The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) announced yesterday that it has updated its country-specific Factsheets to include new information on pending and resolved cases, as well as its caseload statistics. This State-specific information provides valuable insights into the types of human rights problems being raised before the Court in each Council of Europe Member State, the nature and effectiveness of victims’ and advocates’ engagement
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Inter-American Commission Launches Online System for Requesting Meetings and Hearings, As New Rules of Procedure Take Effect
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has unveiled a new, online system through which victims and advocates will now be able to request working meetings and hearings related to pending petitions, as well as thematic hearings. Previously, the Commission received such requests by letter or email; going forward, the new online system will be the exclusive method for requesting
Read moreRiots in France over Veil Ban Prompt Continued Discussion of Freedom of Expression and Religion, Stigmatization of Muslim Women
For the moment, the riots in France over the public ban on face veils have abated, but public discussion of the law’s possible infringement on freedom of religion continues. The riots, which began on July 19 in Trappes, a suburb west of Paris, were prompted by the arrest of a man whose wife was ticketed for wearing a face veil
Read moreCalifornia Prisoners Continue Hunger Strike to Protest Long-Term Isolation, as Human Rights Bodies Urge Reform
In a press release published on July 18, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expressed its concern regarding the causes behind an organized hunger strike taking place in prisons throughout California. The hunger strike, which began July 8, was organized to protest solitary confinement usage and conditions throughout the state’s prisons. 4,527 inmates are currently being held in solitary
Read moreUN Working Group Finds Guantanamo Detainee’s Continued Detention to be Arbitrary, Recommends Release
Ranjana Natarajan contributes this guest post on a recent notable decision by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention regarding a complaint presented by Guantanamo Bay detainee Obaidullah, who was represented before the Working Group by the University of Texas School of Law‘s National Security Clinic and Human Rights Clinic.
Read moreInternational Community Urges Egyptian Authorities to Respect Rule of Law and Human Rights, amid Mixed Reactions to President’s Ouster
Immediately following the military-led ouster of Mohamed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president, and amidst clashes between authorities and protesters, supranational bodies urged all parties involved to respect human rights and adhere to the rule of law. Morsi, an Islamist politician elected in June 2012 following the revolution that toppled Hosni Mubarak, faced increasing public opposition as he expanded executive
Read moreECtHR Finds Mandatory Life Imprisonment without Possibility of Review or Release Violates European Human Rights Convention
In a highly anticipated judgment, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has ruled, in Vinter and Others v. the United Kingdom [GC], nos. 66069/09, 130/10 and 3896/10, Judgment of 9 July 2013, that the “whole life orders” imposed on the applicants violated Article 3 (torture or inhuman treatment) of the European Convention on Human Rights because UK law
Read moreUN Working Group to Hold First Meeting on Draft Declaration on Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas
The United Nations is one step closer to specially protecting the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas, as the open-ended intergovernmental Working Group on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas prepares to hold its first meeting. [OHCHR] Underscoring the need to achieve the Millennium Development Goals to eradicate poverty and hunger by
Read moreIn First Judgment on the Merits, African Court Finds Tanzania Violated Citizens’ Right to Participate in Democracy by Prohibiting Independent Candidates
In a major victory for advocates of a more participatory and representative Tanzanian government, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights recently issued its first merits decision, in which it held that Tanzania had violated its citizens’ rights to freely participate in government directly or through representatives regardless of their party affiliation. The decision ordered Tanzania to take constitutional,
Read moreReflecting on the Vienna Declaration 20 Years Later
Last week, human rights defenders and the United Nations commemorated the 20th anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Program of Action and the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights with parallel international conferences reflecting on advances in human rights over the past two decades. Though not legally binding itself, the Vienna Declaration reiterated basic civil, political, and economic freedoms enshrined in
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