Latest news with #UnitedNationsHumanRightsCommittee
Euractiv
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Euractiv
Kazakhstan puts human rights at core of governance in bid to set regional example
Kazakhstan is making an assertive push to redefine its role in Central Asia by placing human rights, democratic accountability, and the rule of law at the centre of its national reform agenda. 'Kazakhstan's Third Periodic Report reflects a country in transformation, committed to building a 'Just Kazakhstan' rooted in the protection of human rights and democratic government,' said Botagoz Zhakselekova, Vice Minister of Justice. Zhakselekova led the Kazakh delegation to the 144th session of the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC), where she outlined sweeping legal and institutional reforms undertaken since the last review. 'While challenges remain – as they do in all countries – the foundations laid during this reporting period mark a meaningful step forward,' she told the UN. Among the most praised reforms are the abolition of the death penalty, the strengthening of the Ombudsman institution and national preventive mechanisms, new guarantees for gender equality, and enhanced judicial independence. Kazakhstan's legal hierarchy places international treaties above domestic law, and key UN experts welcomed the integration of human rights standards into the country's Constitution and governance framework. Tokayev's reform agenda The political reforms initiated under President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev have been critical in reshaping Kazakhstan's institutional landscape. In 2022, the country transitioned from a super-presidential system to a more balanced presidential-parliamentary republic, limiting the presidency to a single seven-year term. The direct election of rural mayors, the expansion of Parliament's oversight powers, and the implementation of a 30 per cent quota for women, youth, and persons with disabilities in party lists underscore Astana's commitment to inclusivity. Kazakhstan has also reinstated its Constitutional Court, granting citizens, particularly vulnerable groups, direct access to challenge legislation. The Ombudsman's mandate has been significantly expanded to advocate for legal change in response to human rights violations. Reforms in civil liberties include the Law on Peaceful Assemblies, which replaced a permit-based system with a simple notification model. Since its adoption, over 1,500 peaceful demonstrations have taken place. Defamation has been decriminalised, and the Law on Public Oversight has improved civic engagement. Significant steps have also been taken to address domestic violence and protect children. Kazakhstan has strengthened penalties for crimes against minors, including life sentences for child rape, and introduced comprehensive programmes in schools covering personal safety and anti-bullying. A new Compensation Fund for victims of torture and a Law on Combating Human Trafficking ensure victim protection, regardless of legal status. The country has also successfully repatriated Kazakh citizens from conflict zones, including women and children. International backing The reforms earned international recognition during the 48th session of the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva in January. More than 100 UN member states participated in the review. Kazakhstan's UPR report was formally adopted in July, confirming the country's growing credibility on the international stage. The Kazakh government accepted 259 of 294 recommendations, reflecting what UN member states described as a 'genuine interest in constructive dialogue'. Progress in Kazakhstan has drawn attention from Brussels too, where discussions between the two sides have focused on strengthening cooperation between the EU and Kazakhstan's human rights institutions through EU-Kazakhstan and EU-Central Asia platforms. Listening to society A key concept in Kazakhstan's evolving political model is a governance philosophy that seeks to institutionalise dialogue between the government and civil society. Since 2013, more than 50 consultations have been held through formal platforms, integrating civic input into policy-making. While implementation remains a work in progress, the direction of change is clear. 'Ongoing reforms aim to strengthen institutions, empower citizens, and embed international standards into the fabric of our legal and political systems,' said Vice Minister Zhakselekova in Geneva. With its human rights legislation, Kazakhstan is not only responding to international expectations – it is actively seeking to set a new benchmark for reform-minded governance in Central Asia. [Edited By Brian Maguire | Euractiv's Advocacy Lab ]
Montreal Gazette
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
UN should be next stop if Supreme Court won't rein in Quebec's use of notwithstanding: lawyer
Quebec Politics By A prominent human-rights lawyer says the anglophone community should take its case to the United Nations if the Supreme Court of Canada does not step in and curtail Quebec's use of the notwithstanding clause in Bill 96 and other laws. Pearl Eliadis said a complaint could be filed with the United Nations Human Rights Committee, which oversees compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Canada ratified the ICCPR in 1976 and is bound by its provisions. 'Governments in Canada, on the whole, have paid attention to decisions and views from the Human Rights Committee because we are part of an international order,' Eliadis said Wednesday at a public forum about the Constitution's notwithstanding clause. The step should be taken if Canada's top court decides that the province's use of the clause cannot be overturned because the court's hands are tied, said Eliadis, who teaches at McGill University's faculty of law. By triggering the clause, governments can override some fundamental rights enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. After five years, the override expires unless the government renews the use of the clause. Premier François Legault's Coalition Avenir Québec government preemptively invoked the clause to shield Bill 21, a law that bans the wearing of hijabs and other religious symbols by government workers, and Bill 96, which toughened the Charter of the French Language, commonly known as Bill 101. Eliadis is a vocal critic of both laws. 'The international framework for human rights is very clear,' Eliadis said. 'Even in the event of a public emergency, the only thing you cannot derogate from are the equality and non-discrimination rights — and those are precisely the ones that are being violated by laws like Bill 96, Bill 21 and others.' She added: 'I think we need to be paying attention to the international context, understanding that Canada holds itself out as a leader internationally, as a country that cares about international law.' The public forum was organized by the Task Force on Linguistic Policy. The group says it has raised $200,000 from the public to finance its constitutional challenge to Bill 96, which had a wide-ranging impact, including on CEGEP enrolment, business operations, the court system, and access to government services in English. When the Constitution was patriated in 1982, the notwithstanding clause was included at the insistence of provincial premiers concerned the charter would put too much power in the hands of judges. 'This was a political deal that expressly was intended to tie the hands of the courts,' Eliadis said. The Supreme Court has previously ruled that it is not its role to require legislators to justify their invocation of the clause. Eliadis said the top court has essentially held that the clause is a 'magical incantation, you wave this around, you hit Ctrl-Alt-Delete and sections of the Charter — freedom of expression, the right to freedom of religion, the right to peaceful assembly, the right to freedom of association (and other freedoms) — all disappear.' In January, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to Bill 21. That followed a 2024 Quebec Court of Appeal ruling upholding the law. The court rejected challenges from several groups, including the English Montreal School Board, the Fédération autonome de l'enseignement teachers' union and the National Council of Canadian Muslims. During a panel discussion following Eliadis's address, Eric Maldoff, a lawyer and former president of the anglophone rights group Alliance Quebec, said the notwithstanding clause was supposed to be used in exceptional circumstances. Instead, provinces, including Quebec, have tried to 'normalize' its use, he said. 'We've got a rule of law problem here, and the notwithstanding clause in itself is an affront to the rule of law,' Maldoff said. 'It's the government being able to say with the stroke of a pen: your rights don't exist, we can do whatever we want.' Maldoff said those challenging the clause must persuade 'a courageous court that the clause's preemptive use is inappropriate.' Failing that, courts should be urged to declare that they will consider cases where the clause has been invoked, 'with a view to making a declaration on what rights have been abrogated and in what way.' This would ensure that 'when it comes up for renewal, we're not going to have a debate about whether it affects rights. That will already be established.' Joe Ortona, a lawyer who is chair of the EMSB, said the board has a duty to fight Bill 21. The law is 'contrary to all of our values of tolerance, of acceptance, of multiculturalism, and just basic decency, of treating people with dignity and respect, and was not at all the kind of example that we wanted to set for our children,' he said. 'It's a law that we fundamentally oppose, not only on moral grounds, but on constitutional grounds.' The EMSB is fighting the law based on two sections of the charter that cannot be overridden by the notwithstanding clause. One pertains to minority language educational rights, the other to gender equality.
Los Angeles Times
06-06-2025
- Los Angeles Times
Human rights committee blames Guatemala for forcing girl who was raped to carry out her pregnancy
GUATEMALA CITY — A panel of independent experts who make up the United Nations Human Rights Committee said Thursday they found that Guatemala violated the rights of a 14-year-old girl who was raped and forced to continue her pregnancy. A former director of a government-run daycare facility she had attended as a child raped her on multiple occasions beginning in 2009 when she was 13 and no longer attended the center, but she was denied access to abortion, forced to carry out the birth and care for the child, treatment the committee compared to torture. 'No girl should be forced to carry the child of her rapist. Doing so robs her of her dignity, her future, and her most basic rights,' Committee member Hélène Tigroudja said in a statement, adding that 'This is not just a violation of reproductive autonomy — it is a profound act of cruelty.' The committee monitors countries' adherence to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. When the girl's mother found out about the abuse she reported it to authorities. The man and his wife tried to bribe and threaten the girl's family into withdrawing the report. The case wound on in Guatemala's justice system for nine years, but the man was never punished. 'Guatemala did not properly investigate the rape, nor did it take effective action to prosecute the perpetrator,' the committee said. 'Guatemala is one of the Latin American countries with the highest rates of both forced motherhood and systematic impunity for sexual violence,' the committee's statement said. 'Although the Guatemalan Criminal Code allows abortion in specific situations to avoid a threat to the life of the mother, access to legal abortion is almost impossible in practice.' The committee called on Guatemala to establish a system to record and monitor such cases. In the case of the girl, it said the state should support her to complete higher education and attain her goals. Catalina Martínez, vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean for the Center of Reproductive Rights, one of the groups that brought the girl's case forward, said there is agreement in society that the protection of girls is a priority. 'But that promise is broken when we don't provide access to all health services, including abortion, and we obligate them to assume motherhood that they don't want and for which they are not prepared,' she said. Perez D. writes for the Associated Press.
06-06-2025
Human rights committee blames Guatemala for forcing girl who was raped to carry out her pregnancy
GUATEMALA CITY -- A panel of independent experts who make up the United Nations Human Rights Committee said Thursday they found that Guatemala violated the rights of a 14-year-old girl who was raped and forced to continue her pregnancy. A former director of a government-run daycare facility she had attended as a child raped her on multiple occasions beginning in 2009 when she was 13 and no longer attended the center, but she was denied access to abortion, forced to carry out the birth and care for the child, treatment the committee compared to torture. 'No girl should be forced to carry the child of her rapist. Doing so robs her of her dignity, her future, and her most basic rights,' Committee member Hélène Tigroudja said in a statement, adding that 'This is not just a violation of reproductive autonomy — it is a profound act of cruelty.' The committee monitors countries' adherence to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. When the girl's mother found out about the abuse she reported it to authorities. The man and his wife tried to bribe and threaten the girl's family into withdrawing the report. The case wound on in Guatemala's justice system for nine years, but the man was never punished. 'Guatemala did not properly investigate the rape, nor did it take effective action to prosecute the perpetrator,' the committee said. 'Guatemala is one of the Latin American countries with the highest rates of both forced motherhood and systematic impunity for sexual violence,' the committee's statement said. 'Although the Guatemalan Criminal Code allows abortion in specific situations to avoid a threat to the life of the mother, access to legal abortion is almost impossible in practice.' The committee called on Guatemala to establish a system to record and monitor such cases. In the case of the girl, it said the state should support her to complete higher education and attain her goals. Catalina Martínez, vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean for the Center of Reproductive Rights, one of the groups that brought the girl's case forward, said there is agreement in society that the protection of girls is a priority. 'But that promise is broken when we don't provide access to all health services, including abortion, and we obligate them to assume motherhood that they don't want and for which they are not prepared,' she said.
Winnipeg Free Press
06-06-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Human rights committee blames Guatemala for forcing girl who was raped to carry out her pregnancy
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — A panel of independent experts who make up the United Nations Human Rights Committee said Thursday they found that Guatemala violated the rights of a 14-year-old girl who was raped and forced to continue her pregnancy. A former director of a government-run daycare facility she had attended as a child raped her on multiple occasions beginning in 2009 when she was 13 and no longer attended the center, but she was denied access to abortion, forced to carry out the birth and care for the child, treatment the committee compared to torture. 'No girl should be forced to carry the child of her rapist. Doing so robs her of her dignity, her future, and her most basic rights,' Committee member Hélène Tigroudja said in a statement, adding that 'This is not just a violation of reproductive autonomy — it is a profound act of cruelty.' The committee monitors countries' adherence to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. When the girl's mother found out about the abuse she reported it to authorities. The man and his wife tried to bribe and threaten the girl's family into withdrawing the report. The case wound on in Guatemala's justice system for nine years, but the man was never punished. 'Guatemala did not properly investigate the rape, nor did it take effective action to prosecute the perpetrator,' the committee said. 'Guatemala is one of the Latin American countries with the highest rates of both forced motherhood and systematic impunity for sexual violence,' the committee's statement said. 'Although the Guatemalan Criminal Code allows abortion in specific situations to avoid a threat to the life of the mother, access to legal abortion is almost impossible in practice.' The committee called on Guatemala to establish a system to record and monitor such cases. In the case of the girl, it said the state should support her to complete higher education and attain her goals. Catalina Martínez, vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean for the Center of Reproductive Rights, one of the groups that brought the girl's case forward, said there is agreement in society that the protection of girls is a priority. 'But that promise is broken when we don't provide access to all health services, including abortion, and we obligate them to assume motherhood that they don't want and for which they are not prepared,' she said.
