Jun 15, 2020 | News
Member States convening today for the resumption of the 43rd session of the UN Human Rights Council should support the establishment of an international investigative mechanism to document and preserve evidence of violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law (IHL) committed in Libya, said the ICJ and Lawyers for Justice in Libya.
The escalation in armed conflict in recent months and ongoing impunity for an increasing number of violations and abuses being committed in Libya lend particular urgency to the establishment of a mechanism for a period of at least one year to investigate all gross human rights violations and abuses and serious violations of IHL, with a view to preserving evidence and holding perpetrators accountable.
“Horrific reports documenting the discovery of mass graves are the latest addition to a long line of well-established atrocities perpetrated across Libya,” said Kate Vigneswaran, Senior Legal Adviser at the ICJ’s Middle East and North Africa Programme. “Impunity for these crimes has proven only to prompt further violence and prolong the conflict.”
On 11 June 2020, the United National Support Mission to Libya reported the discovery of at least eight mass graves, located predominantly in Tarhuna, a town located southeast of Tripoli.
Though exhumations have only just commenced, initial reports by the Government of National Accord (GNA) indicate that they could contain hundreds of bodies, including of women and children.
Reports further indicate that the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF), and their foreign allies, have laid anti-personnel landmines and other booby-traps in buildings as they withdrew from Tripoli, leading to causalities including among civilians returning to their homes after long periods of displacement.
Reports of incidents involving “retributive crimes”, including the parading of corpses and looting of perceived opponents’ houses and public property, by GNA-affiliated armed groups have also surfaced.
“The systematic and ubiquitous nature of these violations reinforces the need for States to urgently push for mechanisms designed to address accountability and fight prevailing impunity. The establishment of an international investigative mechanism would not only pave the way towards obtaining justice for the victims and preserving evidence necessary for doing so, but also send a strong and unequivocal message that those who commit crimes will be held accountable,” said Marwa Mohamed, Head of Advocacy and Outreach at Lawyers for Justice in Libya.
An international investigative mechanism would bolster accountability efforts in the country, which have, thus far, been impeded by cycles of violence, weak and ineffective law enforcement agencies, the arbitrary exercise of policing and detention powers by armed groups and an inadequate legal framework for holding perpetrators of crimes under international law accountable.
States will vote on the resolution on Libya (UN Doc A/HRC/43/L.40) following the interactive dialogue on the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ Report on Libya on 18 June 2020.
The 43rd session of the Human Rights Council commenced in February 2020, but was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Contact
Kate Vigneswaran, Senior Legal Adviser, ICJ Middle East and North Africa Programme, t: +31624894664 ; e: kate.vigneswaran(a)icj.org;
Background
A variety of armed groups have been engaged in recurrent waves of armed conflict since the 2011 uprising. These include the forces of the GNA, established in 2016, which is the internationally recognized State governing authority and is supported by armed groups acting either under their control or in alignment or alliance with it, and the LAAF, which is headed by Khalifa Haftar, who was endorsed by the House of Representatives after launching his military campaign in 2014, and is composed of a mixture of military units and armed groups.
The GNA generally has control over territory in the west, and the LAAF exercises a significant degree of control over territories in the east and parts of the south. In April 2019, the LAAF marched on Tripoli gaining further territorial control in parts of the west, but such gains have been reduced over recent weeks following the escalation in hostilities with the GNA and the LAAF’s consequent retreat.
Reports by UNSMIL and other international bodies and non-government organizations document the gross human rights violations and abuses and serious violations of IHL being committed by all parties to the conflicts in Libya. These include unlawful killings resulting from direct, indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks against persons not engaged in hostilities; attacks on civilian objects including medical facilities and equipment; torture and ill-treatment, including acts of sexual violence and the crime of rape; arbitrary arrests and detention; forced displacement; enforced disappearances; and extrajudicial killings. These violations and abuses have led to mass internal displacement, including of over 200,000 people since April 2019 from Tripoli and its outskirts.
Libya-Atrocities need investigation-News-2020-ARA (story in Arabic, PDF)
Feb 27, 2020 | News
The ICJ today condemned the Sri Lankan Government’s announced “withdrawal” of support for the process under UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Resolutions 30/1, 34/1 and 40/1.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dinesh Gunawardane, formally announced the decision on 26 February at a High-Level Segment of the 43rd session of the UNHRC in Geneva.
“The Government of Sri Lanka’s refusal to implement effective measures for truth, justice, accountability and reconciliation, including as set out in the resolutions of the Human Rights Council, places it in violation of its obligations under international law,” said Frederick Rawski, ICJ’s Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific. “Holding perpetrators of human rights violations accountable at the international level now appears to be the only real option – including referral to the International Criminal Court, the creation of an ad hoc international mechanism, and the exercise of universal jurisdiction.”
Gunawardane stated that the Government of Sri Lanka would instead “achieve sustainable peace through an inclusive, domestically designed and executed reconciliation and accountability process, including through the appropriate adaptation of existing mechanisms, in line with the Government’s policy framework.”
“It is the Sri Lankan Government’s failure to initiate a credible and comprehensive approach to transitional justice in the aftermath of the war that led to the intervention of the international community in the first place,” said Rawski. “Sri Lanka’s domestic legal system has repeatedly demonstrated that it is unable to address systemic and entrenched impunity for crimes under international law perpetrated by the military and security forces,” he added.
Pronouncements by the President, on protecting military personnel from any accountability measures coupled with appointments to senior command positions individuals credibly accused of serious human rights violations indicate that the long history of impunity of security forces in Sri Lanka is set to continue.
The ICJ is deeply concerned that the Government’s official refusal to implement the UN resolutions comes at a time when the human rights situation in Sri Lanka is rapidly deteriorating. It threatens to undermine even the meagre progress made over the past few years, which albeit slow and wholly insufficient, has been primarily due to the continued engagement of the Council, OHCHR and international community. The UNHRC process is also the only forum at the global level where Sri Lankan civil society and victim groups have had the opportunity to engage openly in dialogue with the Government and other States on human rights concerns in Sri Lanka.
The validity of adopted resolutions of the Council does not depend on their acceptance by the government concerned. Reporting and discussion of Sri Lanka’s implementation or failure to implement them will take place this year and in 2021 at the Council regardless of the Government’s position.
Contact
Frederick Rawski, ICJ’s Asia Pacific Regional Director, t: +66 2 619 84 77; e: frederick.rawski(a)icj.org
Oct 2, 2019 | News
This support comes as the ICJ documents failure of criminal justice system on human rights accountability with its report Accountability for Serious Crimes under International Law in Libya: An Assessment of the Criminal Justice System.
At today’s launch of the publication, the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), the Delegation of the European Union to Libya (EUDEL) and the European Union Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM) supported calls for the establishment of a UN Commission of Inquiry for Libya.
The ICJ’s report examines the criminal justice framework in Libya and finds that investigations and prosecutions of crimes under international law have been limited to a handful of cases, and that future cases are unlikely meet international standards necessary to ensure fair and effective justice, in particular the rights to liberty and a fair trial and the prohibition on torture and ill-treatment.
The support by international actors echoes the ICJ’s call for the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry or similar mechanism to monitor, document and report on human rights violations in order to identify perpetrators, and gather and preserve evidence for future prosecutions, either national or international.
UNSMIL, the EU and a number of States expressed their support for the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry or similar mechanism at the 42nd session of the Human Rights Council.
The ICJ also advocated for such a mechanism in its statement to the Council on 25 September.
At the launch, ICJ Senior Legal Adviser Kate Vigneswaran said that “it’s time for States to stop working on the premise that the Libyan criminal justice system can effectively ensure accountability for crimes committed by State and non-State Actors and instead look at options for ensuring they don’t go unpunished.”
The ICJ’s report also calls on States and UN actors to ensure they adopt human rights-compliant terms in their engagement with Libya and to refrain from entering into or implementing agreements with Libyan authorities that could give rise to support for or complicity in violations of international law.
Kate Vigneswaran stated: “Human rights and accountability should underpin any agreements and engagement with Libyan actors entered into by States, rather than being sidelined in the interests of a political solution. Time has shown that the absence of human rights at the forefront of dialogue and engagement with stakeholders has failed to ensure the cessation of egregious human rights violations and abuses being perpetrated throughout the country.”
The launch, which was held in partnership with the Embassy of the Netherlands in Libya, was opened by the Netherlands’ Ambassador, H. E. Mr. Lars Tummers.
Kate Vigneswaran discussed the key findings and recommendations contained in the report. A panel comprised of ICJ Commissioner Marwan Tashani and representatives of EUDEL, EUBAM and UNSMIL responded to the report and provided insights into their work in Libya.
Sep 30, 2019 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
The ICJ has made a submission to the UN Human Rights Committee in advance of its forthcoming examination of Pakistan’s follow-up report under International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
In its submission, the ICJ has brought to the Committee’s attention concerns in relation to the following issues:
- Shortcomings in the legal framework relevant to enforced disappearances;
- The continuing practice of enforced disappearances and, in this context, the ongoing impunity of law enforcement and security agencies;
- The promulgation of the Actions (in aid of civil power) Ordinance, 2019; and
- The ineffectiveness of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances.
The Human Rights Committee will examine Pakistan’s follow-up report during its 127th session, which will be held in Geneva from 14 October to 9 November 2019.
The UN Human Rights Committee issued its Concluding Observations in August 2017, following its review in July 2017 of Pakistan’s first periodic report. Among its many recommendations, for follow-up the Committee prioritized recommendations related to the death penalty; enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings; and freedom of religion, conscience and belief.
The Committee requested Pakistan to provide information on the implementation on these recommendations within one year of the adoption of the Concluding Observations, which was due on in August 2018.
Pakistan submitted its follow up report to the Committee in May 2019.
Download
Pakistan-UNHCR submission-advocacy-non legal submission-2019-ENG(submission in PDF)
Sep 18, 2018 | Events, Multimedia items, News, Video clips
The ICJ organized this side event today (Tuesday 18 September 2018), in cooperation with the Permanent Mission of the Netherlands, at the Human Rights Council.
https://www.facebook.com/ridhglobal/videos/1005764152964172/
Background
Particularly when crimes under international law are perpetrated on a large scale in situations of crisis, there is an urgent need to preserve evidence for use in eventual criminal proceedings, whether at the International Criminal Court or other national or international tribunals
Too frequently, obstacles prevent immediate direct recourse to international courts and prosecutors. One response has been the creation of mechanisms to collect and preserve the evidence in the meantime. Examples include the International Independent and Impartial Mechanism (IIIM) for Syria, and the Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan.
At the current session of the Human Rights Council, the Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar has called for establishment of an IIIM pending referral to the ICC or an ad hoc tribunal.
Opening Remarks:
Ambassador Monique T.G. van Daalen, Permanent Mission of the Netherlands
Moderator:
Saman Zia-Zarifi, Secretary General, International Commission of Jurists
Panelists:
- Catherine Marchi-Uhel, Head, International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) for Syria
- Yasmin Sooka, Chairperson, Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan
- Sanji Monageng, former Judge/Vice-President of the ICC, and Commissioner of the ICJ
- Stephen Rapp, Chair, Commission for International Justice & Accountability (CIJA), Distinguished Fellow, US Holocaust Memorial Museum, and former United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice
- Kingsley Abbott, ICJ Senior Legal Adviser (Global Accountability), formerly with the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon
Universal-ICJ-NL-Side event-News-events-2018-ENG (flyer of the event in PDF)
