As the Inter-American Court of Human Rights holds its 44th Extraordinary Session in Barbados from October 10 to 14, it will hear arguments in the case of Fornerón v. Argentina (paternal consent in adoption proceedings) and host a seminar and roundtable discussion focused on Caribbean engagement with the Inter-American System. This session marks the first time the Court has convened
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World Day against the Death Penalty: Executions Criticized in U.S., Saudi Arabia
In connection with October 10, World Day against the Death Penalty, the ECHR published a “Death penalty abolition” factsheet detailing its caselaw on the subject. [ECHR] Human Rights Watch urged all States to abandon capital punishment, a penalty which is legal in 34 U.S. states and remains in the spotlight in the weeks following the executions of Troy Davis and
Read moreECCC Judge Resigns Amid Complaints of Inactivity, Outside Influence in Khmer Rouge Trials
German national, Judge Siegfried Blunk has resigned from his post at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, the U.N.-backed internationalized criminal tribunal charged with investigating and trying perpetrators of crimes committed during the rule of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia the 1970s. His resignation comes one week after Human Rights Watch criticized ECCC judges Blunk and You for
Read moreNews Clips – October 11, 2011
In the wake of the killing of Al-Qaida militant and U.S. citizen Anwar al-Awlaki in late September by a U.S. drone strike in Yemen, many have questioned the Obama Administration’s legal justification for killing U.S. citizens and others outside combat zones, as discussed by IJRC Board member Jamil Dakwar in “State Sanctioned Killings”, published in the ezine Jadaliyya last Friday.
Read moreECHR Decisions in Torture Cases (Article 3) : July 2011
Cases compiled by IJRC contributor Carmi Lecker 1. Huseyn and Others v. Azerbaijan: Criminal proceedings against four opposition activists for allegedly inciting demonstrators to violence were unfair In Huseyn and Others v. Azerbaijan (application nos. 35485/05, 45553/05, 35680/05 and 36085/05), the European Court of Human Rights found the application inadmissible on the merits where the applicants’ allegations of torture and poor
Read moreDR Congo Needs Stronger Judiciary to Fight Impunity for Int'l Crimes, Amnesty Reports
A report published by Amnesty International last week asserts that the Democratic Republic of Congo must strengthen its judicial system in order to ensure adherence to due process, hold perpetrators accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and offer justice and reparation to victims. The Time for Justice is Now: New Strategy Needed in the Democratic Republic of the
Read moreGrowing Trend of Attacks on Health Care Workers in Conflict Zones Puts Millions at Risk, Violates International Law
The International Committee of the Red Cross issued a report earlier this week examining 655 incidents of violence involving medical aid in conflict zones, which the organization says is part of a wider, growing trend of attacks against medical personnel and infrastructure that is hindering the provision of emergency healthcare to communities in need and violates international humanitarian law. [AP]
Read moreCivil Society Describes Human Rights Concerns in Syria, Venezuela, 14 Other States, in Lead Up to October Universal Periodic Review
Sixteen United Nations Member States face the Universal Periodic Review of their human rights records in October of this year, among them Syria, Zimbabwe, East Timor, Uganda and Venezuela. Other countries to go before the UPR in October are: Tajikistan, Tanzania, Antigua and Barbuda, Swaziland, Trinidad and Tobago, Thailand, Togo, Iceland, Lithuania, and Moldova. Some States’ national reports are already
Read moreColombia Apologizes for 1994 Extrajudicial Execution of Political Party Leader
Colombia issued a public apology, recognizing its international responsibility for the 1994 extrajudicial execution of communist Senator Manuel Cepeda Vargas in accordance with a judgment issued against the State by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. [IACHR; El Tiempo] The state’s apology was one of the measures of reparation ordered by the Court last year. The Inter-American Commission had alleged, and the
Read moreRight to Prior Consultation Highlighted on International Day of Indigenous Peoples
On August 9, the International Day of Indigenous Peoples, the Inter-American Commission and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights highlighted the importance of procedural safeguards that adequately protect indigenous communities’ land rights and way of life – including the right to prior consultation on projects or policies that will impact them. [IACHR; OHCHR] The right to prior consultation is also
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