Commissioner for Human Rights’ Post

Italian “Safety bill” raises COE’s Commissioners for Human rights concern. Don’t miss the answer if Italy’s second most important democratic institutution President os Italian Senate La Russa. “.. I am concerned that Bill 1236 excessively broadens the scope of possible state interference in public assemblies, including against individuals participating in peaceful protests. In particular, Article 14 of the bill introduces the criminal offense (replacing the current administrative offense) of traffic disruption with one’s own body, punishable by imprisonment from six months to two years if carried out by at least two people. (..) I believe that these provisions, which introduce offenses defined in vague terms and include other severe restrictions, create room for arbitrary and disproportionate application, affecting activities that represent a legitimate exercise of the freedom of peaceful assembly or expression. In particular, by providing for significant prison sentences simply for participating in demonstrations that may not have been violent or caused damage, Bill 1236 imposes restrictions that may not be consistent with the requirements of the Convention. It also creates a chilling effect on the legitimate exercise of public freedoms, which authorities must consider when designing legislative measures. Some of the measures described above restrict the rights of people in prisons or detention centers, who may have limited access to institutional avenues to defend their rights.” Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, Michael O’Flaherty, December 20, 2012, on the Security Bill. President La Russa’s response: “Outside of official acts, my personal opinion is that I found it not only irregular but contrary to any democratic principle that Mr. Michael O’Flaherty (hitherto entirely unknown to me) would even request that a law, whose text is still under development and under review by the Committees, should not be voted on. Personally, I do not agree with the arguments presented in that letter, but what matters—and what I find unacceptable—is the attempt to influence the will of our Senators, both majority and opposition, during the legislative process, as if they were incapable of assessing its contents and consequences independently.” https://lnkd.in/d-mB226R

Justice Minister Calls for Swift Reforms to Modernise South Africa’s Criminal Justice Laws Justice Minister Thembi Simelane calls for swift updates to South Africa's criminal justice laws, emphasising police protection and addressing outdated legal frameworks in combating crime. #CriminalProcedureAct #justicesystemupdate #outdatedcriminallaws #policebudgetcuts #policeempowerment #Popcrumeeting #SouthAfricajusticereform #General

Justice Minister Calls for Swift Reforms to Modernise South Africa’s Criminal Justice Laws Justice Minister Thembi Simelane calls for swift updates to South Africa's criminal justice laws, emphasising police protection and addressing outdated legal frameworks in combating crime. #CriminalProcedureAct #justicesystemupdate #outdatedcriminallaws #policebudgetcuts #policeempowerment #Popcrumeeting #SouthAfricajusticereform #General

Justice Minister Calls for Swift Reforms to Modernise South Africa’s Criminal Justice Laws Justice Minister Thembi Simelane calls for swift updates to South Africa's criminal justice laws, emphasising police protection and addressing outdated legal frameworks in combating crime. #CriminalProcedureAct #justicesystemupdate #outdatedcriminallaws #policebudgetcuts #policeempowerment #Popcrumeeting #SouthAfricajusticereform #General

Justice Minister Calls for Swift Reforms to Modernise South Africa’s Criminal Justice Laws Justice Minister Thembi Simelane calls for swift updates to South Africa's criminal justice laws, emphasising police protection and addressing outdated legal frameworks in combating crime. #CriminalProcedureAct #justicesystemupdate #outdatedcriminallaws #policebudgetcuts #policeempowerment #Popcrumeeting #SouthAfricajusticereform #General

In this latest article, Aslam Moosajee and myself look at the key takeaways from Chief Justice Zondo’s final Annual Judiciary Report for the 2022/2023 period. https://lnkd.in/dstfDkQf

MODERN DAY SLAVERY " More than half of U.S. states observed a public holiday this past Wednesday for Juneteenth, a celebration dedicated to the end of legal slavery in the United States after the Civil War. One of those states was Alabama — and according to a recent lawsuit, the state did so while also perpetuating a kind of modern-day slavery, because it compels incarcerated people to work under the threat of punishment. It’s unclear how the suit will fare in court, but it undoubtedly has a better chance today than it would have just two years ago. From 1901 to 2022, the Alabama Constitution — like the U.S. Constitution’s 13th Amendment — explicitly allowed slavery as punishment for a crime. Two years ago, Alabama was among four states that passed constitutional amendments to close this loophole prohibiting slavery and involuntary servitude under any circumstances." Bear in mind that In Alabama, Black people constituted 28% of state residents, but 43% of people in jail and 54% of people in prison. https://lnkd.in/eW3vu3x3 https://lnkd.in/eQHj5DRs

//When the court becomes simply an arm of the incarceration system targeting political discontent, it completes the “carceral archipelago”. It works like this: police groundlessly arrest democracy campaigners and commit brutality without accountability; the correctional service devastates political prisoners with excessive and unfair use of solitary confinement and physical punishment when they are remanded before trial. The court doesn’t offer a way out, but rather locks defendants into the system for years by handing out harsh sentencing. Witnessing the supposedly impartial government bodies hardening into part of a repressive regime is like seeing the gradual death of the city. The primary election case verdict reaffirms that Hong Kong has become a police state, and there is no way back until the PRC adopts a more lenient and open political ideology.// https://lnkd.in/e5msaxtm

The U.S. Constitution is supposed to protect people from excessively harsh punishment, like the death penalty and solitary confinement, but that right is often violated. There is no concrete definition of “cruel and unusual punishment”—leaving it to be decided by the courts. People can wait years before receiving a court ruling, while they often continue to suffer. Learn how states can end cruel and unusual punishment: https://lnkd.in/eeQeFT3N

Despite attempts to defeat it, like the woman whose name it carries, Tona’s Law, Bill S-230, survived, withstanding a procedural challenge to reach third reading. Tona’s Law, which proposes correctional oversight and accountability, as well as remedies for and alternatives to solitary confinement and other forms of isolation in federal prisons, survived a procedural challenge to reach third reading in the Senate. Tona’s Law puts forward crucial human rights safeguards - measures previously endorsed by the Senate as amendments to Bill C-83 and in the Senate Human Rights Committee’s report on the human rights of federally sentenced persons. The government promised to do these things five years ago; Bill S-230 will finally deliver on the promises. Read the full news release at the link below! #SenCA #CdnPoli #S230