IHR LEGAL Newsletter
Selected developments in the field of international human rights

Highlights of our latest newsletter…
IHR LEGAL Newsletter January – March 2023
- On March 27, 2023, the OHCHR launched a new country report concerning freedom of expression in Yemen. The report covers a number of aspects related to freedom of expression in the country and presents quantitative data on violence suffered by journalists, individualization of cases of violence against the press, as well as formulation of various recommendations to the State, in the current context of conflict in Yemen driven by propaganda and misinformation.
- On March 21, 2023, the ACHPR published Resolution No. 550 on Business and Human Rights in Africa. On the basis of the rights to freely dispose of wealth and natural resources, to economic, social and cultural development, and to a generally satisfactory and development-friendly environment recognized in the African Charter, the ACHPR urged the African Union to take a series of measures to motivate States to apply a human rights-based approach to the implementation of national blue economy frameworks, among other measures.
- On March 17, 2023, the ECtHR found that there has been a positive change in the prosecution of hate crimes against homosexual persons in Lithuania, and therefore did not find a violation of the right to an effective remedy in the case “Valaitis v. Lithuania”. The applicant, Mr. Jonas Valaitis, published an essay in which he mentioned a finalist of a television competition who had publicly declared himself to be gay. In response, several hateful comments against the gay community were published. Before the ECtHR, the applicant complained that the State had failed to take effective measures to protect gay persons from hate speech. Nonetheless, the ECtHR considered that there had been no discriminatory attitude on the part of the Lithuanian authorities and that although the preliminary investigation did not lead to the conviction of those responsible, there had been no violation of Article 13 of the ECHR, taken as a whole.
- On March 6, 2023, the IACHR elected its Board of Directors for 2023, being the second all-female Board of Directors in history and the first all-female Board of Directors from Central American and Caribbean countries. The Board of Directors is composed of the President, Commissioner Margarette May Macaulay of Jamaica, the Vice President, Commissioner Esmeralda Arosemena de Troitiño of Panama, and the Second Vice President, Commissioner Roberta Clarke of Barbados.
Access previous newsletters
IHR LEGAL Newsletter January – March 2023
– On March 27, 2023, the OHCHR launched a new country report concerning freedom of expression in Yemen. In the report, the OHCHR recalled that the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds is guaranteed to all individuals, without distinction of any kind. In addition, the OHCHR affirmed that freedom of expression also includes a free, uncensored, and unhindered press and media, which are essential in society to ensure freedom of opinion and expression. Regarding Yemen specifically, the OHCHR pointed out that the ongoing conflict in the country has entered its ninth year due to conflict-driven propaganda and disinformation which led to ideological and socio-political conflicts throughout the country. In this sense, the parties to the conflict have characterized critical voices in society as foreign actors who want to threaten national security, which has directly delegitimized the work of journalists and even caused self-censorship. The consequences of this scenario were manifold: many of the journalists who wanted to maintain the integrity of their work left the country, women journalists suffered severe bullying on the internet, and threats, arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, and killings continued to be a constant reality in the country.
IHR LEGAL Newsletter October-December 2022
On July 7, 2022, the ECtHR ruled that Italian authorities did not respond with the requisite promptness and diligence in dealing with domestic violence in the case of “M.S. v. Italy”. The applicant, M.S., an Italian national, was assaulted, harassed, and threatened for years by her then-husband, D.P., for which reason she filed several complaints against him. However, the State authorities began to take measures late, for which reason the ECtHR held the State responsible for the period in which it did not take effective measures.
IHR LEGAL Newsletter July-September 2022
On July 7, 2022, the ECtHR ruled that Italian authorities did not respond with the requisite promptness and diligence in dealing with domestic violence in the case of “M.S. v. Italy”. The applicant, M.S., an Italian national, was assaulted, harassed, and threatened for years by her then-husband, D.P., for which reason she filed several complaints against him. However, the State authorities began to take measures late, for which reason the ECtHR held the State responsible for the period in which it did not take effective measures.
Subscribe here to our Newsletter
Estados Unidos de América
1701 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Suite 200 Washington, D.C. 20006 Estados Unidos de América
Suiza
Rue de Pré-de-la-Bichette Nations Business Centre, 6e Étage 1202 Genève, Suisse (Dirección postal / cita únicamente)
Teléfono: + 1 (202) 465-4814 Correo Electrónico: info@ihr.legal
Twitter