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E-CONNECT

E-CONNECT No.33

We have issued E-CONNECT No.33 on 22 October, 2020.

Feature story

Over 500 NGOs call for resumption of country monitoring by UN human rights treaty bodies

522 organisations from all regions joined the civil society letter to urge the Human Rights Treaty Bodies and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to schedule State reviews no later than 2021 and communicate clearly to civil society in advance about their up-coming work. The letter expresses concerns on the increasing backlog and protection gap due to the fact that the Treaty Bodies are not reviewing States. It considers that online or hybrid State reviews can be done on a temporary and exceptional basis in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter was prepared by TB-Net, which IMADR is a founding member, together with Amnesty International and the International Service for Human Rights. More >>

UN Human Rights Council is urged to establish an accountability mechanism on Sri Lanka

The UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence submitted a much-awaited report on Sri Lanka to the 45th session of the UN Human Rights Council held in September. At the presentation of his reports, IMADR delivered a joint statement with international and regional human rights NGOs to highlight the series of regressive steps and signs of further backtracking on reconciliation, accountability, and human rights in Sri Lanka, to call upon the Human Rights Council to establish an international accountability mechanism and to urge the Special Rapporteur to closely follow-up on the country situation. More >>

India must strengthen its fight against manual scavenging and protect Dalits

In response to the follow-up report on India by the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation, IMADR delivered a statement at the 45th session of the UN Human Rights Council. The statement, supported by the International Dalit Solidarity Network, highlights the remaining challenge to eradicate the practice of manual scavenging which Dalits, especially Dalit women, are disproportionately affected by. The statement points out that manual scavengers are dangerously exposed to COVID-19 by cleaning medical and virus-affected waste without any safety equipment. More >>

IMADR in the world

Webinar: “Racism and domestic law” in East Asia (27 October 2020)
The Organising Committee for East Asia regional consultation invites you to the 3rd webinar of the online series on Racism in East Asia – “Racism and domestic law” on 27 October 2020 at 16h00–17h30 (ROK/JPN)/ 15h00–16h30 (HK). More >>

IMADR and its concerns

Reprisals against indigenous human rights defenders
At the annual panel discussion on the rights of indigenous peoples of the UN Human Rights Council, IMADR raised concerns on reprisals against indigenous human rights defenders for cooperating with the UN human rights bodies as seen in the case of indigenous representatives from Russia who engaged with the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) in 2017. More >>

IMADR at the UN

CERD holds 102nd session online
UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) will hold its 102nd session online in November. The Committee will consider the follow-up reports of Cuba, Guatemala, Kyrgyzstan, Montenegro and the Republic of Korea, and adopt a list of issues prior to reporting (LOIPR) on Guyana, Monaco and Tunisia. More >>

Publication

Submission: Inputs on the prohibition of racial discrimination in immigration detention
In response to the UN Committee on Migrant Workers’ call for comments on its draft General Comment No.5 on migrants’ rights to liberty and freedom from arbitrary detention, IMADR submitted inputs on the need to collect disaggregated data on the population of immigration detention facilities to combat racially discriminatory treatments of migrants. More >>

E-CONNECT No.32

We have issued E-CONNECT No.32 on 24 June, 2020.

Feature story

UN Human Rights Council addressed systemic racism and police brutality against people of African descent

The Human Rights Council held the urgent debate in response to the police killing of George Floyd in the United States and protests around the world. Prior to the debate, a joint statement by 47 UN experts and a statement by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) were issued concerning the situation in the United States. Following the debate, the Council adopted a resolution to request the High Commissioner to prepare a report on systemic racism, human rights violations against Africans and people of African descent by law enforcement agencies as well as to provide oral updates on the issue of police brutality. IMADR delivered a statement at the debate and expressed support for independent international investigations into structural racism in law enforcement and related human rights violations in the United States. More >>

Civil society calls for non-discriminatory provision of emergency reliefs to students in Japan

In May, the Ministry of Education of Japan established the scheme of the Emergency Cash Handouts to Support Students for their “continuous learning”, which aims to grant cash benefits to students in higher education who face financial difficulties as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the criteria and scope of the scheme would exclude international students and students attending Korea University, many of them belonging to the Korean minority, civil society organisations in Japan have requested for the removal of the discriminatory criteria in order to ensure all students’ enjoyment of the right to education. More >>

UN human rights treaty bodies must continue to monitor States during the COVID-19 crisis

In early June, the Chairs and members of the human rights treaty bodies met online to discuss their work in relation to COVID-19 and the 2020 review of the treaty body system. TB-Net (NGO Network on UN Treaty Bodies), which IMADR is a founding member, participated in the informal meeting to share inputs from civil society perspectives. TB-Net urged the treaty bodies to remind States of their human rights obligations during the crisis, incorporate questions specific to the pandemic in the States’ reporting processes, and ensure that online working methods enhance the engagement with civil society. More >>

IMADR in the world

Call for written contributions: the state of the UN human rights treaty body system
The co-facilitators for the review of the UN human rights treaty body system, Switzerland and Morocco, opened the call for written contributions regarding the review process, with 18 guiding questions. Deadline for submissions is 7 July 2020. More >>

IMADR and its concerns

COVID-19 pandemic, racism and discrimination
At the resumed 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council, IMADR raised concerns on racial discrimination and inequalities during the pandemic. IMADR called on States to take concrete steps to close the gap in the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA), and strengthen their support to the UN human rights mechanisms. More >>

IMADR at the UN

CERD holds 101st session online
UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) will hold its 101st session online. The Committee postponed the country reviews of Bahrain, Belgium, Bolivia, Denmark, France, Niger, Singapore and Thailand. More >>

Publication

Submission: COVID-19 and the rise of nationalist and religious extremism in Sri Lanka
In response to the call for submissions for her thematic report to the General Assembly on the rise of anti-Semitism and other forms of racism in times of COVID-19, IMADR submitted the information to the UN Special Rapporteur on racism, focusing on the rise of nationalist and religious extremism in Sri Lanka and discrimination against ethno-religious minorities, in particular Muslims. More >>