Search Results for: Convention Against Torture

The Court of Cassation (Cour de Cessation) Friday recognized the universal jurisdiction of the French Judicial System to “prosecute and judge acts of torture, crimes against humanity or war crimes where the acts were committed abroad and neither the perpetrator nor the victim is French.” The doctrine of universal jurisdiction is mandated within international instruments such [...]

The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), along with 20 other human rights organizations, issued a joint statement on Thursday calling out Lebanon’s deportation of Syrian refugees. The human rights organizations claim the deportations violate the international law principle of non-refoulement, which protects individuals from being returned to a country where they face torture, cruel, [...]

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Tuesday condemned audio recordings that emerged over the weekend, which appear to show figures connected to both sides of the war in Ukraine ordering combatants not to take prisoners of war or else to execute those captured. As originally reported by the Kiev Independent, Wagner [...]

Human rights groups Iran Human Rights (IHR) and Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) Thursday released a report showing a dramatic increase in the total number of executions in Iran for 2022. The report claims that 582 people were executed in Iran—the highest number of executions since 2015. The report highlights how the number of [...]

Human Rights Watch Thursday released a report documenting the unlawful detention and torture of Kherson residents by Russian forces, which took place during their occupation of the Ukrainian city between March and November 2022. The report details numerous war crimes committed by Russian forces, including the willful mistreatment, torture, and killing of civilians and captured [...]

Malaysia’s Parliament Tuesday passed two bills reforming death penalty sentencing and abolishing the mandatory death penalty for certain offenses. Human rights groups welcomed the move as a step towards abolishing capital punishment entirely. The Abolition of Mandatory Death Penalty Bill 2023 and the Revision of Sentence of Death and Imprisonment for Natural Life Bill 2023 [...]

An alliance of several human rights groups Thursday published a letter calling for the UN to take action against abortion restrictions in the US. The letter, signed by over 100 organizations and 49 individuals, argued that abortion bans threaten “women’s lives and health on a massive scale” while the “criminalization of abortions threatens to further [...]

The UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) Monday canceled its visit to Australia after it was denied access to detention centers and mental health facilities. In October 2022, SPT visited Australia for 12 days, but was forced to suspend the visit after they were prevented from visiting multiple facilities. Specifically, SPT cited issues with [...]

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) Wednesday ruled that applications made by Ukraine and the Netherlands against Russia alleging multiple violations of the European Convention on Human Rights(ECHR) are partly admissible. The three applications pertain to the ongoing conflict in the Donbas region of Ukraine and the downing of Flight MH17. Two complaints were [...]

It’s become increasingly clear that Australia could be in breach of its human rights commitments as reports of mistreatment continue to emerge from youth detention centers in Western Australia. On January 12, a class action involving more than 500 young children and adults who have been held in Western Australia’s Banksia Hill detention center was [...]