UN staff, including eight OHCHR colleagues, detained in Yemen
OHCHR calls for their immediate release.
Issued by
Special Rapporteur on unilateral coercive measures
Published
18 July 2024
presented to
Presented to General Assembly at its 79th session
Issued by Special Procedures
Subject
Unilateral coercive measures
Symbol Number
A/79/183
Summary
In the present report, the Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, Alena Douhan, assesses practices and challenges for the exercise of access to justice by various actors, including States, individuals and companies, directly designated under primary and secondary sanctions regimes, those facing criminal and civil charges for circumvention for sanctions regimes and those not designated; impediments in the work of legal professionals, including lawyers and judges; and the functioning of the legal system of States under sanctions in the face of unilateral sanctions, means of their enforcement and overcompliance.
Pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutions 27/21 and 54/15 and General Assembly resolution 77/214, the Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights is requested in fulfilling her mandate, inter alia, to gather all information relevant to the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights; to study relevant trends, developments and challenges; and to make guidelines and recommendations on ways and means to prevent, minimize and redress their adverse impact on human rights; as well as to draw the attention of the Human Rights Council, the General Assembly and the High Commissioner to relevant situations and cases.
Report on Access to Justice and Sanctions – 79th Session of UN General Assembly (October 2024)
Effective access to justice, right to a fair trial, due process and other elements of the concept constitute a cornerstone for the protection, promotion and enjoyment of all other human rights. Since the beginning of her mandate, the Special Rapporteur has been repeatedly reported on the challenges faced by States, businesses and individuals directly or indirectly affected by unilateral sanctions to access any judicial and quasi-judicial instruments for the purpose of challenging the adverse effects of promotion and protection of human rights for states, businesses and individuals, rights of which have been affected by unilateral sanctions and eventually seeking remedy.
Reported cases refer to the due process and fair trial guarantees violations in judicial proceedings, including violations of presumption of innocence and standards of the burden of proof; challenges to identify and access relevant judicial bodies; lengthy and non-transparent proceedings; high costs of legal assistance in sanctions’ cases; risks of additional charges, special licensing legal professionals which undermine effective performance of their function in sanctions-related cases ; complete absence of remedies in the international legal order for all those affected by over-compliance with unilateral sanctions.
Furthermore, another aspect of the nexus between unilateral sanctions and the access to justice is the sanctions-induced constraints and challenges that are severely impacting on national capacity and capabilities for prevention and investigation of crimes. Financial constraints, equipment shortages, expert brain-drain, are some of the epiphenomena emanating from the imposition of unilateral economic, trade and other sanctions, while complete isolation of sanctioned countries under primary, secondary sanctions and over-compliance may also seriously undermine training and cross-border and regional cooperation initiatives.
In her previous thematic and country-specific reports, the Special Rapporteur has made specific references to the impact of unilateral sanctions on the access to justice, particularly shedding light on the serious due process violations perpetrated against foreign targets of primary and secondary sanctions (see report A/HRC/51/33).
In 2024, these and other relevant issues will be addressed through the Special Rapporteur’s thematic report on “Access to justice in the face of unilateral sanctions and over-compliance” to be presented at the 79th session of the UN General Assembly.
In accordance with the established practice of thematic mandate-holders, the Special Rapporteur welcomes inputs by States, UN agencies, regional and international organizations, businesses, banks, legal professionals companies, national human rights institutions, civil society including humanitarian actors, scholars and research institutions, targets of unilateral sanctions and civil and criminal charges for circumvention of sanctions regimes and others who may wish to submit input, guided by the questionnaire below. Recommendations, evidence, and case studies are most welcome. The Special Rapporteur would appreciate any assistance in further disseminating this call for input to law firms and lawyers dealing with sanctions and sanctions-related cases.
For this purpose, the Special Rapporteur proposes a non-exhaustive list of questions to facilitate input and collection of information.
While all submissions are welcome, and the below is by no means exhaustive, the Special Rapporteur would be grateful to receive input on the following areas:
Please send responses in WORD or PDF, in ENGLISH, FRENCH, SPANISH or RUSSIAN, to [email protected] and specify “Input for GA79 thematic report - 2024” in the subject line. The deadline for submissions is 28 February 2024.
Responses will be used for preparation of the Special Rapporteur’s thematic report to the 79th session of UN General Assembly in 2024. They will be rendered public and published on the dedicated webpage of the mandate unless requested to be kept confidential.