EU: Roundtable discussion on the impact of counter-terrorism laws on children and on minority ethnic and religious groups

EU: Roundtable discussion on the impact of counter-terrorism laws on children and on minority ethnic and religious groups

Today, in Brussels, the ICJ held a roundtable discussion on the impact of counter-terrorism laws on specific groups, including children, and ethnic and religious groups.

The roundtable brought together 34 judges, lawyers, NGOs and other experts from countries including Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Belgium, Portugal, Romania, and Spain to discuss how the rights of children and of ethnic and religious minorities can be best protected in applying counter-terrorism legislation in the courts, especially in light of the EU Directive 2017/541 on Combatting Terrorism.

This was the last of four roundtables held by the ICJ and its partner organizations between April and November 2019 in the framework of the EU funded project “Judges Uniting to Stop Terrorism with International, Constitutional and European law (JUSTICE).

The discussion in the first session of the roundtable addressed the disproportionate impact of counterterrorism laws on ethnic and religious groups. It focused on compliance with the principle of non-discrimination, through safeguards in legislation, in the judicial application of counter-terrorism laws, and in investigation and evidence gathering.

The second session of the roundtable addressed the particular impact of counter-terrorism legislation on children, including the challenges involved in protecting the human rights of children of “foreign fighters” and ensuring the primacy of their best interests in decisions on their return to EU countries. Participants also discussed protection of the human rights of returned children of “foreign fighters” both as victims of terrorism and where they are accused of crimes of terrorism.

See the agenda here.

 This workshop was carried out with the financial support of the European Union and the Open Society Foundations. Its contents are the sole responsibility of ICJ and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union or the Open Society Foundations.

 

 

Turkey: workshop on the use of the UN human rights mechanisms

Turkey: workshop on the use of the UN human rights mechanisms

Today begins in Izmir (Turkey) a one-day workshop for lawyers and CSO practitioners on the use and strategies of UN mechanisms and of their decisions in domestic courts.

This event is organized by ICJ, in cooperation with its partners Kapasite Geliştirme Derneği and Human Rights Joint Platform, as part a/the EU co-financed project Rebuilding and Ensuring Access to justice with civil society in Turkey.

30 lawyers and civil society practitioners are taking part in the workshop on 12 October in Izmir.

The workshop aims at discussing the functioning of the UN human rights mechiansms (treaty bodies and charter-based bodies) as well as their  follow up procedures and the implementation of their decisions in the domestic legal framework in Turkey.

The workshop will provide presentations on the functioning of UN mechanisms by international expert, including from OHCHR, on the value of UN decisions under Turkish law, as well as discussions and brainstorming on how to use UN decisions in Turkey.

The project is funded by the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) of the European Union.

Turkey-Workshop-Agenda-UNmechanisms-Izmir-2019-eng (download the agenda in English)

Turkey-Workshop-Agenda-UNmechanisms-Izmir-2019-tur (download the agenda in Turkish)

Central Asia: First regional workshop of prosecutors on extradition, mutual legal assistance and international law

Central Asia: First regional workshop of prosecutors on extradition, mutual legal assistance and international law

Today, the ICJ, together with the General Prosecutor’s Office of Uzbekistan, UNODC and OHCHR are holding the first regional meeting of prosecutors from Central Asia and the Russian Federation to discuss international law and standards in the field of extradition, mutual legal assistance, the rule of law and human rights.

The workshop aims to facilitate exchange of experiences regarding the law and practice of extradition in European and Central Asian countries. Presentations at the workshop will analyse international law and standards on effective criminal justice co-operation and the protection of human rights in extradition, and their application in practice..

The workshop will present cases of mutual cooperation in the field of criminal law from national courts as well as from international mechanisms such as the European Court of Human Rights, the UN Committee against Torture and the UN Human Rights Committee.

The workshop is taking place in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) and is hosted by the Prosecutor General’s Office of Uzbekistan.

More than twenty prosecutors from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan the Russian Federation Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan are participating in the event that includes international experts from UNODC, ICJ,  including ICJ Commissioner and Emeritus Spanish Supreme Court Justice, José Antonio Martin Pallin, and Italian Prosecutor Lorenzo Salazar.

 

Turkey: international workshop for lawyers and CSOs on rights of migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers

Turkey: international workshop for lawyers and CSOs on rights of migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers

Today begins in Ankara (Turkey) a two-day international workshop for lawyers and CSO practitioners representing and working with migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers.

This event is organized by ICJ, in cooperation with its partners Refugee Rights Turkey, the European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), Mülteci-Der (MD) and ICJ-EI, as part of the EU co-financed project Fostering Access to Rights for Migrants, Refugees and Asylum-Seekers in Turkey.

Lawyers and civil society practitioners – representing numerous bar associations and relevant organisations from the Istanbul area and other nearby key migration and asylum locations – are taking part in the workshop that takes place on 16-17 December.

The international conference on “Legal avenues and the role of lawyers in protecting migrant and refugee rights” includes a section on strategic litigation on asylum and migration law and European experiences.

In the second part of the conference, a final workshop is held on 17 December to discuss efforts to support expertise and effectiveness of Turkish lawyers on asylum and immigration law. This workshop will bring together key stakeholders and interlocutors to strategize about the remaining gaps and needs and the next steps in this field.

During this workshop, the organisers will present their project and its results.

The project “Fostering Access to Rights for Migrants, Refugees and Asylum-Seekers in Turkey” is funded by the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) of the European Union.

Turkey-Workshop-Agenda-MigrationAsylumIHRL-Ankara2-2018-eng (download the agenda in English)

Turkey-Workshop-Agenda-MigrationAsylumIHRL-Ankara2-2018-tur (download the agenda in Turkish)

Turkey: workshop on the use of the UN Universal Periodic Review

Turkey: workshop on the use of the UN Universal Periodic Review

Today begins in Ankara (Turkey) a one-day workshop for lawyers and CSO practitioners on the use and strategies of UPR mechanisms.

This event is organized by ICJ, in cooperation with its partners Kapasite Geliştirme Derneği and Human Rights Joint Platform, as part a/the EU co-financed project Rebuilding and Ensuring Access to justice with civil society in Turkey.

20 lawyers and civil society practitioners are taking part in the workshop on 15 December in Ankara.

The workshop aims at discussing the functioning of the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council in which all States undergo periodically a peer-review of their human rights situation by other States. Turkey is set for its third cycle of examination in 2019

The main thematic areas to be discussed will be access to justice in Turkey, the situation of the judiciary and the rule of law, and the protection of womens’ rights.

The project is funded by the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) of the European Union.

Turkey-Training-Agenda-UPR-Ankara-2018-tur (download the agenda in Turkish)

Turkey-Training-Agenda-UPR-Ankara-2018-eng (download the agenda in English)

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