Category: News
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The DRC must pay off its debt to victims of mass crimes
Why do so few victims in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) receive reparations even as the number of convictions for international crimes continues to rise? A policy brief produced by TRIAL International and its partners gives details of excessively lengthy and complicated procedures. The document, endorsed by around twenty civil society players and…
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The health crisis in Belgium: A breeding ground for indirect discrimination?
Avocats Sans Frontières publishes a study on the indirectly discriminatory impact of Belgian emergency policies on certain categories of the population, particularly vulnerable ones. The analysis, carried out as part of the project ‘Covid-19 Monitoring and Rule of Law’, relies on observation activities, as well as a set of interviews conducted by ASF in June…
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Arbitrary detention in DR Congo: The Detention ExPEERience network introduces a liability action against the State in 4 jurisdictions
On September 15, 2020, 6 requests were filed at the High Courts in Kinshasa, Mbuji-Mayi (Kasai Oriental), Lubumbashi (Haut Katanga), and Kindu (Maniema). Written in the name of citizens and civil society organisations, they ask the competent judges to recognize instances of arbitrary dentention as well as the disastrous state of prisons in the country,…
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Ebru Timtik est morte, sauvons Aytaç Unsal
Les avocats Ebru Timtik et Aytaç Unsal, condamnés à respectivement 14 ans et 11 années de prison, ont décidé de faire une grève de la faim illimitée pour dénoncer le procès injuste dont plusieurs dizaines d’avocats turcs font l’objet. Ils demandent à pouvoir bénéficier d’un procès équitable. Ce jeudi 27 août 2020, nous avons appris…
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Indonesia: A cacophonic legal response to the Covid-19 pandemic to the expense of human rights
Indonesia has been particularly impacted by Covid-19. According to official data, Indonesia ranks second within South East Asia in terms of positive cases ; fifth in terms of mortality rate. 20,5% of Covid-19 cases were located in the capital city, Jakarta. This blogpost focuses on the legal response adopted in the first phase of the…
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Tunisia : The Truth and Dignity Commission report available in English !
On July 24th 2020, the Truth and Dignity Commission’s (IVD) final report has finally been published in a special issue of the Official Gazette of the Tunisian Republic. This report concludes the Commission’s work, which included the hearings of nearly 62.000 victims, the transfer of 204 cases to specialized criminal chambers in charge of prosecuting…
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Truth and Reconciliation Commission: Belgium’s opportunity to deal with the injustices born of its colonial past
The issue of prejudices born out of colonisation, which has long been relegated to the background of public discourse, has recently gained momentum in Europe; particularly in Belgium. A proposal for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission is currently being debated by Belgian parliamentarians. Belgium thus has a historic opportunity to confront its colonial past, to…
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The Tunisian response to the Covid-19 pandemic – When the state of exception overlaps with the state of emergency
As the Covid-19 pandemic entered a peak phase in China and was becoming more and more threatening in Europe, Tunisia very quickly deployed a preventative response, conscious of its health system’s weakness to contain such a crisis. The first measures were thus put in place on 26 January, with the installation of thermal cameras and,…
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Uganda’s de facto state of emergency to address the Covid-19 pandemic
Oeganda, gesterkt door zijn recente ervaring met het aanpakken van het ebolavirus, heeft een masterplan ontwikkeld om de verspreiding van COVID-19 tegen te gaan. Preventieve maatregelen werden vanaf 18 maart genomen, zelfs voordat het eerste geval van besmetting geregistreerd werd in het land. Terwijl het eerste geval geregistreerd werd op 22 maart, was het gezondheidspersoneel…
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The spread of COVID-19 requires urgent and immediate measures to be taken to protect the rights of detainees in Africa
Joint statement adressed to the member states of the African Union and to human rights international organisations in Africa.