IACtHR: Argentina Responsible for Racial Profiling, Death of Black Man

In a new judgment, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) condemned the use of racial profiling in the 1996 arrest of José Delfín Acosta Martínez, a Black man who then died after being badly injured in police custody. [IACtHR Press Release (Spanish)] The Court called attention to the general context of racial discrimination, police violence, and racial profiling in

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ECtHR: Lack of Educational Support for Autistic Student Violated Rights

In a judgment released on September 10, 2020, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) held that Italy had violated an autistic girl’s rights to non-discrimination and education when it failed to provide her the tailored learning assistance required by domestic law. [ECtHR Press Release] Italian authorities said they lacked the financial resources to pay for a support teacher. See

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Inter-American Court Issues First Judgment on Sexual Violence in School

Earlier this month, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) published its first judgment to identify States’ obligations to prevent and redress sexual violence in schools. See I/A Court H.R., Guzmán Albarracín and Others v. Ecuador. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of 24 June 2020. Series C No. 405 (Spanish). The case concerned Paola del Rosario Guzmán Albarracín, who was

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Protesters, Human Rights Bodies React to Racism, Police Violence in U.S.

As protests spread across the United States and the world in response to the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, human rights experts and civil society renewed their condemnation of racial discrimination and excessive use of force in the American criminal justice system. [The Guardian; UN News: Floyd; OHCHR Press Release: Floyd; IACHR Press Release] In the weeks that

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Human Rights Bodies Respond to Coronavirus, Some Suspend Scheduled Sessions

Various supranational human rights bodies have cancelled or limited meetings in response to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) assessment of the global risk posed by the coronavirus (COVID-19) and the increasing number of travel restrictions imposed by national governments. [NGO CSW; HRC Bureau Meeting; WHO Press Release: Feb 28] Civil society’s participation has been hardest hit, most notably by the

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European Court: Lithuania Must Investigate Online Homophobic Hate Speech

In its first judgment to directly consider the issue, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has held that the State authorities’ failure to investigate online hate speech against a gay couple violated the couple’s rights to private and family life and constituted discrimination on sexual orientation grounds under the European Convention on Human Rights. [ECtHR Press Release] In the

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