Recent decisions by two grand juries in the United States not to indict white police officers for the shooting deaths of two black men, Eric Garner in New York and Michael Brown in Missouri, have sparked “legitimate concerns” about American police practices among United Nations human rights experts. [UN News Centre] The deaths of Garner and Brown in separate incidents
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Fourteen States had their human rights records examined during the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group’s 20th session in Geneva, Switzerland from October 27 to November 7. [OHCHR Press Release] At the 20th session, Italy, El Salvador, Gambia, Bolivia, Fiji, San Marino, Kazakhstan, Angola, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Madagascar, Iraq, Slovenia, Egypt, and Bosnia and Herzegovina all reported on the challenges and successes encountered
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The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) held its 67th Session from September 1 to 19 in Geneva, Switzerland. The CRC reviewed the State reports of Croatia, Fiji, Hungary, Morocco, Singapore, and Venezuela concerning their implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its protocols on the sale and prostitution of children and
Read moreOVERVIEW Economic, social, and cultural rights are the freedoms, privileges, and entitlements that individuals and communities require to live a life of dignity. These human rights include the rights to food, housing, health, education, cultural identity, and more. Although some economic, social, and cultural rights cannot be immediately implemented, States that have ratified the relevant treaties nonetheless have the obligation
Read moreOVERVIEW The human right to education is a fundamental, but limited, right under international human rights law. While multiple treaties address the right to education, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child explicitly outline States’ obligations to fully realize the right to education. The core component of the right
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The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has released a report on the human rights of migrants, migrants’ rights advocates, victims of human trafficking, displaced persons, and others who experience “extreme vulnerability” in Mexico. [IACHR Press Release] The report, Human Rights of Migrants and Other Persons in the Context of Human Mobility in Mexico, details the acts of violence, denial of due process
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Last month, both the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Committee and the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee) held regular sessions in Geneva, Switzerland. During these sessions, the committees reviewed States parties’ implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
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In a special session convened last week to address the escalating violence in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, the UN Human Rights Council resolved to establish an independent commission of inquiry to investigate “all violations” of international humanitarian law and human rights law committed in the context of armed conflict in the region since June 13, 2014. See UN
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The European Court of Human Rights has released six new factsheets summarizing its jurisprudence on the topics of: hunger strikes in detention, migrants in detention, domestic violence, elderly persons, persons with disabilities, and political parties and associations. The factsheets provide valuable insights into the kinds of issues being raised before the Court, direct practitioners to key cases and decisions, and
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The Mexican Congress has adopted a revision of the country’s Code of Military Justice to transfer jurisdiction over alleged human rights abuses committed by members of the armed forces against civilians to the ordinary, civilian justice system. [LA Times] Mexico’s military plays an important role in policing and law enforcement in the country, and although thousands of serious human rights abuses by soldiers are reported each
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