UN Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai has authored a piece on his mandate’s litigation project for the latest edition of Sur, the international journal of human rights journal published by Conectas. The piece appears in Sur issue 22, and gives an overview of the litigation project and the cases it has handled thus far. Launched in 2014, the litigation project focuses on providing technical assistance and advisory services for public interest litigation on assembly and association issues. The aim of the project is to increase such litigation and encourage the application of international law norms at the domestic level. The Special Rapporteur has also submitted three amicus briefs in cases relevant to the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. “Litigation does present advantages unique among rights-promotion tools,” Kiai writes in the Sur piece. “When used in the right context, for example, it can ensure concrete remedies: accountability, compensation … Continue reading →
GENEVA – United Nations Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai has published a legal analysis warning that pending changes to Chile’s criminal procedure code – which liberalize police powers to stop, search and identify people – may violate international law. Chile’s draft bill number 9985-07, which is currently being considered by lawmakers, proposes two significant changes to the country’s Procedural Penal Code (Código Procesal Penal). The bill would introduce a new provision in the law, article 12, giving police the general power to stop and check the identity of any person, without any indication or suspicion of a crime. A person failing or refusing to produce proof of identity could then be brought to the nearest police station, where they would face up to four hours of detention while additional identification procedures take place. The bill would also amend article 85 of the law to allow broader use of identity checks and searches … Continue reading →
NAIROBI/GHENT/STRASBOURG – Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai has joined with Ghent University’s Human Rights Centre to file a third party intervention in four cases before the European Court of Human Rights. The cases, Mahammad Majidli v. Azerbaijan (no. 3) and three other applications, concern the exercise of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly in Azerbaijan. At issue is the Court’s interpretation of Article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which enshrines the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. The submission from the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Maina Kiai, and the Human Rights Centre, calls upon the Court to clarify its jurisprudence on the right to freedom of assembly and to establish “clear and strong protective standards.” “States are increasingly limiting the right to freedom of assembly using justifications such as ‘unauthorized assemblies’ or ‘unlawful assemblies’ with consequent measures such … Continue reading →
(Inglés) NAIROBI/MEXICO CITY – El Relator Especial Maina Kiai presentó un amicus curiae ante la Suprema Corte de la Nación mexicana argumentando que tres de las normas contenidas en la Ley de Movilidad del Distrito Federal imponen restricciones ilegítimas al derecho a la libertad de reunión pacífica. El documento, que fue entregado el 21 de agosto de 2015, es el segundo que se presenta en el marco del proyecto de expertos de Naciones Unidas para la promoción del derecho de libertad de reunión pacífica y asociación a través del uso del litigio a nivel nacional y regional. El primer documento de este tipo se presentó ante la Corte Constitucional de Bolivia en mayo, del cual se espera una resolución pronto. El documento entregado por el Relator Especial en México fue sometido en el contexto de un caso en el que se discutirá la constitucionalidad de los artículos 212, 213 y … Continue reading →
(Español) NAIROBI/MEXICO CITY – Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai has filed an amicus curiae brief before the Supreme Court of Mexico, arguing that three provisions of Mexico City’s Mobility Law impose impermissible restrictions on the right to freedom of peaceful assembly. The brief, which was submitted on August 21, 2015, is the second 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 first brief was filed in the Constitutional Court in Bolivia in May; a decision in that case is expected soon. The Special Rapporteur’s Mexico brief was filed in a case challenging the constitutionality of Articles 212, 213 and 214 of the Mexico City Mobility law. Kiai concludes all three provisions fail to comply with “the obligations of the State and the conditions for legitimate restrictions to the … 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 project began in Oct. 2014 and aims to encourage the application of international law norms at the domestic level. In March 2013, Bolivia adopted the controversial law on legal personality, despite many analyses indicating that it contravened international law. In June 2013, the equally contentious implementing Supreme Decree followed. Late last year, the “Defensor del Pueblo” filed a petition with the Constitutional Court of Bolivia … Continue reading →
Maina Kiai is nearing the completion of his fourth year as the inaugural UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association – leaving him with two years before he departs the mandate. Over the last three-plus years, Kiai has strived to actively protect and promote the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, through his reports, through official and unofficial country visits, and by meeting and consulting with as many stakeholders as possible. It has been an exciting and productive four years, but there remains much work to be done. Despite increased international awareness of the issues, for example, many governments are growing increasingly restrictive when it comes to regulating their citizens’ abilities to enjoy the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. As he prepares to enter the final two years of his mandate, the Special Rapporteur would like … Continue reading →
The rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association are among the most fundamental human rights in international law. Today, however, they are increasingly under assault by repressive governments. From the Global North to the Global South, States are harassing activists, spying on their citizens, breaking up protests, erecting legal obstacles for civil society organizations, and generally closing off civic space. In October 2014, UN Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai launched a new project designed to combat this trend in a different way: Through the use of strategic litigation, particularly litigation that emphasizes international law in attempting to protect civic space. On Oct. 16-17, the Special Rapporteur invited lawyers from all over the world to discuss how to move the project forward. This video (also embedded below) provides an overview of the Special Rapporteur’s new project, the workshop, and the ideas of the nearly 20 lawyers from 11 countries who … Continue reading →
NAIVASHA, Kenya – The push to apply international standards in domestic and regional court cases requires a strategic, coordinated and multipronged approach by lawyers and civil society if it is to succeed, according to participants in a workshop organized this week by UN Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai. The workshop, which was held Oct. 16-17 in Naivasha, Kenya, gathered nearly 20 lawyers from 11 countries to discuss best practices for litigating cases dealing with the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. It was the first event in the Special Rapporteur’s new project focused on enhancing assembly and association rights through the use of strategic litigation. The project aims to provide technical assistance and advisory services for public interest litigation on assembly and association issues, with a view to increasing such litigation and encouraging the application of international law norms at the domestic level. The Special Rapporteur also plans … Continue reading →
Global trends show increasingly shrinking space for civic organizations and actions, as well as significant threats to the exercise of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. In an effort to help reverse these trends, the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association has begun a new project that will focus on protecting these rights via litigation in national and regional courts. The project, which is supported by the government of Norway, will focus first on providing technical assistance and advisory services for public interest litigation on assembly and association issues, with a view to increasing such litigation and encouraging the application of international law norms at the domestic level. The Special Rapporteur also plans to submit amicus briefs in relevant cases, where he can highlight international norms and principles. The project will begin in earnest with a two-day experts consultation … Continue reading →
