International Organization for Migration to Join United Nations System

The intergovernmental organization responsible for facilitating and promoting orderly and humane migration management is set to formally join the United Nations system. On July 25, 2016 the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution approving a draft agreement to make the International Organization for Migration (IOM) a related organization. [UN News Centre: IOM] The agreement will supersede a previous 1996 cooperation

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Charter Launched on Including Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Responses

A new charter on the inclusion of persons with disabilities in responses to humanitarian crises was endorsed at the first World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul on May 24, 2016. [UN News Centre] The Charter on Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action encourages States and civil society organizations to consider the specific needs of people with disabilities in all

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Documentation, Local Prosecutions Advance Accountability for War Crimes in Syria

Germany recently began its first prosecution for alleged war crimes in Syria, joining the several States and private actors seeking accountability for atrocities committed in the ongoing conflict in Syria. [The New Arab] Despite the lack of a final peace agreement, human rights experts are encouraging State governments to take steps to bring to justice those responsible for war crimes

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ECJ: States May Dictate Where Certain Migrants Live, for Integration

The European Court of Justice recently held that European Union (EU) law does not preclude Germany from imposing geographic restrictions on residence permits for certain non-EU migrants receiving public benefits, provided that those migrants are less integrated into society than other migrants. See European Court of Justice (Grand Chamber), Kreis Warendorf v. Alo and Osso v. Region Hannover, Cases C-443/14 and C-444/14, Request

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Citizenship & Nationality

N.B.: Although the terms nationality and citizenship technically have two distinct meanings, international human rights courts and advocates at times use the two terms interchangeably. OVERVIEW The right to a nationality is of paramount importance to the realization of other fundamental human rights. Possession of a nationality carries with it the diplomatic protection of the country of nationality and is

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