2020 E-CONNECT
E-CONNECT No.34
We have issued E-CONNECT No.34 on 19 December, 2020.
Feature story
New UN expert guidelines on preventing and combating racial profiling
The General Recommendation No.36 on “Preventing and Combating Racial Profiling by Law Enforcement Officials” was recently adopted by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). It clarifies the human rights obligations under the Convention as well as a definition of racial profiling. The Committee paid a particular attention to racial bias and discrimination in algorithmic profiling, highlighting one of the major challenges posed by emerging technologies in the protection and promotion of human rights of racialised people. More >>
CERD continues to monitor the state of racial discrimination globally
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the CERD concluded its 102nd session on 24 November which was held online. At the session, the Committee issued follow-up letters to Cuba, Guatemala, Kyrgyzstan, Montenegro and the Republic of Korea, the lists of issues prior to reporting on Guyana and Monaco, and letters to Canada, Panama, the Russian Federation, Thailand and the United States of America under the Early Warning and Urgent Action Procedure. The Committee adopted a view on ‘Lars-Anders Ågren et al v. Sweden’. It found that Sweden violated the indigenous Sami people’s land rights and the right to an effective protection and remedy, in the context of the mining concessions on their traditional territory. IMADR published a summary of the session. More >>
Report “Racism in East Asia” exposes raclialisation of the COVID-19 pandemic
The Organising Committee for East Asia regional consultation published the report on “Racism in East Asia”. It is an outcome document of the online series which examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on racialised communities, especially on migrants, in Hong Kong, Japan and the Republic of Korea, and the effectiveness of domestic law in the protection from racial discrimination. The Organising Committee is formed by civil society organisations from each country/territory for which IMADR functions as the secretariat. More >>
IMADR in the world
Joint statement on International Migrants Day: Stop the pandemic of racism in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic
On the International Migrants Day, human rights NGOs in Hong Kong, Japan and the Republic of Korea expressed unequivocal commitment to human rights of all migrants in East Asia and to progress toward a world free from racism and racial discrimination. More >>
IMADR and its concerns
Hate speech against minorities in social media and intersecting discrimination
At the 13th session of the UN Forum on Minority Issues, IMADR urged the Special Rapporteur to reflect minorities’ intersecting identities such as gender, gender identity, sexual orientation and disability in his recommendations to States and other stakeholders to tackle online hate speech effectively. More >>
IMADR at the UN
CERD holds 103rd session in April 2021
The Committee’s 103rd session will be held in April 2021. Considering the pandemic situation, the Committee decided to review two States parties in an online format, if in-person meetings remain not possible. More >>
Publication
Submission: Joint NGO report on racial discrimination in Japan
For the consideration of the 7th periodic report of Japan by the UN Human Rights Committee (CCPR), the Japan NGO Network for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ERD Net) submitted a joint NGO report on the situation of indigenous peoples, minorities and migrants in the country. More >>
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 >>
E-CONNECT No.31
We have issued E-CONNECT No.31 on 1 April, 2020.
Feature story
States must support Afro-descendant human rights defenders to fight racism and discrimination
On the occasion of the Human Rights Council debate on the midterm review of the International Decade for People of African Descent, IMADR jointly called on States to support civil society, in particular Afro-descendant human rights defenders, in the efforts to combat racism and discrimination in the statement with Minority Rights Group International and the International Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race & Equality). The statement highlighted the critical role of civil society in fighting violence and discrimination against people of African descent at the national, regional and international levels including a variety of work done by the three organisations. More >>
New video for the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
To commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (21 March), IMADR released a three-minute video clip. It explains the historical background of the International Day, the Sharpeville massacre by the apartheid regime in South Africa in 1960, and highlights contemporary issues of racism and discrimination such as human rights violations against migrants including refugees and asylum-seekers and racist hate speech by politicians and high-ranking officials. More >>
Multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination against women in Japan
To inform a list of issues prior to reporting (LOIPR) for Japan prepared by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), IMADR and its partners submitted a joint NGO report on multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination against women from Buraku, indigenous Ainu, Zainichi Korean and migrant communities as well as women with disabilities. The report illustrates human rights challenges faced by the women in various areas such as violence, access to justice, hate speech, education and employment, participation in political and public life. CEDAW adopted the LOIPR for Japan in March. More >>
IMADR in the world
Accountability in Sri Lanka
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights expressed concerns on a possible reversal of past commitments to reconciliation, accountability and human rights in Sri Lanka in her monitoring report presented to the 43rd session of the Human Rights Council. IMADR delivered a joint NGO statement to call for the establishment of an international accountability mechanism on Sri Lanka. More >>
IMADR and its concerns
COVID-19: Report racist incident
In response to the increasing number of reports on incidents of racism and discrimination related to the COVID-19 pandemic, IMADR compiled a list of national bodies where complaints on such incidents can be brought. More >>
IMADR at the UN
CERD postpones 101st session
UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has postponed its 101st session due to COVID-19. Denmark, Italy, Lebanon, Netherlands, Singapore and Switzerland were scheduled to be reviewed during the 101st session. More >>
Publication
Submission: Role of bots in racist hate speech
In response to the call for submissions for her thematic report to the Human Rights Council on new information technologies, racial equality, and non-discrimination, IMADR submitted the information to the UN Special Rapporteur on racism, focusing on the role of bots in racist hate speech in the online space. More >>
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