ECCHR Annual Report 2011

April 2012

ECCHR (ed.)

In his preface to the annual report of 2011, advisory board member Prof. Florian Jeßberger discusses the success story of ECCHR, while General Secretary Wolfgang Kaleck looks back upon an eventful year in his contribution. We have incorporated images by Berlin artist Silvina Der Merguerditchian in the report, whose works have been displayed in ECCHR spaces since November 2011. They are characterized by the attempt to fathom new means of reconciliation between Armenians and Turks.

ECCHR Annual Report 2011.pdf ECCHR Annual Report 2011.pdf (2.2 MB)

A comparison of National Contact Points - Best practices in OECD complaints procedures

Policy Paper, November 2011

ECCHR (ed.)

Between October 2010 and January 2011, ECCHR submitted OECD complaints relating to the trade of Uzbek cotton against seven cotton traders. Complaints were submitted to the respective national contact point in Germany, Switzerland, Great Britain and France. ECCHR has now carried out comparative evaluations of three of the national contact points.

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Torture and the use of information in countering terrorism

ECCHR-Report, October 2011

ECCHR (ed.)

This report, which is an excerpt of ECCHR-publication “Folter und die Verwendung von Informationen in der Terrorismusbekämpfung”, analyzes the three cases selected for examination by the BND Committee of Inquiry (1. Committee of Inquiry, 16th legislative period). The cases in question are: Murat Kurnaz, detained in Guantánamo; Mohammed Zammar, tortured and detained to date in Syria; and Khaled El Masri, abducted and tortured in Afghanistan. To varying extents, German security forces were involved in each of these cases. The full report concludes that German authorities and courts have violated the absolute ban on torture.

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Child Labour in Uzbek Cotton Production and the Responsibility of European Corporations

ECCHR-Report, January 2011

ECCHR (ed.)

In this brochure the ECCHR highlights one of the most striking abuses of economic and social human rights in Uzbekistan: The state-led system of compulsory child labour in the cotton production. The report provides an overview of the current situation and outlines the background to child and forced labour during the cotton harvest. Focusing particularly on European cotton dealers, it investigates the responsibility of European corporations who trade with Uzbek cotton by using the internationally recognized OECD Guidelines.
Child Labour in Uzbek Cotton Production and the Responsibility of European Corporations Child Labour in Uzbek Cotton Production and the Responsibility of European Corporations (1.2 MB)

Blacklisted: Targeted sanctions, preemptive security and fundamental rights

ECCHR-Report, December 2010

By Gavin Sullivan and Ben Hayes

10 December 2010 ECCHR have released a new critical report today on terrorism listing, with a foreword by Martin Scheinin, the outgoing UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights while countering terrorism. After outlining the ways that blacklisting breaches fundamental rights, reviewing the key case law, analysing the broader political impacts and problems of the regime and critically evaluating the possibilities for procedural reform, the Report argues that the policy of blacklisting is currently facing a crisis of legitimacy.

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Criminal Accountability in Sri Lanka

ECCHR Study, June 2010

ECCHR (ed.)

29/09/2010 ECCHR concludes in its Study „Criminal Accountability in Sri Lanka as of January 2009" that the parties to the conflict seriously violated international law. The Study is based on publicly available information about the alleged commission of crimes against humanity as well as war crimes during the last stage of the conflict.
ECCHR Sri Lanka Study ECCHR Sri Lanka Study (1.9 MB)
ECCHR Sri Lanka Study Executive Summary ECCHR Sri Lanka Study Executive Summary (98.4 kB)

Corporate Responsibility - Suggestions for EU Reforms

ECCHR Study, May 2010

by Christiane Gerstetter and Alexander Kamieth

ECCHR lawyers Christiane Gerstetter and Alexander Kamieth have put together a study that maps out EU- legal reforms required for the prosecution of businesses that violate human rights and environmental norms abroad. Alongside two case studies, they investigate the extent to which European businesses are liable for environmental destruction or human rights abuse committed by their subsidiary- or delivery-firms abroad.

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CIA 'Extraordinary Rendition' Flights, Torture and Accountability: a European Approach

AN ECCHR Study, January 2009

ECCHR (ed.)

In January 2009, the ECCHR published the second edition of their report "CIA 'Extraordinary Rendition' Flights, Torture and Accountability: A European Approach." The study provides an overview of legal proceedings and other judicial responses to CIA rendition flights in pertinent European countries such as Germany, Poland, Italy, and Spain, as well as in the U.S.

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Transnational Corporations on Trial

ECCHR-Study, April 2008

By Wolfgang Kaleck and Dr. Miriam Saage-Maaß

The entrepreneurial activities of transnational corporations risk the abuse of human rights and environmental damage. This actual threat to human rights which Corporations pose is not sufficiently taken into account by national and international legal systems. The study by the ECCHR, „Transnational Corporations On Trial“, describes international standards which obligate Corporations to act in compliance with Human Rights, Labour and Environmental Laws only gives a few sanctioning prospects.

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