system, women's rights

Civil Society The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concern over intimidation of human rights defenders in Kyrgyzstan. [United Nations in the Kyrgyz Republic] Demonstrators in Colombia are demanding that the peace deal between the government and FARC is upheld. [BBC] The Ethiopian government this week denied the use of extreme force against protesters in the country.

UN Mandate Created to Reduce Reprisals Against Human Rights Defenders

October 13, 2016 IJRC civil society, human rights defenders, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Special Procedures, Universal system

On October 3, 2016, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in consultation with the High Commissioner for Human Rights, announced a new mandate for the Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights, Andrew Gilmour, to lead UN work on ending intimidation and reprisals against human rights defenders. [United Nations Information Centre] In a recent report, Ban Ki-moon emphasized the range

Inter-American Commission: Funds Secured to Temporarily Mitigate Financial Crisis

October 12, 2016 IJRC civil society, due process & judicial protection, Inter-American System, international human rights

After a severe financial crisis threatened to effectively shut down major operations at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) this year, the IACHR recently announced that the immediate crisis is now over. Many States and other entities have agreed to donate funds, allowing the IACHR to salvage its budget and continue operating. Because the IACHR has overcome the crisis,

Colombians Reject Peace Deal Heralded by International Community, Negotiations Continue

October 11, 2016 IJRC armed conflict, enforced disappearance, extrajudicial executions, human rights defenders, Inter-American System, international human rights, international humanitarian law, massacres, security & rule of law, torture, transitional justice, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

On Sunday, October 2, 2016 Colombians headed to the polls to vote on a peace agreement to end the 52-year war with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerillas. [The Guardian: Voters] Contrary to what the polls had predicted, the peace deal referendum was rejected by a 0.4 percent margin. [The Guardian: Voters] The deal was the result of

News Clips- October 7, 2016

October 7, 2016 IJRC armed conflict, assembly and association, due process & judicial protection, economic, social & cultural rights, immigration & asylum, international human rights, migrants, military and humanitarian intervention, News Clips, right to life, thought, expression & association, UN Human Rights Council, UN Security Council, Universal system

Civil Society After demonstrators in Poland protested a new law to ban abortion early this week, a parliamentary committee recommended parliament vote against the bill. [Guardian] Anti-government protests continued in Ethiopia this week after tear gas and shots from the police instigated a stampede at a religious festival last weekend, trampling between 55 and over 100 people. [Al Jazeera] The authorities

ICC Convicts Al-Mahdi of War Crime for Destroying Cultural Sites

October 5, 2016 IJRC armed conflict, International Criminal Court, international criminal law

On 27 September 2016, the International Criminal Court (ICC), in its first-ever case regarding the war crime of attacking protected objects, found Ahmad Al-Mahdi guilty as a co-perpetrator of the destruction of 10 religious and historic sites in Timbuktu, Mali and sentenced him to nine years’ imprisonment. See ICC, Prosecutor v. Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi, ICC-01/12-01/15, Judgment and Sentence,

Inter-American Commission Refers Four Cases to Inter-American Court

October 4, 2016 IJRC assembly and association, children, crime & impunity, due process & judicial protection, economic, social & cultural rights, health, indigenous communities, Inter-American System, international human rights, massacres, regional human rights protection, right to life, women's rights

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has referred four cases over the last two months to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) involving Mexico, Chile, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. Two of the cases, against Mexico and Nicaragua, involve sexual violence against women and girls. The case against Chile concerns the need to obtain informed consent prior to medical proceedings

October 2016: UN Treaty Bodies, UPR, Regional Bodies in Session

October 3, 2016 IJRC African System, children, discrimination, economic, social & cultural rights, enforced disappearance, European System, Inter-American System, international human rights, monthly overview, regional human rights protection, right to life, UN Human Rights Council, UN Special Procedures, UN treaty bodies, Universal Periodic Review, Universal system, women's rights

During the month of October 2016, numerous universal and regional human rights bodies will assess States’ compliance with their human rights obligations, visit countries, and hold hearings on individual complaints. Five UN treaty bodies meeting this month will engage in dialogues with States regarding their implementation of treaty obligations related to civil and political rights; economic, social, and cultural rights;

September 2016 News from IJRC

October 3, 2016 IJRC African System, due process & judicial protection, European System, IJRC Newsletter, IJRC Updates, immigration & asylum, Inter-American System, international criminal law, international human rights, internationalized criminal tribunals, migrants, regional human rights protection, right to life, UN treaty bodies

Read our September 2016 newsletter for the latest human rights news, details of our recent training, new additions to the Online Resource Hub, and more.

News Clips- September 30, 2016

September 30, 2016 IJRC armed conflict, Asia, assembly and association, children, civil society, cultural rights, death penalty, democracy & political rights, discrimination, economic, social & cultural rights, environmental rights, extrajudicial executions, human rights defenders, Inter-American System, International Criminal Court, international criminal law, international human rights, News Clips, persons with disabilities, regional human rights protection, right to life, thought, expression & association, UN Special Procedures, UN treaty bodies, Universal system

Civil Society A court in China sentenced three activists to three years imprisonment in one case and over a year for the other two individuals. [Jurist] The Facebook accounts of Palestinian journalists who work in occupied Palestinian territories were frozen last week. [Al Jazeera] United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association called