International Justice Resource Center

African Human Rights Commission Launches Campaign to Decriminalize Abortion

February 2, 2016 IJRC African System, children, economic, social & cultural rights, family, international human rights, reproductive and sexual rights, women's rights

On January 18, 2016, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) announced that, through the Special Rapporteur on Rights of Women in Africa, it will be launching a continental Campaign for the Decriminalization of Abortion in Africa. [ACHPR Press Release] Of the ACHPR’s 57 Member States, 25 reportedly have legislation in place that either completely prohibits abortion or

European Committee Finds Numerous Violations in Protection of Social Rights

February 1, 2016 IJRC children, discrimination, economic, social & cultural rights, European System, family, immigration & asylum, international human rights, labor rights, migrants, reproductive and sexual rights, women's rights

On January 27, 2016 the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR or the Committee) published its 2015 conclusions regarding 31 States’ implementation of the European Social Charter’s provisions related to the rights of children, families, and migrants. It found 239 instances in which governments’ policies and practices failed to adequately protect these rights. [ECSR Press Release] The Committee also reiterated 38

Recent Developments at Khmer Rouge Tribunal Draw Praise, Criticism

January 28, 2016 IJRC armed conflict, due process & judicial protection, extrajudicial executions, international criminal law, international human rights, international humanitarian law, internationalized criminal tribunals, massacres

Amid recent developments, legal experts have both lauded and criticized the proceedings of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), the tribunal established jointly by Cambodia and the United Nations to prosecute those most responsible for crimes against humanity and other atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s. While welcoming progress that has included charges against

ICTY Orders Retrial of Two Acquitted Defendants, Pursues Contempt Charges

January 25, 2016 IJRC armed conflict, due process & judicial protection, ICTY, international criminal law, international human rights, international humanitarian law

On December 15, 2015, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) overturned the Trial Chamber’s decision to acquit two high-level Serbian government officials charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with the forced displacement of non-Serbs from Bosnia and Croatia, and ordered their retrial. The officials, Jovica Stanišić and Franko Simatović,

January Human Rights Sessions Include Focus on Children’s Rights

January 21, 2016 IJRC children, civil society, economic, social & cultural rights, environmental rights, European System, family, international human rights, migrants, UN Economic and Social Council, UN Human Rights Council, UN treaty bodies, Universal Periodic Review, Universal system

During the month of January 2016, a number of bodies will be in session whose mandates are relevant to the protection of human rights. These include one regional human rights monitoring body, the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR), in addition to four United Nations mechanisms: the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Working Group on the Universal Periodic

European Court of Human Rights Imposes New Requirements for Complaints

January 20, 2016 IJRC European System

Beginning on January 1, 2016, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) will require individuals and entities submitting complaints of alleged human rights violations to use a new application form and to provide additional information regarding their representation before the tribunal. [ECtHR Press Release] By amending Rule 47 of the Rules of the Court, the Court now formally requires applicants to

ICTR Reduces Butare Defendants’ Sentences in Last Judgment before Closing

January 19, 2016 IJRC armed conflict, due process & judicial protection, ICTR, international criminal law, international humanitarian law, massacres, thought, expression & association, UN Security Council

After more than 20 years of prosecuting those most responsible for the Rwandan genocide of 1994, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) has issued its final judgment and closed its doors. [The Citizen] In its forty-fifth and final judgment, delivered on December 14, 2015, the Appeals Chamber decided appeals from six defendants previously convicted by the Trial Chamber. [BBC]

European Court: Russian Interception of Mobile Phone Communications Violates Convention

January 14, 2016 IJRC due process & judicial protection, European System, international human rights, privacy, thought, expression & association

On December 4, 2015, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) issued its judgment in the case of Zakharov v. Russia, concerning the compatibility of Russia’s secret surveillance of mobile phone communications with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. See ECtHR, Zakharov v. Russia [GC], no. 47143/06, Judgment of 4 December 2015. The case was

AU-EU Meetings Emphasize Cooperation to Protect Human Rights

January 11, 2016 IJRC African System, civil society, crime & impunity, democracy & political rights, European System, human rights defenders, international human rights, military and humanitarian intervention, regional human rights protection, thought, expression & association, women's rights

In November 2015, representatives of African and European intergovernmental organizations and civil society gathered in Rwanda for the 11th African Union – European Union (AU-EU) Human Rights Dialogue, a platform for sharing experiences concerning human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. Participants in the Human Rights Dialogue, which was held in Kigali on November 24, 2015, included the Hon.

Paris Climate Change Agreement Lauded, but Feared Not Strong Enough

January 8, 2016 IJRC economic, social & cultural rights, environmental rights, human rights defenders, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UN Special Procedures, Universal system

The 21st session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21) concluded on December 12, 2015 with the adoption of the Paris Agreement, described as the first universal, legally binding instrument to impose specific obligations on both developed and developing nations to address climate change. [Earth Justice Press Release; BBC] The agreement will