Fighting crime while promoting human rights in the police, the court and the prisons in South Africa

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Progress, Perils and Pitfalls Post the ICC Review

The International Criminal Court is a very controversial institution. It is extensively criticised by both its critics and its supporters. This article examines what steps have been taken to reform the Court. It considers issues such as the need for bet-ter communications and messaging by the Court. The paper takes up how and why the Court needs to engage better and in more far-reaching ways with a host of role players that affect the terrain in which the Court operates. It is argued that more reform is needed in how the Court is lead, how it operates, and who the judges and staff are. It is argued that greater diversity is needed at the Court. Also taken up are how the reach of the Court can be increased beyond only prosecutions, how the Court can assist states to prosecute more cases themselves, and how the Court can become more victim centred. A core theme is how state cooperation can be enhanced. A range of suggestions are made so as to enhance the role of the Court in the years to come.publishersversionpublishe

Nacionalinių žmogaus teisių apsaugos ataskaitų teikimo ir tolesnių veiksmų mechanizmų (NMRF) reikšmė: šių naujų pasaulinių vidaus procesų vertinimas pagal Gruzijos ir Portugalijos pavyzdžius

This article reviews domestic human rights institutions called Mechanisms for Reporting and Follow-Up (NMRFs). The article scrutinizes how important state reporting on human rights has become, and then evaluates what NMRFs are, and what the different models of NRMFs are. The article focuses on the nations of Georgia and Portugal

The 2020 United Nations human rights treaty body review process: prioritising resources, independence and the domestic state reporting process over rationalising and streamlining treaty bodies

This article reflects concerns about what may emerge from the United Nations human rights treaty body (TB) review process that began in April 2020. The fear specifically is what the outcome of that review may be and whether the goal of strengthening and/or streamlining TBs will actually result in a less robust state oversight and human rights compliance methodology in the future. Already TBs have been weakened by being granted fewer resources, which causes strains on the system, and by steps to make the procedures easier, less cumbersome, less duplicative, less time-consuming, and less resource-intensive for states. This article maintains, however, that more emphasis ought in fact to be placed on enhancing the resources available to these institutions, and on strengthening their roles in a variety of ways, including by increasing their independence as a means to improve their performance. It claims that if streamlining TBs means reducing what impact these bodies can have, this ought to be avoided. The article also stresses that if the domestic component of the state reporting process is enhanced, and the national follow-up procedures and processes further developed, the TB process will see improvements, both in its functioning and in its role in promoting and protecting human rights in states. It is thus reasoned that the global push to create and promote national reporting mechanisms ought to be supported.publishersversionpublishe

Civil Society Has a Vital Role to Play in Building a National Preventive Mechanism to Help Combat Torture

Torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment and punishment were routinely and widely practised during the apartheid era in South Africa. However, these human rights abuses are still rife in the country.publishe

The need for a human rights approach to save lives and find missing persons

The world is in a migration crisis. Thousands of people are dying annually trying to get across the Mediterranean. However, this is not a problem unique to Europe. It has remained a hidden global problem for a long time. What is specifically unknown are the numbers of people who have gone missing while migrating. This article therefore focuses on such missing people. It examines the numbers of people that are known to have died, and argues that there is a general dearth of information about both people who have died, as well as those who have gone missing. The article reviews who missing people are and argues that the term missing is only found to any large measure in the laws of armed conflict, and most other situations that cause people to go missing, those who are subject to enforced disappearances, are not covered. The article argues that more research ought to be done on these issues and more data ought to be collected and analysed. It argues that people on migration routes are vulnerable and further argues that more needs to be done to provide them with protection and assistance. The laws dealing with the missing are analysed. The article argues that a human rights approach is needed to deal with the problem and that states need to play much more of a compassionate and humane role concerning migration matters and missing people generally and specifically. The article also argues for partnerships and coordination, that the families need to be given more support, and that more public education is needed to deal with the negative perceptions and misconceptions that exist in many societies to which those migrating seek to move to, as this will give greater positive impetus to states to deal more appropriately with those who migrate for whatever reason.publishersversionpublishe

Bolstering the Right to the Truth

This article argues that while the right to the truth has come to the fore over the last few decades, victims around the world have not really felt its practical effect. It is argued that for the right to have real impact, human rights violations need to be documented and investigated, and the victims identified. This has, however, been limited in the past for a variety of reasons, including the inability to document violations to the extent needed. The article therefore considers how scientific and technological tools can help with this. It is argued that while the right to the truth has been assisted by the advent of DNA analysis, this tool is often not available in large parts of the world because of a lack of resources. Thus, it is argued that other types of techniques can, and must, be used to identify victims of human rights abuses. The article considers how ordinary people and NGOs can use a range of other tools, including a variety of apps and social media, to collect evidence of human rights violations, find people and fight impunity. The article also discusses why there ought therefore to be a greater reliance on open-source information and how it can be used to improve documentation and investigations of human rights violations. Examples that best embody the advantages and disadvantages of these scientific and technological tools are provided, as well as ideas on how to overcome the challenges they present.publishersversionpublishe