The Arab charter on human rights and the League of Arab States: An update

Human Rights Law Review

Volumn 10, Issue 1, 2010, Pages 169-178

  Rishmawi, Mervat ^a  

^a AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

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EID: 77951961254     PISSN: 14617781     EISSN: 17441021     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/hrlr/ngp043     Document Type: Article

References (32)

1. There are many English translations of the Charter available. This article uses the version that is available at: http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/loas2005.html [last accessed 10 December 2009].
2. See also the English translation prepared by the OHCHR and printed in 12 IHRR 893 (2005).
3. The first ratifications of the Charter were: Algeria, Bahrain, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Libya and the United Arab Emirates
4. '[T]he Arab countries will be home to some 395 million people by 2015 (compared to about 317 million in 2007, and 150 million in 1980)', UNDP, 'Arab Human Development Report 2009: Challenges to Human Security in the Arab Countries', at 2, available at: http://www.arab-hdr.org/contents/index.aspx?rid=5 [last accessed 11 December 2009].
5. See 4 IHRR 850 (1997)
6. LAS Council Res. No 6302, 24 March 2003. The Commission, also known as the Arab Standing Committee on Human Rights, is composed of representatives of Member States of the LAS.
7. Fegiery (ed.), No One is Protected!! The Arab League and Human Rights (Cairo: Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies, 2006) (in Arabic).
8. For analysis of the Arab Charter on Human Rights, see Rishmawi, 'The Revised Arab Charter on Human Rights', in Krause and Scheinin (eds), International Protection of Human Rights: A Textbook (Turku/Å: Institute for Human Rights, 2009) 529
9. Rishmawi, 'The Revised Arab Charter on Human Rights: A Step Forward?', (2005) 5 Human Rights Law Review 361
10. For the position of the Committee of Experts, see Fegiery, supra n. 6.
11. Article 44, Arab Charter on Human Rights
12. Article 2, Arab Charter on Human Rights
13. 1577 UNTS 3
14. 999 UNTS 171
15. Article 18(3) ICCPR, 999 UNTS 171
16. The current members are from the United Arab Emirates (Chair), Algeria (vice-Chair), Bahrain, Palestine, Syria, Jordan and Libya
17. Article 45(3) Arab Charter on Human Rights. Article 45(4) provides that 'the mandate of three of the members elected during the first election shall be for two years and shall be renewed by lot'.
18. Article 45(2) Arab Charter on Human Rights
19. See Amnesty International, 'Middle East and North Africa: The Arab Human Rights Committee: Elections of Members and Criteria of Membership', 10 June 2008, IOR 65/001/2008, available at: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/IOR65/001/2008/en [last accessed 11 December 2009].
20. For a summary of the provisional rules of procedures, which exist in Arabic only, see Amnesty International, 'Recommendations for the Elaboration of Rules of Procedure of the Arab Human Rights Committee', 2 July 2009, IOR 65/001/2009, available at: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/IOR65/001/2009/en [last accessed 11 December 2009].
21. Articles 48(3) and 48(4) Arab Charter on Human Rights
22. These were Amnesty International, the International Federation for Human Rights, the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies and the Arab Organisation for Human Rights
23. See LAS, 'Human Rights organizations and Arab Human Rights Committee engage in constructive dialogue', 21 October 2009, available at: http://www.fidh.org/Human-Rights-organizations-and-Arab-Human-Rights [last accessed 11 December 2009].
24. Summit Res. 17/290, 23 March 2005.
25. Summit Res. 17/292, 23 March 2005.
26. Articles 1 and 2 Statutes of the Interim Parliament, ibid
27. Arab Transitional Parliament's Committee for Legislative, Legal and Human Rights Affairs, 'The ICC Prosecutor's Request to Issue Arrest Warrant against President/Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir President of the Republic of the Sudan'. Committee's meeting in Damascus, Syria, 4-5 August 2008, available at: http://www.arableagueonline.org/las/picture_gallery/Ep05-08-2008.pdf [last accessed 11 December 2009].
28. Council of Ministers Res. 6705, 6 September 2006. This Resolution approves the Recommendations of the Arab Commission on Human Rights made in its 20th session, 23-25 January 2006, which recommend the creation of an Arab Sub-Commission on Human Rights. These Recommendations, as adopted, include the responsibilities of the Sub-Commission on Human Rights. See the following link in Arabic: http://www.arableagueonline.org [last accessed 11 December 2009].
29. See the following link in Arabic: [last accessed 11 December 2009]
30. See Council of Ministers Res. 6831, 7 September 2007 (for the election of the members). The members of the Sub-Commission come from Jordan, Bahrain, Tunisia, Palestine, Qatar, Kuwait and Egypt.
31. Council Res. 6705, supra n. 27.
32. The Arab League has an Arab Declaration on the Rights of the Child adopted in Tunisia in 1983 by the Council of Arab Ministers of Social Welfare