GENEVA – The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Michel Forst, today criticised the “relentless prosecution and repression of prominent rights activists in Azerbaijan” and called for their immediate release ahead of the inaugural European Games in Baku which begin on 12 June. “As preparations were in full swing for the Baku Games, the Azerbaijani authorities stepped up their efforts to harass, jail, and surveil human rights defenders, as well as ban them from travel and freeze their assets,” the… Continue reading →
GENEVA – United Nations human rights expert Maina Kiai today reiterated his call to the Government of Cambodia to ensure that civil society can meaningfully contribute to the elaboration of the draft Law on Associations and Non-Governmental Organizations (LANGO), which is expected to be adopted by parliament this month. “It is ironic that the drafting of a law regulating civil society in Cambodia excludes civil society from the process,” the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association said, stating… Continue reading →
NAIROBI/SUCRE, Bolivia – Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai has filed an amicus curiae brief in the Constitutional Court of Bolivia, arguing that a national law and an executive decree regulating the operations of non-governmental organizations breach the international right to freedom of association. The brief, which was submitted on May 13, 2015, was the first official court filing in the UN expert’s project to advance the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association through the use of litigation in national and regional courts. The… Continue reading →
GENEVA – A group of experts from the largest body of independent experts in the United Nations Human Rights system today urged UN member States to recognize and support the role of a free and active civil society in the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda. “A central role for civil society is the only way to guarantee inclusive post-2015 development goals,” they said. In a joint statement issued today, as government representatives meet in New York from 18 to 22 May to discuss a monitoring and review framework for the post-2015… Continue reading →
For International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, Sunday 17 May 2015 GENEVA – Speaking ahead of the International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, a group of United Nations and international human rights experts, including Maina Kiai, call for an end to discrimination and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex young people and children. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, a group of UN human rights experts, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur… Continue reading →
