Category: Human Rights Bodies

Condemning the UN NGO Committee Practice of Silencing Civil Society

The UN’s NGO Committee is failing to uphold basic principles of transparency, due process, non-discrimination and respect for fundamental human rights in its work, say UN experts and civil society organisations.

(New York) – The UN’s Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association has added his voice to the alarm expressed about the practice of the UN’s NGO Committee, which acts as the gatekeeper to NGO participation in many UN bodies and processes. The Special Rapporteur’s call comes on top of an unprecedented mobilisation of over 230 NGOs from around the world calling this week on the Committee to respect basic principles of transparency, due process, non-discrimination and respect for fundamental human rights in its work.

In a commentary published today, UN expert Maina Kiai condemned yesterday’s vote at the NGO Committee against granting accreditation to the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ). States including Azerbaijan, Burundi, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, Sudan and Venezuela all voted against accrediting CPJ, striking a blow against freedom of expression, a free press, access to information, and the protection of journalists.

According to the Special Rapporteur, despite repeated expert calls for reform of the practice of the Committee, including through his own report to the UN General Assembly in 2014, ‘not much has changed’.

‘The practice of NGO harassment by some Committee members’ continues to ‘profoundly undermine the ability of the United Nations to constructively engage with civil society,’ Mr Kiai said.

According to ISHR’s Eleanor Openshaw, the practice of many States at the UN’s NGO Committee in seeking to silence civil society is emblematic and reflective of attacks and restrictions on civil society at the national level, a view shared by the Special Rapporteur.

‘The same governments that are restricting NGOs domestically are stepping up efforts to take away NGOs’ voices on the international stage as well. They are doing this by hijacking, and subsequently closing, the main door used by civil society to enter the United Nations system: the Committee on NGOs,’ Mr Kiai said.

Read on for the full article from ISHR.

Read the Special Rapporteur’s statement.

OURs - News piece

Friday 13 May 2016 – A Good Day for Intersex Human Rights?

Friday 13 May: A sign of hope for intersex children everywhere – and yet another stern warning for IGM perpetrators and complicit states? Keep your fingers crossed!

UPR: Ireland critisised over Intersex Genital Mutilations

All UN Member States have to submit regularly to a “Universal Periodic Review (UPR)” of their human rights records, reported by a “troika” of their peers and considered by the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), who then adopts recommendations.

Despite that human rights violations of intersex people have been reported to the HRC since at least 2012, so far the HRC never specifically discussed intersex human rights concerns, let alone issued recommendations to stop IGM practices.

Most welcome therefore the news (thx ILGA) from the ongoing 25th session of the UPR Working Group where Israel went on record addressing IGM practices in its Statement regarding Ireland (PDF):

“Israel is concerned by the cases of medically unnecessary surgeries and other procedures on intersex children before they were able to provide their informed consent;”

The Human Rights Council will adopt the recommendations for Ireland today Friday 13 May 16–18h.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) has recently reprimanded Ireland over IGM practices, considering them a “harmful practice” (like FGM) and calling on Ireland to “adopt legal provisions in order to provide redress to the victims of such treatment, including adequate compensation.” 

CAT to reprimand France over IGM Practices

Also today Friday 13 May concludes the 57th Session of the UN Committee against Torture (CAT), which knowledgeably questioned France over IGM practices and is hoped to issue strong binding recommendations for France. This will mark the 11th reprimand by a UN Treaty Body of a State complicit in the continuation of IGM. 

France was also recently reprimanded over IGM practices by the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC).

10 Verdicts by UN Treaty Bodies Condemning IGM – And Counting …

The Committee against Torture (CAT) has repeatedly considered Intersex Genital Mutilations as constituting at least inhuman treatment in breach of the Convention against Torture, and since 2011 reprimanded Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark and Hong Kong over IGM.

The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) considers IGM as violence and a harmful practice (like FGM) and since 2015 reprimanded Switzerland, Chile, France and Ireland over IGM.

The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) also considers IGM asinhuman treatment and reprimanded Germany.

In all above 10 verdicts, the Committees issued binding recommendations to take legislative action to end the practice and/or to ensure access to redress and justice for IGM survivors.

In addition, the Human Rights Committee (HRCttee) as the governing body of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR) is currently investigating IGM and called onSwitzerland to disclose statistics.

This news update is taken from a newsletter of the international intersex human rights NGO StopIGM.org

StopIGM.org demands the prohibition of forced genital surgeries on children and adolescents with Variations of Sex Anatomy and “Human Rights for Hermaphrodites too!”. Persons concerned shall later decide themselves, if they want surgeries or not, and if yes, which.

OURs - News piece

UN CESCR Adopts General Comment on Right to Sexual and Reproductive Health

The Sexual Rights Initiative (SRI) welcomes the Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights’ General Comment 22 on the Right to Sexual and Reproductive Health, adopted in March 2016. The SRI actively engaged in the development of the General Comment (See SRI submission to the General Day of Discussion) and believes that General Comment 22 makes a valuable contribution to the realization of sexual and reproduction health and rights for all.

Following trends in human rights jurisprudence, the Committee prepared the General Comment in response to continuing grave violations of the right to sexual and reproductive health across the world. It is designed to assist States in the fulfillment of their obligations under the International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (the Covenant).

The General Comment reaffirms the right to sexual and reproductive health as an integral part of the right to health enshrined in Article 12 of the Covenant and its indivisibility from and interdependence with the full range of human rights, inter alia, the right to education; to non-discrimination; to equality; to freedom from torture and other cruel, to inhuman or degrading treatment; to privacy and respect for family life; to life; and to liberty and security of person.

Through elaboration of the essential elements of the right to sexual and reproductive health, State obligations and options for effective remedies for violations, the General Comment sets out a clear and practical path for States to comply with their responsibilities under the Covenant.

States are required to respect, protect and fulfill the right to sexual and reproductive health without discrimination and on an equal basis, paying particular attention to individuals belonging to groups that face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination.[1]

States are under obligation to:

  • Ensure adolescents and youth have access to comprehensive sexuality education and services, regardless of marital status or parental consent
  • Ensure sexual and reproductive health services are available, accessible, acceptable and of good quality
  • Undertake preventative, promotional and remedial action to shield individuals from gender-based violence and discriminatory practices and norms such as female genital mutilation, child, early and forced marriage and marital rape, among others
  • Develop and enforce evidence-based standards and guidelines for the provision and delivery of sexual and reproductive health services
  • Provide access to effective remedies for violations of the right to sexual and reproductive health.

As a consolidation and elaboration of the broad array of standards that firmly establish the right to sexual and reproductive health, General Comment 22 will be helpful for States to understand and act on their obligations, for civil society to hold their governments accountable through the treaty body review processes and the Universal Periodic Review, and for States to engage in constructive dialogue with each other on these issues.

The SRI encourages Member States, UN agencies, civil society, the UN Human Rights Council and its mechanisms and all other stakeholders to integrate the General Comment into their respective approaches to promoting, protecting and respecting the full range of human rights for all persons.

[1] The respect, protection and fulfillment of sexual and reproductive rights is achieved in part by repealing or reforming laws and policies that nullify or impair individuals’ ability to realize their right to sexual and reproductive health. Highlighted examples include laws that criminalize abortion, consensual same-sex relationships, particular sexual and reproductive health services and information, transgender identity or expression, and HIV non-disclosure, exposure and transmission. Practical or procedural barriers to sexual and reproductive health care, services and information imposed by the State or third parties must also be removed, including parental, spousal or judicial authorization requirements, mandatory HIV testing, waiting periods for abortion or divorce, and the exclusion of particular sexual and reproductive health services from public funding or foreign assistance funds.

Originally posted on the Sexual Rights Initiative website

Rights of rural women finally addressed in CEDAW General Recommendation No.34

Welcoming the adoption of the first international instrument to address the rights of rural women holistically, FIAN International examines the core elements related to the human right to food and nutrition contained in the General Recommendation No. 34.

In March 2016, the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) adopted its General Recommendation No. 34 on the Rights of Rural Women. Its adoption is nothing less than the outcome of over three years of work by the Committee with support from civil society and social movements.

The General Recommendation is particularly significant because it is the first international instrument that specifically addresses the rights of rural women. Furthermore, it is the first that explicitly recognizes the human right to adequate food and nutrition of rural women within the framework of food sovereignty.

The adoption of this General Recommendation will continue helping raise the visibility of rural women’s human rights on the checklist of issues that the State parties must pay attention to when reporting to the Committee. In turn, it will enable civil society to hold their respective governments accountable for the human rights violations of rural women. This General Recommendation can also play a key role in informing and serving as a basis for upcoming and developing processes at the national, regional and global level.

On this note, FIAN International issues an analytical note that examines the elements related to the human right to food and nutrition that are contained in the General Recommendation. More specifically, the note focuses on: (1) the explicit recognition of the right to food and nutrition within the food sovereignty framework; (2) the recognition of the right to access, control, manage and own all natural and productive resources on which rural women depend; (3) the guarantee of decent work for all rural women workers, including access to social protection; (4) the recognition of the “intertwined subjectivities” of woman and child during pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding and their framing through the lens of women’s rights throughout their lifespan; and (5) the protection of rural women’s roles in the production, processing, distribution, market access, trade, and investment related to the food systems from private actors.

You can find the analytical note here.

Year after landmark case, widows still waiting for equal inheritance rights.

E.S. had been married for 10 years when her husband died. Almost overnight, her life—and her three young children’s—collapsed. E.S.’s in-laws kicked her out of her modest home in Tanzania. She and her children took refuge with her parents.  Another widow in Tanzania, S.C., and her infant were also ordered out of their home, in that case too by in-laws.

Under the customary inheritance laws of many communities in Tanzania, a widow with children inherits nothing from her husband.  These laws also deny women the right to inherit clan land or to be administrators of their relatives’ estates.  Sons inherit clan land and the largest share of personal property, while daughters get no clan land and the smallest share of personal property.

E.S. and S.C. went to court, asserting that their community’s inheritance laws violated Tanzania’s constitution and human rights obligations. One court recognized the discrimination, but rejected their claims. The appeals court took four years to hear the case, and then dismissed it on a technicality. With no hope of justice in these courts, the widows turned to the United Nations.

Last April, in its landmark decision, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (the CEDAW Committee) found that Tanzania’s codified customary law violated the women’s rights by denying them equality in respect of inheritance.  It also found that Tanzania’s courts had violated their rights of access to justice and to an effective remedy. It recommended that the Tanzanian government compensate both widows, and called for constitutional and customary law reforms and practical measures to eliminate this discrimination.

However, a year later, the widows are still waiting.

Read the full article from Human Rights Watch now.

Experts unite to end human rights violations based on SOGI

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people across the world often face grave human rights violations, including torture, sexual violence, arbitrary detention, even killing – all because of who they are.

In an unprecedented dialogue, regional and UN human rights experts joined forces to look at their human rights situation, and to call for an end to violence and other human rights violations on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

A report, launched today during the 58th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in the Gambia, summarises the historic dialogue that took place in November 2015 between the African Commission, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and UN human rights experts.

The report also highlights the impact that human rights violations have on the health of LGBTI people and their access to HIV prevention and care.

“Violence and other human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity constitute universal challenges that require concerted responses by national, regional and UN human rights institutions,” said Pansy Tlakula, Chairperson of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

Read the full article on the OHCHR site now. 

Counter-terrorism: Egyptian-led resolution sends wrong message at wrong time

A new counter-terrorism resolution adopted by the UN Human Rights Council is not a green light for states to widen the scope of law and policies to target and shut down civil society space in the name of preventing terrorist activity. States must ensure full consideration and respect for international human rights laws when adopting measures to combat terrorist groups and engage with NGOs and human rights defenders who have a key role in preventing violent extremism.

Introduced by Egypt, and co-sponsored by states including Algeria and Saudi Arabia – states often leading the hostile global crackdown on civil society space and human rights defenders – UN resolution A/HRC/31/L.13/Rev.1 ‘The effects of terrorism on the enjoyment of all human rights’ was adopted on the final sitting day of the 31st session of the Council, with 28 states voting in favor and 14 voting against, with 5 states abstaining.

The resolution has been critiqued by leading NGOs such as ARTICLE 19 as ‘providing potential justification for abusive “counter-terrorism” measures’. The resolution ‘fails to meet the needs of the victims of terrorism, and instead instrumentalises their suffering to distract international scrutiny from the deteriorating human rights situation in Egypt and elsewhere,’ ARTICLE 19 said in a statement.

Read the full article from ISHR now.

OURs - News piece

Peruvian Government Publicly Recognizes Human Rights Violations Against Rape Survivor

The Peruvian government publicly acknowledged the human rights violations suffered by L.C., a rape survivor who was denied a medically-necessary abortion, as part of a historic United Nations (U.N.) ruling.

Peru’s Minister of Justice, Aldo Alejandro Vásquez Ríos, admitted the government’s failure to guarantee L.C.’s right to access legal abortion services at a convening today with health officials and civil society organizations, including the Center for Reproductive Rights and PROMSEX. In 2011, the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) condemned Peru for violating L.C.’s human rights and recommended that Peru amend its law to allow abortion in cases of rape; ensure the availability of those abortion services; and guarantee access to abortion services when a woman’s life or health is in danger—circumstances under which abortion is already legal in the country.

The Center and PROMSEX brought L.C. v. Peru to CEDAW and negotiated the reparations agreement with the Peruvian government. This decision marks the third time in history that an international human rights body held a government accountable for failing to ensure access to legal abortion services. The Peruvian government was also held accountable by the Human Rights Committee in 2005 for failing to guarantee access to abortion to K.L., a woman who was forced to continue with a pregnancy that put her physical and mental health at risk, and recently provided her reparations.

Read the full article from the Center for Reproductive Rights now.

Top UN Expert on Torture Demands an End to Abuses in Health Care

In a landmark new report presented today to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Juan Mendez says that severe abuses in health care settings amount to cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment—and even torture. The Open Society Foundations and the Campaign to Stop Torture in Health Care welcome this conclusion, which places immediate legal obligations on governments to end such abuses.

Responsible for interpreting international understandings of torture, the Special Rapporteur’s report is the first systematic examination of torture and ill-treatment committed in health care contexts. The report says that abuse cannot be justified by claims of “medical necessity,” and it underscores the fundamental need for free, full, and informed consent by patients to any and all medical procedures.

The Special Rapporteur highlights examples of forced treatments that can constitute torture and ill-treatment:

  • Forced sterilization of women, transgender, and intersex people, and forced abortion—a violation disproportionately suffered by those women who face systemic discrimination, like ethnic minorities, women with disabilities, and women living with HIV.
  • Forced treatment and involuntary commitment of people with psychosocial (mental) disabilities, and the use of restraints, and solitary confinement.
  • Forced detention of drug users in inhumane facilities under the guise of treatment. Detention itself often results in painful drug withdrawal, and many facilities mandate so-called therapies—often overseen by non-medical personnel—which include beatings, shock therapy, and rigorous manual labor.

Read the full article on Open Society Foundations now.

Parliament urges Member States to speak out for LGBTI Rights at UN Human Rights Council

In a resolution adopted today, the European Parliament has expressed its concern regarding “discriminatory laws and practices and acts of violence against individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity.”

The adopted text is a recommendation from the Parliament to EU Member States to speak out for LGBTI people at the United Nations Human Rights Council.

The Parliament specifically expresses its concern over the situation of human rights defenders, which are in many states faced with unfair and restrictive legislation, such as the infamous Foreign Agents law in Russia.

In particular, it asks for increased support to LGBTI human rights defenders, who are additionally targeted through so-called anti-propaganda laws, which seek to obstruct the work of LGBTI civil society organisations.

Such laws are currently in place in Russia, Algeria, Nigeria as well as Lithuania, and under discussion in Kyrgyzstan.

Furthermore, MEPs reaffirmed their support for the work of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Reacting to the vote, Tanja Fajon MEP, Vice-President of the European Parliament’s LGBTI Intergroup, said: “The Parliament adopted a very strong resolution today, demanding nothing less than global equality for all.”

“Indeed, many countries are making incredible progress in respecting the human rights of LGBTI people. Yet, this progress may have overshadowed the lack of basic rights afforded to LGBTI people in other countries, who may even face a backlash. Even the EU itself still hasn’t achieved genuine equality in the struggle against homophobia and transphobia.”

Fabio Massimo Castaldo MEP, Vice-President of the European Parliament Intergroup on LGBTI Rights, added: “The United Nations have shown their clear commitment to universal and indivisible human rights, including for LGBT people.”

“Today the elected representatives of 500 million citizens aligned themselves with this commitment, raising their voice against violence and discrimination of LGBTI people anywhere in the world, and calling for full equality.”

 

Article originally published by the European Parliament’s Intergroup on LGBT Rights

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