International Human Rights News: Weekly Roundup

By  Besir Ozbek, Agathe Artus, Övünç Güneş, Francesca Fazio

Each week students at the University of Essex Human Rights Centre prepare an overview of the past week’s human rights related news stories from around the world.

International

New ECOSOC president to revive ‘deliberative function’ of forum – UN News

World Day Against Trafficking in Persons: States must treat refugees and migrants as rights holders and act to prevent trafficking and exploitation – OHCHR

‘Stigma and discrimination still persists’ against people living with HIV – UN labour agency – UN News

Expect More Heat Waves Due to Climate Change, Experts Warn – Global Citizen

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Retroactive compliance? An inter-American blunder in the Case of Maldonado Ordóñez vs. Guatemala

By Paola Limón 

Between 1960 and 1996, Guatemala suffered a violent internal armed conflict. During this time, it also managed to become a full member of the Inter-American Human Rights System: signing the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR) in November 1969, ratifying it in April 1978 and accepting the jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) in May 1978.

Since 1996, the IACtHR has decided 25 cases against Guatemala; making it the country with the second highest number of contentious cases decided by the IACtHR (Peru is first, with 42 cases since 1995). Of these 25 cases, Guatemala has only fully complied with one. In this regard, on 21 September 2017, the IACtHR notified its monitoring compliance resolution of 30 August 2017, declaring that Guatemala had fully complied with its judgment of 3 May 2016 in the Case of Maldonado Ordóñez.

Although this might seem like an inconsequential matter at first glance, it is unprecedented that Guatemala fully complied with an IACtHR judgment; even more so, considering that it happened in approximately 14 months. But a closer look into the merits proceedings and reparations orders in this case, reveals that full implementation of this judgment was only possible, in time and substance, due to an error attributable –not exclusively– to the IACtHR. This post, product of the ESRC Human Rights Law Implementation Project –HRLIP– (see endnote), seeks to explore those aspects of the IACtHR’s proceedings and orders in this case, which facilitated implementation of the judgment.

What Next After the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica Revelations?

By Vivian Ng

This post originally appeared on the Human Rights, Big Data and Technology (HRBDT) Project Blog.

On 2 July 2018, the Human Rights, Big Data and Technology (HRBDT) Project co-hosted a panel discussion with the International Law Program at Chatham House, on ‘What Next After the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica Revelations?’. Experts on the panel included Silkie Carlo, Director of Big Brother Watch, David Kaye, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, Lorna McGregor, the Principal Investigator and Co-Director of the HRBDT Project, and James Williams, a writer and academic at the University of Oxford, and formerly a strategist at Google. The discussion was chaired by Harriet Moynihan, an Associate Fellow of the International Law Program at from Chatham House.

In the opening remarks, Harriet Moynihan set out how recent discussions have focused on two key issues – first, the question of how accountability and effective remedy can be achieved, and second, what regulation should look like. There is heavy emphasis on the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), but what are the implications for international law? How can standards in human rights and data protection respond?

International Human Rights News: Weekly Roundup

By Manon Clayette, Nina Giraudel, Ayushi Kalyan and Sweekruthi Keshavamurthy

Each week students at the University of Essex Human Rights Centre prepare an overview of the past week’s human rights related news stories from around the world.

International

Developed Nations Far More Exposed To Slavery Within Their Borders Than Previously Thought – Global Slavery Index

International Criminal Court Treaty Turns 20 – Human Rights Watch

E-Governance: A powerful tool to combat, mitigate and sustainably manage disaster risks – UN News

It’s Not Just the Tampon Tax: Why Periods Are Political – The New York Times 

International Human Rights News: Weekly Roundup

By  Besir Ozbek, Agathe Artus, Övünç Güneş, Francesca Fazio

Each week students at the University of Essex Human Rights Centre prepare an overview of the past week’s human rights related news stories from around the world.

International

‘Historic moment’ for people on the move, as UN agrees first-ever Global Compact on migration – UN News

The ICC Turns 20 – The Future of International Justice Amid Boundless Cruelty (Interview) – Human Rights Watch

Disney Will Produce 21 Short Films by Aspiring Female Filmmakers Around the World – Global Citizen

World Population Day: ‘A matter of human rights’ says UN – UN News

NATO Issues Strong Statement On Spending, Russia, Amid Discord And Trump Criticism – RFE/RL

Failure to educate girls could cost world $30 trillion – Reuters

Why We Need to Stop Talking About ‘Killer Robots’ and Address the AI Backlash

By Lorna McGregor

This post originally appeared on EJIL: Talk!

In the field of artificial intelligence, the spectacle of the ‘killer robot’ looms large. In my work for the ESRC Human Rights, Big Data and Technology Project, I am often asked about what the ‘contemporary killer robot’ looks like and what it means for society. In this post, I offer some reflections on why I think the image of the ‘killer robot’ – once a mobiliser for dealing with autonomous weapons systems – is now narrowing and distorting the debate and taking us away from the broader challenges posed by artificial intelligence, particularly for human rights.

In order to address these challenges, I argue that we have to recognise the speed at which technology is developing. This requires us to be imaginative enough to predict and be ready to address the risks of new technologies ahead of their emergence. The example of self-driving cars is a good illustration of technology having arrived before regulatory issues have been resolved. To do otherwise means that we will be perpetually behind the state of technological development and regulating retrospectively. We therefore need to future-proof regulation, to the extent possible, which requires much more forward-thinking and prediction than we have engaged in so far.

International Human Rights News: Weekly Roundup

By Manon Clayette, Ayushi Kalyan, Nina Giraudel, and Sweekruthi Keshavamurthy

Each week students at the University of Essex Human Rights Centre prepare an overview of the past week’s human rights related news stories from around the world.

International

Dangers of poor quality health care revealed ‘in all countries’: WHO report – UN News

The EU Parliament makes it clear — no deal for Azerbaijan unless it improves its rights record – Human Rights Watch

Treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons marks first anniversary, but still lacks sufficient numbers to become law – UN News

UN: Next week, world leaders have a chance to end child migration detention for good – Amnesty International   

Quick Comment on UK Draft Data Retention and Acquisition Regulations 2018 and the definition of ‘serious crime’ for bulk surveillance powers

By Daragh Murray and Pete Fussey

The UK Government has published the Draft Data Retention and Acquisition Regulations 2018, which propose changes to the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA) and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA). Both the IPA and RIPA provide a legal basis for Government surveillance, including bulk surveillance techniques.

The changes included in the draft were brought about, in large part, as a result of adverse findings by the Court of Justice of the European Union in the Watson case, which held that the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights:

…must be interpreted as precluding national legislation governing the protection and security of traffic and location data and, in particular, access of the competent national authorities to the retained data, where the objective pursued by that access, in the context of fighting crime, is not restricted solely to fighting serious crime, where access is not subject to prior review by a court or an independent administrative authority, and where there is no requirement that the data concerned should be retained within the European Union. (para 125)

International Human Rights News: Weekly Roundup

By Besir Ozbek, Agathe Artus, Övünç Güneş, Francesca Fazio

Each week students at the University of Essex Human Rights Centre prepare an overview of the past week’s human rights related news stories from around the world.

International

UN Human Rights Council: As US Retreats, Other Countries Need To Work Together in Defense of Human Rights – Human Rights Watch

Rise in number of children killed, maimed and recruited in conflict: UN report – UN News

The World Is Behind Target to Achieve the Global Goals by 2030 – Global Citizen

‘We must fight terrorism together’ without sacrificing legal and human rights, declares UN chief – UN News