On January 18, 2015, the chairpersons of the ten human rights treaty bodies released a Joint Statement urging member states to ensure that the post-2015 development agenda goals align with international human rights standards. The chairpersons encouraged member states to recognize that “in addition to economic and social rights, the inclusion of civil and political rights is a significant step towards a balanced and transformative agenda that addresses freedom from fear along with freedom from want.” They agreed with the Secretary General’s call for the “institutionalized flow of...
International Law in Brief
International Law in Brief (ILIB) is a forum that provides updates on current developments in international law from the editors of ASIL's International Legal Materials.
On January 19, 2015 the United Nations Security Council (the Council) issued a Presidential Statement that strongly condemned the recent escalation of attacks by Boko Haram in Nigeria and demanded that the terrorist group “immediately and unequivocally cease all hostilities and all abuses of human rights” and release all hostages, including the 276 schoolgirls abducted in Chibok, Borno State, in April 2014. According to a press release, the Council deplored all human rights abuses by Boko Haram since 2009, “including those involving violence against civilian populations, notably woman and...
On January 20, 2015, a delegation from the Central African Republic transferred Dominic Ongwen, who had an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued against him in 2005 for crimes against humanity and war crimes, to the custody of the ICC. According to a press release, “ICC Judges issued an arrest warrant against Mr. Ongwen for three counts of crimes against humanity (murder; enslavement; inhumane acts of inflicting serious bodily injury and suffering) and four counts of war crimes (murder; cruel treatment of civilians; intentionally directing an attack against a...
On January 16, 2015, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda, announced that she has opened a “preliminary examination” into alleged crimes committed “in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem” since June 13, 2014. Ms. Bensouda stated that her Office will conduct its analysis of the Palestinian situation with “full independence and impartiality.” She also noted that a “preliminary examination is not an investigation,” but weighs “available information,” including “issues of jurisdiction, admissibility, and the interests of justice” to...
On January 13, 2015, the European Court of Human Rights held in Petropavlovskis v. Latvia that Latvia’s refusal to grant an activist citizenship through naturalization did not prevent him from expressing his opinion or participating in meetings and that he had no arguable complaint under the European Convention on Human Rights (the Convention). The applicant, who had been an activist in regard to education reform in Latvia, argued that he was denied citizenship because of his criticism of the government’s position on education and that this violated Articles 10 (freedom of...
On January 13, 2015, a Section of the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) ruled in Elberte v. Latvia that the removal of body tissue from the applicant’s deceased husband for use by a pharmaceutical company in Germany pursuant to a state-approved agreement without her knowledge or consent violated the European Convention on Human Rights. According to the press release, the Court found that Latvia violated Article 8 (right for respect to private and family life) and Article 3 (prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment) and “in particular that Latvian law regarding the...
On January 10, 2015, new rules from the European Commission entered into force that allow cross-border enforceable judgments in civil and commercial matters to be automatically enforceable across all European Union states. According to the press release, the rules were established in order to simplify business rules and will “abolish the costly and lengthy procedure, which is currently used 10,000 times per year to get judgments in civil and commercial matters recognised in other EU countries.” The rules will ensure that when a “judgment is made in any Member State, the creditor will be...
On January 12, 2015 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) presented a report entitled, “Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women in British Columbia, Canada.” The report “analyzes the context in which indigenous women have gone missing and been murdered over the past several years and the response to this human rights issue by the Canadian State,” while also offering recommendations for Canada on protecting indigenous women’s rights. According to the press release, the report notes that “[t]he numbers of missing and murdered indigenous women are particularly concerning...
On January 9, 2015, the UN International Commission of Inquiry on the Central African Republic released a report summarizing the investigation of the conflict in the Central African Republic, which began in 2013, with the primary purpose of identifying and holding accountable “perpetrators of violations and abuses of human rights and humanitarian law.” The report found that “ample evidence” existed that “human rights violations and abuses were committed by all parties,” over the past two years, including rape, murder, recruitment of child soldiers, torture, and burning of homes. The report...
On January 8, 2015, the war crimes division of the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Court) confirmed genocide charges against Dragomir Vasic, Danilo Zoljić, and Radomir Pantić over the executions of Srebrenica Muslims during the Bosnian Civil War in 1995. According to the press release, the Court found that the defendants, acted both alone and in collusion with two other co-defendants to commit the criminal offense of genocide in violation of Article 171 (in conjunction with Articles 29 and 31) of the Criminal Code of Bosnia. The defendants are charged with having “aided and abetted...