Submissions
Courts and Tribunals
Observations submitted by the Child Rights International Network and the Human Rights Law Centre to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
In December 2023, the Child Rights International Network and the Human Rights Law Centre, under the auspices of the Advancing Child Rights Strategic Litigation (ACRiSL) project, submitted observations to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in relation to the Request for an Advisory Opinion on the Climate Emergency and Human Rights submitted by the Republic of Chile and the Republic of Colombia.
The response focuses on the issue of children’s rights in light of the following question outlined at page 10 of the request for an advisory opinion submitted to the the Court:
Pursuant to Article 19 of the American Convention, in light of the corpus iuris of international human rights law, including article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and recognizing the consensus of the scientific community which identifies children as the group that is most vulnerable in the long term to the imminent risks to life and well-being as a result of the climate emergency:
- What is the nature and scope of the obligation of a State Party to adopt timely and effective measures with regard to the climate emergency in order to ensure the protection of the rights of children derived from its obligations under Articles 1, 4, 5, 11 and 19 of the American Convention?
- What is the nature and scope of a State Party’s obligation to provide children with significant and effective means to express their opinions freely and fully, including the opportunity to initiate or, in any other way, to participate in any administrative or judicial proceedings concerning prevention of the climate change that represents a threat to their lives?
Amicus Curiae Briefs to European Court of Human Rights in Ukraine and the Netherlands v Russia
The Human Rights Law Centre was granted permission by the President of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights to act as a third-party intervener in joined cases that relate to Russian armed activities in Eastern Ukraine in 2014, the downing of the MH17 airliner over Ukrainian territory in July 2014, as well as more recent issues arising from the full-scale invasion of Ukraine from February 2022 (Application Nos 8019/16, 43800/14, 28525/20 and 11055/22). To date, the Centre has submitted two briefs, jointly drafted by HRLC member Professor Sangeeta Shah and HRLC Fellow Professor Marko Milanovic (University of Reading).
The first amicus brief, submitted in February 2021 and considered by the Court in its admissibility decision, provides guidance for the Court on the applicable tests for considering whether Russia could be held responsible under the ECHR for the downing of MH17. The second part of the brief examines how mistake of fact in the use of lethal force should be considered in light of Russia’s obligations to respect the right to life under Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The third part of the brief examines possible prevention and complicity doctrines relating to the right to life under the Convention in the context of weapons transfers to third parties.
The second brief, submitted in May 2023, provides further guidance on whether Russia can be held responsible for armed activities in Ukraine and the downing of the MH17 airliner, addressing issues that were not considered in the Court’s admissibility decision. It addresses how the right to life under Article 2 of the ECHR should be interpreted in the light of applicable rules of international humanitarian law (IHL), and argues that the Court should take into account principles of IHL when considering whether there has been a violation of the right to life and how those principles affect any assessment of a mistake of fact in the context of use of lethal force.
The case is currently under consideration by the Grand Chamber, with oral hearings held on 12 June 2024.
UN Entities, Regional Bodies and IGOs
Submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child with regard to Its Forthcoming General Comment No. 27 on Children’s Rights to Access to Justice and Effective Remedies
In August 2024, the Human Rights Law Centre sent in a submission on behalf of the ACRiSL project for the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child’s draft General Comment no.27 on children’s rights to access justice and effective remedies.
Written by HRLC Director Professor Aoife Nolan, the submission focuses on the role of lawyers and others who carry out strategic litigation in order to advance children’s access to justice. In doing so, it seeks to contribute inter alia to the General Comment’s clarification of the role that lawyers and other professionals working in the strategic litigation context can play to pro-actively support children to realise their rights. The submission argues that it is vital that the general comment should make clear that where strategic litigation is used to ensure the right to access to justice and effective remedies for children, such litigation must be carried out in a way that is consistent with the rights set out in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
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Submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on Its Draft General Comment on Children's Rights and The Environment, with a Special Focus on Climate Change
In February 2023, HRLC Director Professor Aoife Nolan made a submission to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child on its draft General Comment on children's rights and the environment, with a special focus on climate change.
Professor Nolan was a member of the advisory board to the Committee on the General Comment.
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Parliamentary Bodies and Government Agencies
Submission to the consultation on the UN Global Digital Compact on Setting a Human Rights Compliant Legal Framework for the Use of Spyware
In March 2023, HRLC Deputy Director Dr Mando Rachovitsa submitted a policy brief and evidence to the consultation on the UN Global Digital Compact on Setting a Human Rights Compliant Legal Framework for the Use of Spyware.
The submission was made under the auspices of Binary, a non-profit organisation aiming to bridge the culture of the physical and digital world, tackle the digital divide, the on/off switches, and establish the anthropocentric principles and values to the digital era.
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Submission to the UK House of Commons Public Bill Committee on the Nationality and Borders Bill 2021
In October 2021, head of the HRLC's Forced Migration Unit Dr Natalie Hodgson submitted written evidence to the House of Commons regarding the Nationality and Borders Bill. The submission concerned the proposal in the Bill to follow the "Australia model" of border policing aiming to 'deter illegal entry (…) breaking the business model of people smuggling networks and protecting the lives of those they endanger.'
Dr Hodgson argued that Australia's system of offshore detention and boat turnbacks increased the risk of harm to asylum seekers, who were exposed to physical and psychological harm (as documented by UNHCR and Médecins Sans Frontières), which infringes their human rights. Asylum seekers themselves described offshore detention as a form of "torture". Further, boat turnbacks put them at risk: any policy that prolongs the time that asylum seekers spend in the water will increase the risk of danger.
Finally, Dr Hodgson argued that Australia's policies were also associated with financial and reputational costs and questioned how the UK could hold other states accountable for human rights abuses if it implemented policies that infringe the human rights of asylum seekers. She concluded that the best way to prevent asylum seekers undertaking dangerous boat voyages is to increase the opportunities for asylum seekers to travel to the UK safely through recognised routes.
Evidence to the Australian Joint Committee of Human Rights’ inquiry into the Social Security (Parenting payment participation requirements – class of persons) Instrument 2021
In March 2021, HRLC Director Professor Aoife Nolan provided evidence to the Australian Joint Committee of Human Rights’ inquiry into the Social Security (Parenting payment participation requirements – class of persons) Instrument 2021.