The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) recently released 21 opinions adopted during its August 2016 session, relating to 58 individuals in detention in 17 countries. [OHCHR Press Release] The opinions covered several topics within the WGAD’s mandate, including the treatment of minors in detention, the right to a fair trial, the rights to freedom of expression and
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Civil Society Following protests over the weekend and statements from the United Nations, Turkey withdrew a bill that would have granted amnesty to some perpetrators of child sexual assault. [Guardian] Thousands of protesters in Malaysia demonstrated against the prime minister, resulting in 15 arrests. [Washington Post] Authorities have started using tear gas and water cannons against refugee protesters in Bulgaria.
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The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) held on November 8 that Hungary violated the right to receive and impart information as guaranteed under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) by refusing to provide requested information to an international human rights non-governmental organization (NGO). See ECtHR, Magyar Helsinki Bizottság v. Hungary [GC], no. 18030/11, ECHR
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The United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea has again called on the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Eritrea to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for adjudication of possible crimes against humanity committed by State officials since 1991. Speaking on behalf of the former three-member commission, whose mandate ended in June 2016, Sheila Keetharuth
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Civil Society After recent protests in Argentina over the murder and rape of a teenage girl, two women who participated in the protest were murdered this week, causing civil society to argue that femicides and gender-based violence are on the rise. [Guardian] The police in South Africa this week used water canons, tear gas, and stun grenades against students protesting
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The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) has, at Panama’s request, published an advisory opinion concerning the rights of legal entities, particularly whether the American Convention on Human Rights protects the rights of trade unions, cooperatives, associations, and companies, or whether the American Convention on Human Rights’ definition of “person” is limited to human beings. See I/A Court H.R., Titularidad
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On October 11, 2016, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) unanimously held that the government of Russia violated the rights of Garri Kasparov, a political activist and well-known chess player, to liberty and security of person and to freedom of assembly under articles 5 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights. See ECtHR, Kasparov v. Russia, no.
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In response to the continued suppression of protests in Ethiopia, international and regional human rights bodies as well as political figures have voiced their concerns and called for investigations into the government’s use of force. These observers question police tactics against anti-government peaceful protesters, who have been demonstrating during the last year against the expansion of the capital’s borders and
Read moreCitlalli Ochoa is currently a Practitioner-in-Residence with the International Human Rights Law Clinic at American University Washington College of Law. Previously, she was an Employment Law Staff Attorney at Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County and an Adjunct Professor in the Workers’ Rights Clinic at Loyola Law School. Citlalli first joined IJRC as an International Human Rights Law Fellow
Read moreJess Temple joined the International Justice Resource Center as a law fellow in September 2016. She received her J.D. from UCLA School of Law, where she completed the specialization in International and Comparative Law with honors. She received her B.A. in political science and psychology at UC Santa Cruz. Prior to joining IJRC, Jess worked as an associate with the
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