Guatemala: Holding the World Bank Accountable for Human Rights Violations

The Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR) together with Rights Action and the International Human Rights Clinic at Western New England University School of Law has filed a Petition before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in an attempt to hold the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) accountable for human rights violations that occurred during the construction of the Chixoy hydroelectric dam in Guatemala.

In May 2012, the same organizations filed a Supplemental Brief to the Inter-American Commission that addressed various admissibility issues including jurisdiction over the Member States of the World Bank and IDB that have human rights obligations within the inter-American human rights system.

UN concerned over Venezuela’s possible withdrawal from human rights body

4 May 2012 – The United Nations today voiced concern over Venezuela’s announcement that it is establishing a committee to evaluate the possibility of withdrawing from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

“Regional human rights bodies play a very important role in the promotion and protection of human rights mechanisms and reinforce universal human rights standards and treaties,” stressed Rupert Colville, the spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Coordinated global action crucial to defeat terrorism, Ban tells Security Council

4 May 2012 – Stressing the need for an integrated response to terrorism, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today he hoped Member States will decide to create the position of a UN Counter-Terrorism Coordinator to promote better coordination, collaboration and cooperation among all players.

“By working together – from strengthening law enforcement to tackling the underlying drivers of extremism – we can greatly reduce this major threat to peace and security,” Mr. Ban told the Security Council, during its debate on threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.

Work remains to realize rights of indigenous peoples, says deputy UN chief

7 May 2012 - Five years after the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted, a great deal remains to be done to realize the objectives contained in that landmark document, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro said today.

“We continue to hear stories of struggles and exploitation of indigenous peoples around the world. It is time for those stories to change,” Ms. Migiro said at the opening of the 11th session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, at UN Headquarters in New York. “Let us instead move towards the day when indigenous peoples are heard, listened to and empowered.”

Indian judge elected to serve on UN International Court of Justice

Dalveer Bhandari of India was elected today, during simultaneous balloting in both the General Assembly and the Security Council, to a seat on the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.

Mr. Bhandari’s term at the ICJ, which is also known as the World Court and is based in The Hague in the Netherlands, begins immediately and runs through 5 February 2018.

Sierra Leone: Landmark Conviction of Liberian Ex-President

(The Hague) – The conviction on April 26, 2012, of Charles Taylos, the former president of Liberia, for serious international crimes during Sierra Leone’s brutal armed conflict provides justice for victims and shows that no one is above the law, Human Rights Watch said today. Taylor was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity before the United Nations-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone on charges that stemmed from his support for rebel groups there.

No todo el Estatuto de Roma hace parte del bloque de constitucionalidad

La aplicación del Estatuto de Roma como parámetro de control de constitucionalidad no es absoluta, reiteró la Corte Constitucional. El alto tribunal explicó que el instrumento internacional se circunscribe a los crímenes de competencia de la Corte Penal Internacional.

El preámbulo del Estatuto y los artículos referidos a los crímenes de genocidio, lesa humanidad y de guerra; la relativización del principio de cosa juzgada y los relacionados con los derechos de las víctimas han sido tenidos en cuenta como parámetros para ejercer dicho control.

Índice Universal de Derechos Humanos

Esta base de datos ofrece fácil acceso a información sobre derechos humanos específica de cada país derivada de los mecanismos internacionales de derechos humanos del sistema de las Naciones Unidas: los Órganos de tratado, los Procedimientos Especiales y el Examen Periódico Universal (EPU).

El objetivo de esta herramienta es concienciar sobre las recomendaciones en materia de derechos humanos contempladas en esos mecanismos y prestar asistencia a los países, instituciones nacionales en el ámbito de los derechos humanos, organizaciones de la sociedad civil y socios de las Naciones Unidas en su aplicación. El Índice permite encontrar información sobre cuestiones de derechos humanos en todo el mundo y ver cómo ha evolucionado durante los últimos años la interpretación jurídica del Derecho internacional en materia de Derechos Humanos.

Enlace al Índice

Nicaragua insiste en soberanía de San Andrés, Providencia y Santa Catalina

Este miércoles (25 de abril) Colombia empieza su defensa ante la Corte Internacional de Justicia.
La delegación de Nicaragua continúo defendiendo la soberanía del archipiélago de San Andrés, Providencia y Santa Catalina en el pleito que sobre esos territorios en el mar Caribe mantiene Managua contra Colombia ante la Corte Internacional de Justicia (CIJ).
El embajador de Nicaragua en Holanda, Carlos José Argüello Gómez, ha seguido trazando su argumentación y explicando mediante mapas y otros documentos gráficos cuál debe ser la delimitación marítima correcta según Managua y que otorgaría a su país la soberanía de los territorios en conflicto.
Nicaragua, que defendió este lunes durante su primer turno de palabra la nulidad del tratado de 1928 sobre el dominio colombiano de San Andrés, dado que el país se encontraba bajo ocupación de Estados Unidos, ha explicado que ese acuerdo no fijó límites marítimos claros.

ICC Prosecutor goes to Libya on Gaddafi son case

War crimes prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo arrived in Tripoli on Wednesday (18 April) as part of an investigation into charges against Muammar Gaddafi's detained son, Saif al-Islam, sought for trial by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The Hague-based court issued an arrest warrant for Saif al-Islam last year, after prosecutors accused him and others of involvement in the killing of protesters during the revolt that eventually toppled his father.
Libya says he will be tried in his home country but it has been unable to prize him out of the hands of the militia fighters who caught him in the southern desert in November.

La Corte Penal Internacional dicta su primer fallo

Today, 14 March 2012, Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) decided unanimously that Thomas Lubanga Dyilo is guilty, as a co-perpetrator, of the war crimes of conscripting and enlisting children under the age of 15 and using them to participate actively in hostilities from 1 September 2002 to 13 August 2003. It is the first verdict issued by an ICC Trial Chamber. At present, 14 other cases are before the Court, three of which are at the stage of trial.
The present war crimes of enlisting and conscripting children under the age of 15 and using them to participate actively in hostilities were committed in the context of an internal armed conflict that took place in the Ituri (the Democratic Republic of the Congo) and involved the Force patriotique pour la libération du Congo (Patriotic Force for the Liberation of the Congo) (FPLC), led by Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, against the Armée Populaire Congolaise and other militias, including the Force de résistance patriotique en Ituri. A common plan was agreed by Mr Lubanga Dyilo and his co-perpetrators to build an army for the purpose of establishing and maintaining political and military control over Ituri. This resulted in boys and girls under the age of 15 being conscripted and enlisted, and used to participate actively in hostilities.

Exequible la LEY 1449 DE 2011, aprobatoria del “Acuerdo para la Promoción y Protección de Inversiones entre la República de Colombia y la República de la India”.

A continuación transcribimos algunos apartes de la sentencia de la Corte Constitucional colombiana:

"El Acuerdo que se aprueba mediante la citada ley, hace parte del proyecto gubernamental trazado para atraer inversión extranjera directa, con lo cual se pretende, entre varios propósitos, generar empleo y lograr beneficios de la transferencia de tecnología. De manera más precisa, este Acuerdo busca establecer un marco jurídico favorable a la protección de las inversiones de los nacionales colombianos o de la India en el territorio del otro Estado bajo un ambiente de equidad y transparencia. Colombia ha suscrito Acuerdos similares con el Reino Unido de Gran Bretaña e Irlanda del Norte, Cuba, Chile, España, Suiza y Perú. Los acuerdos fundados en la promoción y protección de las inversiones son herramientas usuales de integración internacional a las que acuden los Estados para estrechar lazos comerciales. En el caso específico de la India, el Ministerio de Comercio, Industria y Turismo señala que es el segundo país de mayor población en el mundo y líder e desarrollo y prestación de servicios globales. A lo anterior se agrega que el pacífico asiático se ha convertido en uno de los polos más dinámicos de la economía mundial, núcleo de desarrollo y crecimiento económico, epicentro de comercio e inversión, líder en avances tecnológicos y escenario importante de integración y cooperación económica.

Audiencia en el Parlamento Europeo sobre el Sistema Interamericano

El pasado miércoles 25 de enero de 2012, la Subcomisión de Derechos Humanos del Parlamento Europeo llevó a cabo una audiencia sobre el Sistema Interamericano de Derechos Humanos. A continuación transcribo la descripción oficial del evento y las ponencias que se presentaron:

“The Inter-American human rights mechanism is a well established regional system of human rights protection that coexists with the UN-level universal mechanisms. However, it does face real challenges in terms of resources and sometimes also with regard to real political backing from its Member States. The concerns of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights have increased in recent years due to the increase in the number of cases that the Inter-American Commission has been able to submit to the Tribunal. Consequently, there has been a marked increase in the number of cases on stage of monitoring compliance with the Court's judgements – thus requiring appropriate follow-up. The European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights has from time to time raised cases that have been adjudicated by the Inter-American System. Most recently this was the case in the joint hearing with FEMM Committee on feminicide. With a view to the proposed new EIDHR regulation due to be presented in this same meeting 25/1, the question of further EU support to and cooperation with the Inter-American Court and the Commission is also very timely to consider.*

*¨tomado de: http://corteidhblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/audiencia-en-el-parlamento-europeo.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CorteIdhBlog+%28Corte+IDH+Blog%29

Conferencia UNCTAD-UAM: Responsible Sovereign Financing

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has released in 2011 a set of “Principles on Responsible Sovereign Lending and Borrowing”. The purpose of these Principles is to fill in a crucial gap in international sovereign financing - the non-existence of a set of essential principles, for all types of sovereign debt contracting, that is globally agreed on. The Principles are conceptualized in a holistic way and are thus meant to be applied to sovereign borrowers, developed or developing countries alike, as well as their lenders.

In the context of the Campus of Excellence status awarded to the UAM-CSIC, UNCTAD and the University Autónoma of Madrid (UAM), through its schools of Law and Economics, are organizing the Conference "Responsible Sovereign Borrowing and Lending: The Search for Common Principles”.*

*http://www.uam.es/otros/unctad-uam/

Tribunal ecuatoriano ratifica millonario fallo contra Chevron

Una corte de apelaciones en Ecuador ratificó una sentencia que ordena a la compañía petrolera estadounidense Chevron pagar una suma que podría llegar a más de US$18.000 millones como indemnización a las personas que la acusan de causar daños ambientales en la Amazonía y afectar su salud*.

Más información sobre algunos hechos del caso aquí

Facts About Chevron and Texaco in Ecuador

* Fuente: http://www.bbc.co.uk/mundo/ultimas_noticias/2012/01/120103_ultnot_ecuador_fallo_chevron.shtml