IACHR Publishes Standards on Rights in Context of Human Mobility

On November 4, 2016, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) published a report that seeks to address the practical realities of those in the context of human mobility and lay out the legal standards that should govern Member States’ policies concerning migrants, asylum seekers, refugees, persons in need of complimentary protection, stateless persons, victims of human trafficking, and internally

Read more

UN Commission Urges Security Council Referral of Eritrea to ICC

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

Read more

Immigration & Migrants’ Rights

OVERVIEW Humans have migrated throughout history. People migrate for different reasons, such as reuniting with their families; seeking better economic opportunities; and escaping human rights abuses, including armed conflict, persecution, and torture. See Amnesty International, People on the Move. Migrants are generally entitled to the same human rights protections as all individuals, although States may limit migrants’ rights in some

Read more

August 2016: Four UN Treaty Bodies, Inter-American Court in Session

During the month of August 2016, four United Nations treaty bodies will review several States’ compliance with their treaty obligations, two regional judicial bodies in Europe and the Americas will hold public hearings, the UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee will discuss research and developments in the area of human rights, and two UN Special Procedures mandate holders will conduct State

Read more

UN Working Group Finds China Is Arbitrarily Detaining American Citizen

In a recently released opinion, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) found that China has arbitrarily deprived Sandy Phan-Gillis, an American citizen, of liberty because she has been denied access to counsel and not been brought before a judicial authority. See WGAD, Communication Concerning Phan (Sandy) Phan-Gillis, Opinion No. 12/2016 (People’s Republic of China), 3 June 2015,

Read more