JBI Human Rights

JBI Statement on the Need for Urgent Human Rights Protection and Monitoring in Afghanistan

The crisis in Afghanistan requires urgent protection of people and their human rights. The Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (JBI) has released a statement that outlines the human rights dimensions of the situation and advises on what governments, acting individually and through international organizations, can and must do. It also recommends actions and principles to guide the responses of the United Nations system.  We call on the international community to ensure the safety of Afghans, particularly women and girls, who are most at risk under the Taliban, a UN designated terrorist organization.

As a matter of priority, JBI calls on governments to identify ways to evacuate women leaders, human rights defenders, and other at-risk persons, including US and NATO allies. JBI calls on member States at the UN to adopt a resolution both at the upcoming emergency session of the Human Rights Council as well as the UN General Assembly session for an effective monitoring and reporting mechanism. JBI also calls on the UN to state clearly that all UN system actors active in Afghanistan or engaging with the Taliban will adhere to a system-wide approach that prioritizes respect for human rights, which is a core purpose of the United Nations according to its Charter.

Please find our full statement and list of recommendations here.

The Jacob Blaustein Institute's 50 Years of Achievements Highlighted in New Video Tribute

Founded in 1971 with a mission to ensure greater protection of the universal rights of all, the Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (JBI) has worked tirelessly to prevent genocide and hold perpetrators of atrocities to account, to combat religious intolerance and discrimination of all kinds, to support the work of human rights defenders, and to strengthen the effectiveness of the international human rights machinery at the United Nations and beyond.

A 5-minute video launched today highlights some of JBI's most important achievements on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. 

 

JBI Applauds Top UN Expert’s Contributions to Advancing Human Rights and Fighting Antisemitism

In a virtual conversation first broadcast on June 9, 2021, Felice Gaer, Director of the Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (JBI), thanked Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, the UN's Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, for his personal courage and conviction and highlighted several of his many achievements as an effective and courageous advocate for human rights. The conversation touched on several topics. These included Dr. Shaheed's ongoing work to encourage implementation of the recommendations he made in his historic 2019 report to the UN General Assembly recognizing global antisemitism as a serious human rights challenge. Dr. Shaheed also discussed his ongoing concerns about human rights in Iran, reflecting on his previous role as UN Special Rapporteur on human rights situation in that country, and on his efforts to promote an inclusive understanding of the right to freedom of religion or belief and highlight the situation of many individuals facing discrimination and impediments to fully exercising that rights. 

The entire conversation can be viewed below:

China's 'Unconscionable' Campaign Against the Uyghurs: Stopping the Genocide Occurring on Our Watch

On May 5, 2021, Felice Gaer, Director of the Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (JBI), delivered the presentation below entitled, “China's 'Unconscionable' Campaign Against the Uyghurs: Stopping the Genocide Occurring on Our Watch.” Gaer discusses the reports of serious human rights violations perpetrated by the Chinese government against the Uyghur population and other Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang. She describes the legal components of the crime of genocide and the justifications that have been provided by the analysts and governments that have determined that China's conduct constitutes this crime. 

 

Gaer also discusses the reactions and measures taken by the U.S. and other governments in response to these allegations, as well as China’s reaction. Gaer also reviews the measures that JBI and other non-governmental organizations have taken to express concern about the situation facing the Uyghurs and to call for action to protect them, as well as additional measures that could encourage China to change course.

 

JBI Calls for Combatting Religious Repression Worldwide

Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, is an 8-day holiday celebrating religious freedom. On each night, candles are lit.  JBI encourages concerned persons also to mark eight nights of human rights, shining a light on the areas of the world where darkness remains, and the freedoms of many religious communities are suppressed.  Here are eight examples to reflect upon, one for each night:

1. Yazidis. Last year the world watched in horror as tens of thousands of Yazidis sought refuge in Iraqi mountains near their homes in Sinjar. New reports reveal mass killings and public executions; abductions, rape, and enslavement of women and young girls, with girls and women being openly sold at slave markets; and  forced recruitment of children as young as 12. Thousands of Christians and Sabaean-Mandaeans, as well as Shabak, Turkmen, and Kaka’i people have also fled after ISIS’s targeted attacks. In all, the UN estimates 15,000 civilians have been killed in Iraq and more than one million have been displaced.
2. Jews in Europe. Lingering prejudices and anti-Semitic attacks in Paris, Brussels, and Copenhagen have contributed to feelings of insecurity among European Jews. Synagogues throughout the continent have closed due to heightened threat levels, and the Chief Rabbi of Brussels has speculated that there may be no future for Jews in Europe. Fear of recent increases in anti-Semitism has led nearly one third of European Jews to consider leaving their home country because they do not feel protected.
3. Catholics in China. China has repeatedly been cited by the US government as a country with systematic repression of religious freedom. Practicing any faith outside the State’s five approved religions is strictly prohibited and punishable with prison sentences. Unrecognized Catholics are among the numerous groups that have suffered many human rights abuses and limitations on their ability to freely practice their religion. Unrecognized Catholic priests and bishops have been arrested and disappeared, and churches have been destroyed.
4. Baha’is in Iran. According to Iranian law, Baha’is may be killed with impunity.  Discrimination against Baha’is has worsened under President Hassan Rouhani’s tenure – 74 members of the Baha’i faith are currently unjustly imprisoned solely for their religious beliefs. Iran is one of the world’s most egregious human rights violators. The UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, has confirmed that Iran continues to persecute members of Baha’i and other religious and ethnic minority groups and to commit other serious rights violations.
5. Central African Republic. A quarter of the country’s population has been displaced and an estimated 6,000 people have been killed. Intergroup violence has continued between the Seleka, a coalition of armed paramilitary Muslim groups that initially staged a coup against the government, and “anti-balaka” coalitions of Christian fighters who fought back. The UN Security Council Commission of Inquiry found gross human rights abuses amounting to crimes against humanity on each side. Through his visit, Pope Francis attempted to advance peace and end this state of affairs. However, serious tensions remain.
6. Ecumenical Patriarch and Greek Orthodox Christians in Tukey. Turkey maintains several prohibitive laws that have led to the severe decline of the presence of Greek Orthodox Christians in Turkey.  The government has yet to allow the patriarchate’s main school of theology in Halki to reopen since Turkey’s highest court closed it in 1971. It is estimated that as of 2013, fewer than 2,000 Greek Orthodox remain in Turkey.
7. North Koreans.  It has been authoritatively documented in recent years that North Koreans suffer atrocious abuses under the current government, including egregious violations of freedom of religion. The UN Human Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry found that “countless numbers of persons in the DPRK who attempt to practice their religious beliefs have been severely punished, even unto death,” causing the population of religious adherents in the country to drop from about 24% of the population in 1950 to only 0.16% in 2002.
8. Jews in the Arab World. The ability for Jews to live peacefully and safely in the Arab world is uncertain. In Egypt, for example, the miniscule Jewish community is subjected to anti-Semitic sentiment spread by state and privately owned media. In addition, the Alexandria Administrative Court decided to permanently ban the Jewish Abu Hassira pilgrimage festival. Anti-Semitic rhetoric and violence has also increased in Yemen despite its diminished Jewish population numbering less than 100.

With these 8 examples, it is clear that great strides still must be taken to achieve freedom of religion throughout the world. Join JBI in speaking out and calling for an end to repression and accountability for those responsible for discrimination, violence, and abuse.

JBI Expert Roundtable on North Korea: Follow-up to the Commission of Inquiry

After the UN Human Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry report (COI) on human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, North Korea) was released, JBI brought a number of experts on the country together with diplomats and representatives of non-governmental organizations on February 27, 2014 to discuss the extensive and unprecedented COI report and how it might be received and implemented at the United Nations. The meeting paid special attention to the inter-governmental bodies, agencies, programs and Secretariat based in New York, which received unusual attention in the report’s recommendations.

As discussion on the follow up to the COI gets underway at the Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva, JBI has released a summary of the meeting and the viewpoints and suggestions made under the Chatham House Rule. Key points are summarized below, and the complete summary is available here.

The Commission of Inquiry’s report provides a sweeping analysis of the depth and breadth of rights abuses being inflicted upon the North Korean people over decades. It contains detailed descriptions and testimonies with evidence of longstanding crimes. With the publication of this report, the Commission of Inquiry, a UN mechanism, has officially recognized the severe and systematic crimes that have been ongoing in North Korea for the past 60 years. In doing so, the report eliminates the possibility for any in the international community to claim ignorance of the situation there.

To maintain the momentum generated by the COI report, and elevate its status, States can take some of the steps outlined below in their relations with other States, at the UN and with the broader public.

• While formulating a long-term response to the human rights situation in North Korea, States can take measures to signal that “business as usual” is no longer an option for governments or the UN following the publication of the COI report, which found there were systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations amounting to crimes against humanity whose “gravity, scale and nature … reveal a State that does not have any parallel in the contemporary world.” The COI report provided unprecedented detail on a wide range of issues including the right to food.

• The Human Rights Council’s annual resolution on North Korea offers the first and key venue for explicitly endorsing the COI’s recommendations and findings, in particular that crimes against humanity are being committed. At a minimum, the Human Rights Council’s resolution should offer a means of continuing fact-finding and analysis on human rights in North Korea in 2014 and beyond. The resolution is expected to be adopted at the end of March 2014.

• Members of the Security Council should identify avenues in which to discuss the findings and recommendations of the COI. The Security Council previously has only discussed North Korea in the context of its development and testing of nuclear and ballistic weapons; any Security Council discussion of the human rights abuses perpetrated by the government would represent a significant step forward.

• The text of the General Assembly’s annual resolution on North Korea can be strengthened so that, at a minimum, it specifically endorses the COI’s findings.

• While a consensus was considered important to maintain at the Human Rights Council and General Assembly, it might become necessary to take a vote on the resolutions so that the COI’s new findings and the report itself will be clearly reflected in the resolutions.

• Member States should encourage discussions to reflect on the application of the Secretary-General’s “Rights Up Front” action plan to the context of North Korea and how it should mesh with other concepts and priorities, including claims for humanitarian space and access, disarmament and security concerns, and geopolitical dynamics. This would ensure that the UN Secretariat and UN agencies take the COI report into account in their work.

JBI Calls for Release of Baha'i Leaders Unjustly Imprisoned in Iran

With the release of a new State Department report on religious freedom around the world, the U.S. government revealed the shocking fact that 116 members of the Baha’i faith are unjustly imprisoned in Iran solely for their beliefs. Among them, sadly, are seven prominent Baha’i leaders unfairly incarcerated since 2008.

Prior to their arrest, the two women and five men ranging in ages from 40 to 80 — Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli and Vahid Tizfahm — worked together to attend to the basic spiritual needs of Baha’is in Iran such as marriages, divorces and Baha’i children’s spiritual education. After five years of confinement, it is time for members of the international community to demand an end to this injustice.

In an effort to call attention to the plight of the Baha’is in Iran, members of the United States Congress introduced legislation on March 12, S.Res.75 and H.Res.109 condemn the state-sponsored persecution of Iran’s 300,000-member Baha’i minority, which contravenes Iran’s international obligations as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and other international instruments. Additionally, the resolutions call on the president and secretary of State to demand the immediate release of prisoners held solely on account of their religion and to sanction Iranian officials directly responsible for serious human rights abuses, including abuses against the Baha’i community in Iran.

Burma: New Publication Outlines Needed Law Reforms

The Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (JBI), together with partners Perseus Strategies and New Perimeter, launched a new report presenting an in-depth assessment of rule of law reform needs in Burma.  Key Burma experts, U.S. and other policymakers attended the launch at a meeting in Washington DC on March 5.  As noted in The Irrawaddy and Trust Law, the discussion focused on reforming Burma’s Constitution, and the incorporation of international human rights standards and civil society participation in the rule of law reform process.  In line with these recommendations, on March 20 the Burmese parliament agreed to create a commission to review the controversial 2008 Constitution.

Burma is transitioning from 50 years of military rule marked by rights abuses to a more democratic government.  In the past two years, Burma has released Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest and registered her National League for Democracy political party, which won 43 of 45 available seats in April 2012 parliamentary by-elections.  Other reforms include the release of approximately 800 political prisoners (although many were conditionally released); decreased restrictions on the internet and media; the establishment of a new National Human Rights Commission; and signing of preliminary ceasefire agreements with several ethnic armed groups. 

The Rule of Law Assessment Report (the “Assessment”) identifies needs and responses that would expedite the rule of law reform process required in Burma to ensure that transition continues.  It presents an overview of initial and needed reforms, encouraging integration of universal human rights principles in the rule of law reform process, and providing guidance and recommendations to all those who will engage with local actors in Burma.  This will allow international actors to help move the law reform process from the current state where promises are made by Burma to the international community to one where reforms are implemented in Burma both on paper and in practice.  

Advocacy for International Religious Freedom and Human Rights

A new volume of essays analyzing strategies of advocacy for international religious freedom has recently been published by The Review on Faith & International Affairs (Fall 2012).  It examines diverse approaches by a wide range of actors and from different perspectives.  One article, "'If Not Now When?': Jewish Advocacy for Freedom of Religion" by JBI Director Felice Gaer, examines Jewish advocacy for international religious freedom and related human rights from the Holocaust and the founding of the United Nations to current times, using this advocacy to uphold universal human rights standards.

Gaer argues that Jewish advocacy for freedom of religion and related human rights has been indelibly shaped by the Holocaust, in which six million Jews were annihilated, as well as by the experiences of expulsion, discrimination, and violence against Jews throughout the millennia.  The most prominent and successful particularist Jewish advocacy effort was the movement for Jews to be allowed to depart from the Soviet Union.  Efforts by Jewish organizations and advocates to advance religious freedom are also anchored in and directly influenced by universal elements in Judaism that value all human life and call for equality for all before the law, which has translated into support for efforts that guarantee universal human rights through bodies like the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).  As part of the interplay between the universal and the particular, Jewish advocacy has also reflected a sense of what is possible – a realism about how to achieve the idealistic goals of religious freedom and related human rights.  The strategy remains that by defending and respecting each individual’s rights, all will flourish and be protected. 

JBI on Iran’s Must-See Sites of Oppression and Abuse for UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

Despite warnings that attending the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit in Tehran would legitimize the regime’s abusive behavior at home and abroad, UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon has decided to go. He seeks to meet with Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.  Responding to criticisms of Ban’s plans, his spokesman argued that to skip the summit “would be a missed opportunity.”

It will be Ban’s first visit to Iran. On Friday, Iran’s top tourism official, H.M. Ajabi, told local press (IRNA) that the NAM summit offers a great opportunity for “boosting Iran’s tourism industry” and the Tehran Times reports that Ban has been invited to attend a meeting of the Human Rights Committee of the Iranian parliament.  Below are key sightseeing opportunities in Iran that the secretary-general should not miss if he is to be ready for this encounter:

Evin Prison:  This is Iran’s best-known site of cruel and prolonged torture, particularly of political prisoners, and secret executions. Among  the prisoners there were Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet, two of the seven imprisoned leaders of the Baha’i faith, Iran’s largest religious minority. American journalist Roxana Saberi met them while also detained in the notorious jail; she can help Ban identify them, should he seek their long-overdue release.

University of Tehran: On June 14, 2009, after widespread protests against the announced results of Iran’s presidential election, security forces broke open the gates of Tehran University and stormed campus dorms, indiscriminately arresting, beating and shooting students with pellet guns. Five students were reportedly killed and others seriously injured.  Authorities reportedly buried the dead within hours, without notifying their family members.  Student leaders currently imprisoned include Bahareh Hedayat, who called for holding security forces accountable.  Ban might ask for her to be released to offer a guided tour.