Human Rights

Human rights and the rule of law are not synonymous, but they do overlap and function symbiotically. In the words of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, they "represent universally applicable standards adopted under the auspices of the United Nations and must therefore serve as the normative basis for all United Nations activities in support of justice and the rule of law."

To summarize, the stronger human rights, the stronger the rule of law. Together, they form a framework for decision- and policy-making that is anchored by legality, accountability and participation. In this, they create a fertile ground for development and social transformation.

Women are still extremely under-represented in governance and politics

Women and girls are denied equal rights and face crippling discrimination

Women and girls still face enormous challenges in accessing justice

CSW62 | IDLO at the Commission on the Status of Women

The 62^nd session of the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will be held at the United Nations in New York from March 12 to 23, 2018. The Commission is the principal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of women’s rights, gender equality and the empowerment of women.

IDLO DG champions rule of law to enable human rights

As the international community in Geneva marks the 70^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, IDLO’s Director-General Irene Khan has called for increased recognition of the “rule of law as a pathway to making human rights real”.

CSW62 | Legal Frameworks for the Empowerment of Rural Women

HIGH LEVEL SIDE EVENT Legal Frameworks for the Empowerment of Rural Women: Case Studies From Across the SDGs

CSW62 | Achieving Gender Parity in UN Human Rights Bodies

HIGH LEVEL SIDE EVENT Closing the Gender Gap: Achieving Gender Parity in UN Human Rights Bodies

HRC37 | High level segment

37th Session of the Human Rights Council: High level segment

STATEMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT LAW ORGANIZATION

February 28, 2018

Room XX, Palais des Nations

Geneva

Delivered by Irene Khan, Director-General, IDLO

Mr. President,

Excellencies,

Distinguished Delegates,

Partnership connects African law schools to AIDS response

Stigma and discrimination, especially against women and girls and key populations, is a major barrier to people using HIV services. Up to 60% of countries report having laws, regulations or policies that deter people in key populations from being able to protect themselves from, or get treatment for, HIV.

Pixeles de Vida: Reducción de la violencia a través de la fotografía

Una historia de violencia ha dejado profundas cicatrices en el tejido social del sector Chamelecón, Honduras. A través de un curso de fotografía, IDLO ha capacitado a un grupo de jóvenes de la zona para ayudarlos a descubrir su potencial y superar un legado de discriminación y exclusión.

Key Initiatives

Somalia Joint Justice Program

In Somalia, alternative justice mechanisms remain the main providers of justice services for lack of formal justice institutions. However, these justice mechanisms can be discriminatory particularly against women, youth and minority clans.
Strengthening the capacity to investigate human rights violations in Yemen

Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, has been devastated by armed conflict since September 2014. The conflict has received limited international coverage and human rights violations and violations under international humanitarian law suffered by the civilian population have been grossly underreported. All parties to the conflict have been linked to serious violations of international law, with inadequate accountability mechanisms in place to ensure justice for victims.
Prevention and accountability for sexual and gender-based violence in Myanmar

Strengthening prevention and accountability for sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) through the rule of law and access to justice has been a priority for the Government of Myanmar since 2011, when it embarked on an unprecedented transition towards democracy. SGBV cases are rarely reported and, when they are, the justice sector fails to provide adequate remedies. Therefore, there is a widely recognized need to increase prevention of and accountability for SGBV.
Supporting Somali justice institutions to combat complex crimes

Somalia is striving to strengthen its institutions and to improve the rule of law, however high levels of crime still persist. These include forms of complex crimes, namely extremist violence, organized crime, sexual and gender-based violence and corruption. In recent years, the Somali Federal Government has improved the fight against armed groups and made efforts to improve the capacity of the justice system to handle complex crimes.
Strengthening the capacity of law schools

One of the challenges in scaling up HIV-related legal services is the limited number of knowledgeable, skilled and committed lawyers to provide such services. Part of the solution therefore lies in building the capacity of law schools to ensure law graduates are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to support human rights-based approaches to HIV. Many universities, including in East Africa, offer clinical legal education programs to give students direct experience of providing legal information to clients.