FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE— January 27 2017

“For evil to flourish, it only requires good men to do nothing." - Simon Wiesenthal

[NEW YORK] –   Today, on the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, the Global Justice Center calls on the international community to remember Holocaust victims by standing up to renewed anti-Semitism, hatred, racism, and discrimination. The Nazi ideology of race resulted in the systematic persecution and murder of six million Jews, and other groups such as the Roma, Slavic, Communists, Socialists, Jehovah’s Witnesses, LGBTI and persons with disabilities.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE— January 27 2017

[NEW YORK] –   Today, Donald Trump followed through on one of his racist and xenophobic campaign promise—ban refugees and immigrants from largely Muslim countries. This ban is accompanied by a drastic reduction in the number of refugees the US will take and a series of other undefined and vague provisions that could be used as a pretext to surveil and profile those who enter the United States.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE— January 24 2017

[NEW YORK] –  Yesterday, Donald Trump re-instated the Global Gag Rule, as every Republican president since Ronald Reagan has done since taking office. Unlike his predecessors, Trump far expanded the reach of the Gag Rule.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE— January 23 2017

[NEW YORK] –  Today, Mr. Trump reinstated the Global Gag Rule, an executive policy that extends Congressional abortion restrictions on foreign assistance by barring US foreign aid from going to any foreign organization that performs or provides information about abortions as a method of family planning.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE— January 22 2017

[NEW YORK] –  Today marks the 44th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision in Roe vs. Wade, two days after the inauguration of Donald Trump, and one day after millions of women all over the world marched in support of women’s rights. Any moment now Mr. Trump is expected to reinstate the Global Gag Rule, which bars US foreign aid from going to any foreign organization that performs or provides information about abortions as a method of family planning.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE— January 20 2016

[NEW YORK] – Today, as Donald Trump is sworn in as the 45^th President of the United States, it is important to remember that no one—and no country—is above the law. Over the course of his presidential campaign, Mr. Trump has expressed his attitude on a range of issues, from abortion to immigration to torture, that are antithetical to the notion of human rights. Many of his proposed policies, if enacted, would put him or the US in violation of international law.

After World War II, there was a human rights revolution that resulted in strong treaties and human rights laws. These laws are underscored by the recognition that there are rights so fundamental that they transcend borders and individual policies.

GJC was founded to move these laws from paper to practice.

Donald Trump's presidency will test this foundation of human rights law like never before. Our legal experts have spent years studying, researching and fighting for the enforcement of international law to build a global system of justice founded on gender equality. We are ready to fight back against whatever action Trump takes that threatens this rule of law.

Courage is contagious. Stand with us.

Photo: Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 2.0

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—December 9, 2016

[NEW YORK] — Today the United Nations marks the second International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of the Crime. On this day, as we reflect on the legacy of genocide, yet again the international community is failing to take action in face of an ongoing genocide. ISIS is committing  genocide, including through acts of rape and sexual slavery, against the Yazidi and other ethnic minorities, and the world must take immediate action to stop these atrocities.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—November 14, 2016

[NEW YORK and GEVENA (OMCT-GJC)] — Tomorrow, the Committee Against Torture (CAT), during its 59^th session, will examine Sri Lanka’s fifth State party report. In October, the Global Justice Center (GJC) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) jointly submitted an alternative report focused on how Sri Lankan law violates the Convention Against Torture by banning abortion in most circumstances, and by authorizing rape in certain instances and child marriage.

August 12^th was the anniversary of the Geneva Conventions. Because of Florence Nightingale we have laws guaranteeing all war victims equal rights to medical care.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—June 27, 2016

[Windhoek, Namibia] –  The African Caribbean Pacific (ACP)- European Union (EU) Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) adopted a resolution on rape and sexual violence against women and children in armed conflict that recognized rape as an element crime of genocide when commmitted with the intent to destroy the targeted group.

A new report, “They Came to Destroy” : ISIS Crimes Against the Yazidis, confirms that ISIS is committing genocide against the Yazidi including through gendered non-killing crimes such as rape and sexual violence against enslaved Yazidi women and girls.  

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This month, GJC participated in the UN's first World Humanitarian Summit held in Istanbul, Turkey from 23-24th, 2016. With our presence there, we took leadership in promoting the rights of women and girls under international humanitarian law. 

GJC’s side-event, “Making IHL Work for Women and Girls,” was the only event at the summit on IHL and gender, and focused on advancing the rights of women and girls in conflict.

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This Mother’s Day it is important to remember that when women have a say in governance, the world becomes a better place. This is why GJC works to empower women and ensure their equal rights around the world.

A recent example of this is our work on gender and genocide. I just wrote a blog post on how crimes against women are often overlooked and go unpunished. GJC is demanding accountability and action in face of these crimes.

Thank you,

Akila Radhakrishnan

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – April 14, 2016

[NEW YORK, NY] –  It is now two years since Boko Haram abducted nearly 300 Chibok Christian schoolgirls. The loud global rallying cry, which included Michelle Obama, to “Bring Back Our Girls”, has not stopped Boko Haram from targeting women and girls with heinous crimes including kidnappings, rapes, forced pregnancies, forced conversion, and murder by forced suicide.

 

It has been two years since Boko Haram abducted nearly 300 Chibok Christian schoolgirls. The global rallying cry to “Bring Back Our Girls” has not stopped Boko Haram from targeting women and girls with heinous crimes including kidnappings, rapes, forced pregnancies, forced conversion, and murder by forced suicide.

While the Chibok girls remain in captivity, Boko Haram continues to act with total impunity abducting an estimates 2,000 more women and girls.

The fundamental ideologies of groups like Boko Haram and ISIS rely on women being chattels, inferior, and disposable. The global call to “Bring Back Our Girls” must go beyond rescue and include a demand for global justice for all women and girls suffering under extremists.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - March 17, 2016

[WASHINGTON, DC]– This morning, US Secretary of State John Kerry announced that Daesh is committing genocide against ethnic minorities, including Yazidis, Christians, and Shia Muslims. This is the first genocide the US has recognized since Darfur in 2004.

Today, on International Women’s day, it is important to not forget the thousands of women and girls still being held captive by ISIS. The subjugation of women and girls and the horrific violence inflicted on them are strategies of terror and genocide used by ISIS to achieve their aims.

It is time to start treating ISIS’s genocide as genocide.  

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In a historic and strongly worded resolution, the European Parliament declared the atrocities ISIS continues to commit against religious minorities constitute genocide. This is the first time the European Parliament has acknowledged ongoing atrocities as genocide.

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