Read on to remain up to date with the latest international human rights news, views and developments!
In a series of groundbreaking rulings in early 2024, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the Constitutional Court of Colombia set new precedents that significantly enhance protections for human rights defenders across Latin America.
On 22 and 23 March 2023, the Human Rights Council held a general debate on human rights situations requiring the Council’s attention. States and NGOs spoke, and the High Commissioner spoke on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. They drew the Council’s attention to a number of country situations of concern. ISHR delivered a statement, highlighting the human rights situation in four countries: Burkina Faso, Colombia, El Salvador, and Saudi Arabia.
UN committee releases findings on socio-economic rights in China, calling for a clear regulatory framework for companies operating overseas. Prior to China's review, ISHR and the CICDHA coalition submitted a report looking at the human rights impact of 14 Chinese projects in 9 Latin American countries.
ISHR and partners called for government-wide reforms in a third-party intervention in a case where the country’s highest court will analyse the general situation of human rights defenders in Colombia.
ISHR, along with multiple other NGOs, released a joint statement condemning the criminalisation of women human rights defender Milena Quiroz and calling for her right to a fair trial and her right to defend human rights to be guaranteed.
On 16 March 2022, ILEX Accion Juridica and ISHR made a joint statement during the Human Rights Council 49th session, calling upon the Colombian government to to guarantee the Afro-Colombian population’s right to be statistically visible in official information sources.
More than 300 NGOs have called on the Human Rights Council to demand that Colombia respect the right to peaceful protest; investigate violations committed against protestors and defenders in recent weeks and respond to protestors’ demands to deal with poverty, systemic racism, inequalities and impunity in the country.
In two third party interventions, in relation to a case filed by a group of Colombian human rights defenders alleging violations of their constitutional rights, ISHR sought to strengthen legal protections for human rights defenders across the country.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights denounced today the situation for human rights defenders in Colombia, Guatemala, and Honduras. The absence of the state, legal restrictions, and ineffective practices were highlighted as obstacles that must be urgently tackled by governments. Spanish version
The alarming number of killings of human rights defenders in Colombia requires that the government resolve its differences with the UN expert on human rights defenders and OHCHR and focus on their recommendations for change.
As Colombians march for peace on 26 July, we echo their call for a permanent end to the war, and for the government to protect social leaders building peace in their communities. We stand in solidarity with the millions who are struggling to build a just, complete and lasting peace, and who say #26deJulioElGrito.
A Sudanese refugee activist held in the Australian immigration detention and processing system for over five years, Abdul Aziz Muhamat, is the 2019 Martin Ennals Award Laureate. He was among three finalists, selected by a jury of ten of the world’s leading human rights organisations, together with Marino Cordoba Berrio (Colombia) and Eren Keskin (Turkey). The three of them were honoured today during a ceremony organised by the City of Geneva.
