Preserving Evidence of ISIL Atrocities: The International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism
On 21 December 2016, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 71/248, establishing an ‘International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism to Assist in the Investigation and Prosecution of Those Responsible for the...
UN Committee Condemns Australia’s Punitive Asylum Policy
On 23 June 2017, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights adopted its concluding observations on the fifth periodic report of Australia on its implementation of the International...
Utilising The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea To Resolve the Pacific Islands Predicament
Island nations located in the midst of the Pacific Ocean unfortunately find themselves at the frontline in the global battle against climate change. The survival of the Islanders and the...
The New UN General Comment And Privatisation, Part 2: Can States Entirely Privatise The Delivery Of Essential Services?
Two weeks ago, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) published the much-awaited new General Comment 24 – an authoritative interpretation of international human rights law –...
The New UN General Comment on Business and Human Rights, Part 1: What Regulations Must States Put in Place when Private Actors are Involved in the Delivery of Essential Services?
Two weeks ago, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) published the much-awaited new General Comment 24 – an authoritative interpretation of international human rights law –...
Preventing Torture
In March 2017, the School of Law at Royal Holloway University of London and the University of Bristol Human Rights Implementation Centre hosted a seminar for leading members of...
Financial Domestic Violence and the 61st Commission on the Status of Women
The 61st Commission on the Status of Women (CSW61) concluded 24 March 2017 at the UN’s Head Office in New York. One of the agreed conclusions of this forum on...
Reinforcing Rights: Strengthening UN Human Rights Treaty Monitoring at a Time of Crisis
The upcoming review of the UN’s human rights treaty bodies in 2020 provides an opportunity to increase the impact that these mechanisms have on States’ implementation of their human rights...
The Multiple Imperatives To Protect Schools As Safe Spaces Of Learning
As of January 10 2017, 57 states have endorsed the Safe Schools Declaration, setting out the importance of protecting schools during armed conflict. This post summarises a mini series probing...
A Strong Voice For Women: The CEDAW Committee Reviews Canada
For the first time in eight years the Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) has reviewed Canada’s record on women’s rights....
Sharing Responsibility for a World in Crisis
The UN Summit for Refugees and Migrants met in New York on 19 September 2016. There were heightened expectations leading into this event, at a time when there is a...
Human Rights and the SDGs: Progress or a Missed Opportunity?
On 25 September 2015 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which would replace the Millennium Development Goals...
