Newsletter E-CONNECT No.35 is out

On the 31st of March, we released our new issue of E-CONNECT. If you have not subscribed to our newsletter, you can do it from here! Back number is also available.

Feature story

UN decides to gather and preserve evidence of human rights violations in Sri Lanka for future accountability

Last week, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on Sri Lanka to strengthen the capacity of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to collect, consolidate, analyze and preserve evidence for future accountability processes for gross violations of human rights or serious violations of international humanitarian law. In her report on Sri Lanka, the High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet also recommended UN Members States to prosecute international crimes in domestic jurisdictions and impose targeted sanctions against perpetrators of grave human rights violations and abuses, in the set of her recommendations. Prior to the adoption of the resolution, IMADR urged the Human Rights Council to give monitoring and evidence-gathering mandates to the OHCHR. More >>

NGOs condemn the widespread police violence against black Brazilians

IMADR joined the Marielle Franco Institute and other international human rights NGOs to remind the UN Human Rights Council that there has been no accountability for the murder of Marielle Franco, a prominent human rights defender, who was killed by a retired police officer in Rio de Janeiro in March 2018. In 2020, about 1,230 people were killed by the police, and most of them were young black men. We called on the Brazilian government to give truth to the families of victims, meaningfully cooperate with the UN human rights system, and create mechanisms to combat political violence. More >>

Statement: “Problem of Ramseyer’s Article on Buraku: from the Perspective of Human Rights and Non-Discrimination”

Alarmed by the article “On the Invention of Identity Politics: The Buraku Outcastes in Japan” written by Professor Mark Ramseyer of Harvard University, IMADR issued a statement to clearly state our views on the article from the human rights and non-discrimination perspective. The statement has been supported by the International Dalit Solidarity Network (IDSN) and Minority Rights Group International (MRG), with whom we have worked together for minority rights. You can endorse the statement via our website. More >>

IMADR in the world

Regional Webinar: “Refugee Protection in East Asia: Changes and Challenges” (2 April 2021)
You are invited to the regional webinar on Friday, 2 April. At the webinar, experts will discuss with the panel of refugee speakers about problematic legal amendments proposed in Japan, Hong Kong and the Republic of Korea concerning the rights of refugees. More >>

IMADR and its concerns

UN expert’s reports on hate speech against minorities in social media
The UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Dr Fernand de Varennes, presented the report of the 2020 Forum on Minority Issues and his thematic report to the 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council, both of which focused on hate speech, social media and minorities. During the interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur, IMADR encouraged him to involve civil society, in particular minorities, in the preparation of guidelines on the issue. More >>

IMADR at the UN

CERD reviews Belgium next month
The Committee will pilot an online State review of Belgium at the upcoming 103rd session in April 2021. They will also adopt lists of issues prior to reporting (LOIPRs) on Gabon, Lesotho, Maldives and Tunisia, and assess the follow-up reports of Iceland, Jordan, Mexico, Poland and the State of Palestine. More >>

Publication

Summary Report – Racism in East Asia (2020)
The report is an outcome document of the last year’s regional webinars 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. More >>