Topic: Rule of Law
Turkmenistan Faces UN Challenge over Death of Human Rights Activist
Turkmenistan’s authoritarian state is being called to account before the UN Human Rights Committee over the death in police custody seven years ago of human rights activist Ogulsapar Muradova.
Independent Expert Panel Assesses Candidates for 2018 Inter-American Court of Human Rights
The creation of an independent panel to review the selection process for the Inter-American human rights system is part of a continuing effort by civil society groups to promote transparency.
African Tribunal Reinforces Nationality Rights for Children
The African Union body responsible for protecting children’s rights has urged Kenya to grant citizenship to children of its stateless Nubian minority, in a ruling that marks a victory in the battle against statelessness across the continent and beyond.
Statement on Pretrial Detention and Discrimination
Advocates including the Open Society Foundations speak out on the estimated three million people around the world behind bars awaiting trial—many of whom are from the poorest and most marginalized sectors of society.
ECOWAS Court Finds Gambia Failed to Investigate Death of Leading Newspaper Editor
The regional human rights court has rebuked the government of President Yahya Jammeh of the Gambia over the killing of Deyda Hydara in 2004.
Open Society Justice Initiative Sues U.S. Government for Khashoggi Records
A lawsuit filed in federal court in the South District of New York seeks the immediate release of government records relating to the killing of U.S. resident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.
Azerbaijan Challenged Over Deprivation of Citizenship
A leading Azerbaijani journalist and rights defender, Emin Huseynov, is asking the European Court of Human Rights to rule that he has been wrongly stripped of his citizenship.
New Report: Time to Rebuild Rule of Law in Mexico’s Guerrero State
An assessment of the justice system in Mexico’s Guerrero state has underlined the systematic failure to investigate and prosecute the grave crimes of murder, torture and enforced disappearance.
Ukraine Public Defender Office Promotes Rights of the Accused
A newly opened public defender office—a joint project of the Open Society Justice Initiative and two other civil society groups—recorded a major success last week when it was assured by Regional Director of Kharkiv Police that local police will...
Mexico Plans Its First Pretrial Services Agency
Mexican officials gathered in Chihuahua to plan the country's first pretrial services agency at a meeting organized and led by the Open Society Justice Initiative and its Mexican partner organization, Renace.
Open Society Justice Initiative Trains Lawyers in Combating Torture
Lawyers from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan join international human rights law experts this week for a practical seminar on strategic litigation to combat torture and ill-treatment organized by the Open Society Justice Initiative.
Georgia's First Public Defender Office Opens in Tbilisi
Georgia’s first public defender office will provide legal aid for criminal defendants unable to afford a lawyer thanks to a pilot program established with technical assistance from the Open Society Justice Initiative and others.
Momentum for Legal Aid Reform Builds Across Europe and Beyond
The Second European Access to Justice Forum, organized by the Open Society Justice Initiative and the Public Interest Law Initiative, met to discuss the need to reform legal aid systems.
Independent Panel Finds Only Three of Five Inter-American Human Rights Commission Candidates Qualified for Office
Two out of five candidates for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights are unqualified for office, a new report by independent experts finds.
New Principles Address the Balance between National Security and the Public’s Right to Know
The Tshwane principles focus on how to ensure public access to government information without jeopardizing legitimate efforts to protect people from national security threats.
2005 Andijan Massacre: A Survivor Appeals for Justice
Husanboy Ruziyev, a survivor of the 2005 massacre that left hundreds dead, accuses the Uzbek authorities of subjecting him to torture and illegal detention in 2004, and of failing to properly investigate the 2005 violence.
Time for Denmark to Acknowledge Its Role in CIA’s al-Awlaki Killing
The Open Society Justice Initiative has filed Freedom of Information requests over Denmark’s role in the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen, in a CIA drone strike in 2011.
Independent Report Gives High Marks to Prosecution Reform in Guatemala
A new report highlights progress made by Guatemala's Public Ministry under Attorney General Claudia Paz y Paz, now seeking a second term in office.
New Independent Panel Will Monitor Election of Inter-American Human Rights Commissioners and Judges
In a move to support and strengthen human rights in the Americas, a panel of five independent experts will monitor the forthcoming election of new members to the region’s human rights commission and court.
NGOs Respond to Belgian Proposals on European Rights System
Ten European and international civil society groups have responded to proposals from Belgium that could lead to speedier and more effective execution of judgments made by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).