UN Votes to Adopt Arms Trade Treaty, Restricting Export of Weapons that May Be Used for Human Rights Violations

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly overwhelmingly voted to adopt an Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) on April 2, 2013.  The treaty regulates international trade of conventional arms, and aims to “[contribute] to international and regional peace, security and stability.” ATT, art. 1.  Among other requirements, States Parties must prohibit the international transfer of arms whenever the government has knowledge that

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UN Human Rights Council to Gain 18 New Members in Criticized Election Process

On November 12, the UN General Assembly will hold elections to fill eighteen soon-to-be vacant membership positions on the UN Human Rights Council.  As in the past, this election is controversial both for the lack of competition on most regional slates, thereby depriving the General Assembly of the ability to choose from among multiple States to fill the open slots, and

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Why the Fuss? Understanding the Human Rights Council’s Resolution on Traditional Values

On September 27, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a contentious resolution on the relationship between human rights and traditional values.  Though only two pages long, the resolution reignited concerns that State claims of traditional values might be used to thwart the existing human rights framework rather than strengthening it.  Specifically, human rights advocates remain wary of traditional values language

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News 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.

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News Clips – June 13, 2010

Physicians for Human Rights has published a report documenting illegal experimentation and torture by CIA medical personnel in the “war on terror”.  The report is available here.  Following the paper’s publication, PHR and other organizations filed a formal complaint before the US Department of Health and Human Services Office for Human Research Protection against the CIA. [PHR] Human Rights Watch

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