In a report released March 2, 2016, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (Inter-American Commission) has exposed the severity of Mexico’s ongoing human rights crisis. See IACHR, Situation of Human Rights in Mexico (2015). The report relies on information gathered during onsite visits conducted by the IACHR and its rapporteurships, as well as from IACHR hearings, precautionary measures, and petitions
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During the month of March 2016, ten supranational human rights bodies will be in session. These include three regional human rights monitoring bodies: the African Court on Human and People’s Rights (AfCHPR), the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR), and the Inter-American Court on Human Rights (IACtHR). Additionally, seven United Nations mechanisms will meet in Geneva, Switzerland: the Human Rights
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The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) has released new principles intended to guide its Member States in implementing counter-terrorism and security measures that comply with regional and international human rights norms. As African States increasingly face real and practical challenges posed by terrorism, the Principles and Guidelines on Human and Peoples’ Rights while Countering Terrorism in Africa
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In a controversial decision, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) has concluded that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s detention, house arrest, and subsequent seclusion in Ecuador’s London embassy constitute arbitrary detention which the governments of Sweden and the United Kingdom should redress. [OHCHR Press Release: Assange] The independent experts’ opinion, released on February 5, 2016, finds violations of Mr. Assange’s
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In November 2015, representatives of African and European intergovernmental organizations and civil society gathered in Rwanda for the 11th African Union – European Union (AU-EU) Human Rights Dialogue, a platform for sharing experiences concerning human rights, democracy, and the rule of law. Participants in the Human Rights Dialogue, which was held in Kigali on November 24, 2015, included the Hon.
Read moreDanielle Hites joined the International Justice Resource Center as a law fellow in September 2015. She received her J.D. from Boston University where she completed the International Law Concentration with honors. She received her B.A. in psychology at Suffolk University. Prior to joining IJRC, Danielle worked as a research assistant for the Alliance for the Rule of Law and Alternative
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On November 20, 2015, the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (AfCHPR) issued its judgment in the case of Alex Thomas v. Tanzania, which concerned a complaint brought by a man serving a mandatory minimum thirty-year prison sentence for armed robbery. He alleged that the Tanzanian courts had violated his due process rights by trying him in absentia and by
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During its most recent session, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) welcomed two new commissioners; examined four States’ human rights records; heard activity reports from its special mechanisms; and focused particular attention on the rights of women, implementation of ACHPR decisions, its relationship with non-governmental organizations and with national human rights institutions, and the intersections between international humanitarian law
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On November 5, 2015, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) released its judgment in Yagublu v. Azerbaijan, a case that has drawn international attention as representative of Azerbaijan’s crackdown on political dissent and freedom of expression. See ECtHR, Yagublu v. Azerbaijan, no. 31709/13, Judgment of 5 November 2015. The application concerned Tofig Yagublu, an independent Azerbaijani journalist and the deputy
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On October 20, the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Juan E. Méndez, presented his seventeenth expert’s report to the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly during its 70th Session, in New York. [Anti-Torture Initiative] The report addresses the extraterritorial obligations that arise under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman,
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