A Blog on International Justice
The Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) came into force on 5 May 2013. The Optional Protocol would allow the citizens of a member state to apply to the United Nations (UN) Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights when their economic, social, or cultural rights such as [...]
The sixteenth session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) concluded this week in Geneva. The session began on 22nd April and continued till 3rd May. Countries whose human rights records were reviewed during this session were: Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Canada, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Colombia, Cuba, Djibouti, Germany, Russia, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, and Uzbekistan. This marks [...]
The United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Wednesday applauded the upcoming entry into force of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enabling individual complaints for economic, social and cultural rights. Ms. Pillay said, “the entry into force of the Optional Protocol is a [...]
The UN Security Council, the Secretary General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights all voiced their satisfaction concerning the conviction of former President of Liberia, Charles Taylor, before the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Security Council’s President Susan Rice issued a Press Statement welcoming the judgment. Ms Rice emphasised that the serious crimes of which [...]
While a draft law on regulation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is under examination at the Egyptian People’s Assembly, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay expressed her concerns about multiple recent cases of NGO rights being threatened around the world. The High Commissioner cited new laws in a number of countries which place new restrictions on [...]
A UN report released on 20 March 2012 details serious human rights violations, including killings, disappearances and arbitrary detention, committed in Kinshasa by Congolese and security forces in the context of the 2011 presidential and legislative elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The report is based on investigations conducted by the UN [...]
The advance version of the official report of the Commission of Inquiry to investigate all alleged violations of international human rights law in Libya has just been uploaded on to the OHCHR website. The Commission was mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate human rights violation in Libya. The final version of the report [...]