El futuro de la rendición de cuentas en materia de derechos humanos se acerca – Las leyes de Magnitsky se mueven hacia el centro del escenario en los Estados Unidos y Europa.

by Marc Limon, Executive Director of the Universal Rights Group and Ben Greenacre, Universal Rights Group Prevention, accountability and justice

El asesinato extrajudicial del columnista del Washington Post Jamal Khashoggi en el consulado de Arabia Saudita en Turquía, y la reacción internacional al mismo, bien podrían representar un momento decisivo en la evolución de los sistemas de responsabilidad internacional por violaciones graves de derechos humanos. Específicamente, la respuesta de Estados Unidos a dicho asesinato está siendo moldeada (o, desde la …

The future of human rights accountability edges closer: Magnitsky laws move to centre stage in the US and Europe

by Marc Limon, Executive Director of the Universal Rights Group and Ben Greenacre, Universal Rights Group Accountability, Corruption and human rights, Human rights institutions and mechanisms, Justice, Prevention, Prevention, accountability and justice, Thematic human rights issues

The extrajudicial killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Turkey, and the international reaction thereto, could well represent a defining moment in the evolution of systems of international accountability for serious human rights violations. In particular, the US response to the killing is being shaped (or, from the perspective of President Trump, perhaps dictated) …

Crunch time for Human Rights Council efficiency reforms

by Marc Limon, Executive Director of the Universal Rights Group Human rights implementation and impact, Human rights institutions and mechanisms, Prevention, Prevention, accountability and justice

After four years of discussions in and around the Human Rights Council about improving the body’s efficiency, discussions that have culminated, over the past ten months, in intensive Bureau-led negotiations to secure agreement on a meaningful (though still rather modest) set of reform measures; States are now entering the final stretch, with the contours of a deal clearly discernible in …

The death of Jamal Khashoggi and the growing prominence of global ‘Magnitsky’ laws as a means of securing accountability

by Ben Greenacre, Universal Rights Group Accountability, Corruption and human rights, Justice, Prevention, Prevention, accountability and justice, Thematic human rights issues

What do the Russian anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky and the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi have in common? Both victims of shocking human rights violations, including torture and, ultimately, extrajudicial killing, their cases have helped to catalyse an important new trend in how the international community addresses serious infractions of international human rights law. In particular, both killings are closely associated …

High Commissioner speaks on human rights, resilience and prevention

by Danica Damplo, Universal Rights Group NYC Prevention, Prevention, accountability and justice

Newly appointed High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, gave a statement at a High-Level Event during the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly, marking the 70th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, “A Prevention Tool to Achieve Peace and Sustainable Development.” She said: “Human rights are the interlocking elements that build resilient and confident societies – societies …

Time for a ‘Universal Magnitsky Act’?

by Marc Limon, Executive Director of the Universal Rights Group and Mary Grace Carey, Universal Rights Group Accountability, Corruption and human rights, Justice, Prevention, Prevention, accountability and justice, Thematic human rights issues

In 2009, Russian tax accountant Sergei Magnitsky died in a Moscow prison after investigating a $230 million tax fraud involving Russian officials. A subsequent investigation into his case by the Kremlin’s own human rights commission, ordered and endorsed (in July 2011) by the-then Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, found that in order to silence Magnitsky, corrupt officials had accused him of …

Anticorrupción y derechos humanos

by H.E. Ambassador Julian Braithwaite, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom By invitation, Human rights institutions and mechanisms, Prevention, Prevention, accountability and justice

El 1 de mayo de este año, los diputados de los principales partidos políticos del Reino Unido acordaron en el Parlamento del Reino Unido apoyar la enmienda ‘Magnitsky’ al proyecto de ley de sanciones y prevención del lavado de dinero. La enmienda fue adoptada sin votación y fue descrita por el Secretario de Relaciones Exteriores, Boris Johnson, como “un momento …

Anti-corruption and human rights

by H.E. Ambassador Julian Braithwaite, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom By invitation, Corruption and human rights, Human rights institutions and mechanisms, Prevention, Prevention, accountability and justice, Thematic human rights issues

On 1 May this year, MPs from across the major UK political parties, agreed in the UK Parliament to support a ‘Magnitsky’ amendment to the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Bill. The amendment was adopted without a vote and was described by the Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, as “an important moment” that would “allow the UK to act against those responsible …

NGO advocacy and the Council’s prevention mandate

by Nicolas Agostini, Representative to the United Nations for DefendDefenders Accountability, By invitation, Human rights institutions and mechanisms, Prevention, Prevention, accountability and justice

As the Human Rights Council enters its teenage years, the Council’s ‘prevention mandate’—i.e., its responsibility to ‘contribute, through dialogue and cooperation, towards the prevention of human rights violations and [to] respond promptly to human rights emergencies’ [1] —has become one of the hot topics of discussion. Operationalising the prevention part of the Council’s mandate was the central theme of the last …

What are the human rights priorities of world governments in 2018?

by the URG team Corruption and human rights, Human rights implementation and impact, Human rights institutions and mechanisms, Prevention, Prevention, accountability and justice, Special Procedures, Thematic human rights issues, Treaty Bodies, Universal Periodic Review

An independent analysis of the High Level Segment of the Human Rights Council  At the opening of the 37th session of the Human Rights Council, nearly one hundred world leaders (e.g. presidents, prime ministers, ministers) delivered high level speeches commenting on the state of global human rights in 2018, and presenting their country’s priorities for the year ahead. The Universal Rights …