Author: Communication Department

Emmanuelle Marchand is a Senior Legal Counsel and Investigator for the NGO Civitas Maxima. Like TRIAL International, it collects evidence of the worst atrocities, bringing them to the attention of prosecution authorities. In this interview, she gives us an insight into her job in the field, which highlights the key role of NGOs in the fight against impunity.

“My first mission for Civitas Maxima was in 2013 in Liberia. It was also my first experience of Africa, a real change! Fortunately, like many NGOs in the area, Civitas Maxima already had an efficient local network. My Liberian colleagues, and those from the Ivory Coast, knew the context perfectly and I learned to understand it thanks to them.

Quickly, we naturally found a complementary way of working, which we still possess today. They manage the first stage of the investigation, collect the initial information and contact victims and witnesses. My colleagues from Geneva and I then come in, if necessary, to interview the victims and define the legal strategy. It is essential to be realistic and modest; as a foreigner, I will never have the same ability as them to build trust. And my trips will always be less discreet…

Working in a foreign setting also has its advantages. You are forced to adapt your behavior, which makes you more attentive to that of others. You have to consider all your own habits to understand another way of living and being. In light of my previous experiences, notably in Cambodia, I notice common characteristics in very different contexts, such as the resilience of survivors, and the way in which life prevails even after mass crimes.”

 

NGOs and national authorities complement one another

“Specialized NGOs are a crucial link in collecting evidence. We are mobile and flexible in a way that the legal authorities are not, so we are often more responsive and better established locally. However, our work is useless if national authorities refuse to initiate a case against a suspect. Serving justice remains a sovereign power and civil society cannot, should not and will not replace it! So, our missions complement one another.

Despite this, some prosecutors or magistrates of national authorities sometimes act ambivalently towards NGOs, even those specialized in investigations and collecting evidence. On the one hand, they need to rely on information collected by NGOs and on their access to information sources. On the other hand, they feel frustrated at not carrying out the entire process from beginning to end, as they would usually do. You also feel sometimes that trust is lacking. Fortunately, in most cases the relationship with the national authorities is constructive and things go well.

Moreover, the increase in the number of universal jurisdiction cases is a real opportunity. Faced with the complexity of the cases, all players must pull together. And the more we cooperate, the more we get to know each other and the more trust is built.”

 

In Liberia, a paradigm shift

“Every time I go back to Liberia, I can see the progress that has been made. Several senior officials implicated in atrocities have been arrested or sentenced outside the country, resulting in a real paradigm shift. They are no longer perceived as all-powerful and unassailable; justice in Liberia has become a concrete possibility.

The fight against impunity is now a regular topic in the national media. Demonstrations in favor of a national prosecution mechanism are increasing. Liberians have appropriated the search for justice and do not intend to stop there! The fear has changed camps, and it is now the former executioners who are not quiet.”

 

Learn more about universal jurisdiction

Learn more about the action taken by Civitas Maxima

 

Killings, kidnappings, arrests and arbitrary detentions, torture… violations of fundamental rights are commonplace in Burundi. At the 41st session of the Human Rights Council held on Tuesday 2 July, civil society organizations and the representatives of UN state members had the opportunity to raise their concerns regarding the country’s situation with the Commission of Enquiry on Burundi.

In May 2019, ACAT Burundi documented 24 killings, 6 kidnappings, 60 arrests and arbitrary detentions and 50 cases of torture. FIACAT (the International Federation of ACATs), with the support of TRIAL International, the CCPR Centre and OMCT, expressed their concern for the repeated human rights violations committed amid the political and security crisis that has been ongoing in the country for four years.

More specifically, these organizations request the state of Burundi to free human rights defenders who are currently detained, and call upon the international community to guarantee free and inclusive elections in 2020.

Read the full statement (in French)

TRIAL International and Yale Law School’s Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic submitted a General Allegation to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Truth, Justice, Reparations, and Guarantees of Non-Recurrence. The General Allegation – cosigned by 27 local organizations – addresses practices of the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) that have prevented thousands of men and women from obtaining justice and reparations for the serious crimes they suffered during the 1992-1995 conflict.  

In particular, the General Allegation focuses on BiH courts’ application of statutes of limitations (zastara) and imposition of court fees in civil cases. It argues that BiH is failing to comply with its international obligations to redress wartime abuses.

Since a 2013 Constitutional Court decision, courts across BiH have denied thousands of wartime survivors’ claims for compensation by imposing statutes of limitations. Some courts – primarily in Republika Srpska (RS) – have required victims to pay high court fees after rejecting their claims, exacerbating the poverty and trauma that many already experience.

 

Disappointed victims

In preparing the General Allegation, TRIAL International and the Lowenstein Clinic spoke to a number of these men and women, who shared their stories of abuse during the war and their disappointment with the obstacles to justice that they have faced ever since. A former camp detainee, for example, said about statutes of limitations: “It was an additional humiliation for [victims], because [we] believed in a little bit of justice regardless of everything.” Another victim who had seen his claim dismissed and had then been subjected to court fees noted: “We’re reliving the suffering, the torture and the rapes that occurred in the camps through having to pay these claims.” In the words of one interviewee: “If I knew then what I knew now, I wouldn’t have [brought a civil claim].”

The General Allegation establishes that the application of zastara to wartime claims contravenes BiH’s responsibility to guarantee victims’ access to courts and effective remedies, as required by international and regional law. Because BiH has yet to implement a nation-wide reparations scheme, victims have no choice but to rely on the justice system.

 

(Almost) impossible claims

Even though victims theoretically have the option of filing claims against their perpetrators in criminal court, this option is not feasible for most. The difficulty of identifying perpetrators, the flight or death of perpetrators in the decades since the war, and the significant backlog in criminal courts mean that civil courts are the only avenue through which the majority of wartime victims can obtain redress. But by precluding civil claims through zastara, courts remove even this last possibility of a remedy. As stated by Adrijana Hanusic Becirovic, senior legal advisor at TRIAL International, “Having in mind that BiH failed to adopt a legislative framework providing for compensation to all wartime victims, victims’ right to an effective remedy has been violated.”

The imposition of court fees on victims constitutes an additional violation under international law. Levying such costs on victims who are already marginalized and economically vulnerable undermines their right of access to the justice system. Many victims have been dissuaded from exercising this right out of fear that they will be punished through court fees.

 

Courts disregarded international obligations

Moreover, by dismissing claims and requiring victims to pay high court fees, courts in BiH have disregarded the international obligation to minimize the risk of retraumatizing victims of human rights abuses.  According to Kyle Delbyck, TRIAL International Consultant and former member of the Lowenstein Clinic, “The practices of imposing court fees and confiscating property have created an atmosphere of terror, transporting victims back to wartime suffering.”

The General Allegation calls on the Special Rapporteur on Truth, Justice, Reparations, and Guarantees of Non-Recurrence to visit BiH to obtain a first-hand understanding of the effects of zastara and court fees; for the Constitutional Court of BiH to re-examine its case law on zastara; and for courts to cease imposing court fees on victims of war crimes and renounce the existing debts of those victims who are in the midst of court-fee enforcement proceedings.

“No victim of a war crime should have to suffer the indignity of being told they have come forward too late to have a forum for justice. No victim of a war crime should be fined for coming to the court for a remedy,” said Erin Islo, a 2019 graduate of Yale Law School and member of the Lowenstein Clinic team. “The Special Rapporteur has an opportunity to shine a light on the harms that victims of war crimes in BiH are enduring in the process of seeking justice. Bringing attention to these continuing violations has the potential to make a real impact on the lives of victims and to underscore an international commitment to dignity for those who have survived the horrors of war.”

Yahya Jammeh reportedly forced young women to have sex with him. Some of them received a state salary and worked at the presidential palace as “protocol girls”. They are now accusing the former president.

Three women have accused Gambia’s former president, Yahya Jammeh, of rape and sexual assault while he was in office, Human Rights Watch and TRIAL International reported today. Former Gambian officials said that presidential aides regularly pressured women to visit or work for Jammeh, who then sexually abused many of them.

“Yahya Jammeh treated Gambian women like his personal property,” said Reed Brody, counsel at Human Rights Watch who led the investigation. “Rape and sexual assault are crimes, and Jammeh is not above the law.”

 

FIRST HAND TESTIMONIES

Human Rights Watch and TRIAL International interviewed three women who accuse Jammeh of rape and sexual assault, and a fourth woman who said that Jammeh’s aides confined her in an apparent set-up for sexual abuse. The organizations also interviewed eight former Gambian officials and several other witnesses. The officials, who said they have direct knowledge of the events, include two men who worked for the Protocol Department at State House (the presidential palace); four close protection officers for Jammeh or at State House; a woman who worked at State House; and a former National Intelligence Agency senior official. The officials and two of the women requested anonymity. Fatou Jallow (known as Toufah), who alleged that Jammeh raped her in 2015, asked that her name be disclosed because she wished to come forward publicly.

 

PAID TO HAVE SEX WITH THE PRESIDENT

Those interviewed made detailed allegations against the former president, saying that he forced or coerced young women into having sex with him. Some were put on the state payroll and worked at State House as so-called “protocol girls.” Former officials reported that Jammeh and his subordinates gave the women cash and gifts and promised them scholarships or other privileges – powerful tools in one of the poorest countries in the world. Witnesses said that both consensual and non-consensual sex took place at the president’s residences.

The three women who made the allegations against Jammeh described coercive, deceptive, and violent actions by Jammeh and his aides, and retaliation if the women refused his advances.

 

FAMILY BUSINESS

The three women and several officials identified Jimbee Jammeh, a female cousin of the president, as the person overseeing the “protocol girls” and the procurement of other women. The three women said she befriended them, phoned them, had them brought to State House, took them to Jammeh, and stayed with them and the president in his room before leaving them alone. Jimbee Jammeh went to Equatorial Guinea with Jammeh.

 

CHARGES AGAINST THE FORMER PRESIDENT BUILD UP

Jammeh’s exploitation of women was well known to those around him. Five former officials said that he ordered them and others to get the phone numbers of women he identified. They said they later saw some of these women leaving Jammeh’s house with money. Officials working with Jammeh said that he also had sex with women soldiers assigned to his close protection and other civil servants working under him.

Jammeh’s rule was marked by widespread abuses, including forced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, torture and arbitrary detention. As president, Jammeh crafted a religious persona, preaching sermons and claiming to cure HIV and heal the sick. In March 2019, an official Gambian commission and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, an investigative reporting platform, accused Jammeh of stealing up to US$1 billion from state coffers.

Jammeh is currently in Equatorial Guinea, where he sought exile after losing the 2016 presidential election to Adama Barrow. A Gambian Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission is documenting human rights violations committed during Jammeh’s 22 years in power, including sexual violence allegations. The TRRC and the Gambian government should ensure that allegations of rape and sexual violence by Jammeh and other former top officials are fully investigated and, if warranted, prosecuted.

Alongside thousands of others, Lenin Bista was recruited into the Maoist guerrilla when he was 12 years old, during the Nepalese civil war between 1996 and 2006. Trained in weapons handling and intelligence techniques, he was involved in military operations during the conflict. When the war came to an end, he remained confined for four years before being liberated. Since then, he has devoted his efforts to advancing the cause of his former comrades. With his organization Peace Envisioners he is fighting to ensure that former Nepalese child soldiers have access to redress. With the support of TRIAL International, he has submitted a report to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva to draw the UN body’s attention to the situation of these particularly vulnerable former combatants.

 

As we mark the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict today, survivors like Purna Maya and Fulmati Nyaya remind us how little progress has taken place in Nepal to end impunity for perpetrators of sexual violence during the conflict, and to seek justice and reparations for victims.

More than 10 years after the decade-long conflict ended in Nepal, hundreds of survivors of conflict-era sexual violence have yet to have their suffering adequately acknowledged by the authorities and to receive reparation. They have been excluded, for example, from the Interim Relief Programme that compensates individuals whose family members were killed or disappeared during the conflict.

Purna Maya (pseudonym), now 49 years old, was dragged from her home to army barracks and raped by at least four soldiers in 2004, before being dumped on the street. She suffered severe injuries that led to the removal of her uterus and has suffered from severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. After her husband abandoned them, she and her daughter became internally displaced.

 

NEPAL IN NO HURRY TO INVESTIGATE CASES OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE

Despite notifying officials about the crime and identifying at least one of the alleged perpetrators in 2006, there has been no investigation to date. In 2012, Purna Maya brought a landmark case before the United Nations Human Rights Committee (HRC). In 2017, in its first ruling concerning a victim of conflict-related sexual violence in Nepal, the HRC called on Nepal to investigate, prosecute and punish the men who raped her, and to provide her with full reparation, including reimbursement for the medical expenses incurred.

Purna Maya’s case, which was filed with the support of REDRESS and Advocacy Forum-Nepal, also urged the Government of Nepal to take specific measures to prevent the repetition of similar crimes and to remove barriers for victims to access justice, including allowing them to file first information reports about rape cases that occurred during the armed conflict. However, two years later, the Government of Nepal continues to bluntly ignore the recommendations of the UN Committee. This week REDRESS and Advocacy Forum-Nepal will make a further submission to the UN to highlight the lack of cooperation and compliance by the Government of Nepal.

“I’m in dire need of support for my health treatment and livelihood. I have not even received an identity card recognising me as a victim of the conflict while other victims have received it”, said Purna Maya. “How long do I need to wait for justice? I want the perpetrators to be punished and to receive appropriate reparations.”

In March 2019, the Secretary General of the United Nations urged the Government of Nepal to guarantee interim relief and full reparations for victims of conflict-related sexual violence, including health and psychosocial assistance, livelihood support and adequate compensation.

A month later, the United Nations Security Council issued Resolution 2467, which reaffirms the commitment of the international community to fight against sexual violence in conflict, and encourages States to provide appropriate care to victims, fight impunity and ensure that victims participate in all stages of transitional justice processes.

 

 

A WIDESPREAD PRACTICE

Although many human rights violations were recorded by United Nations agencies and NGOs during the conflict in Nepal (1996-2006), data regarding sexual violence is scarce. Available evidence suggests, however, that there was a high prevalence of such crimes. Women were detained, tortured, raped and killed for suspected association with the Maoists, and also for belonging to the families of security forces personnel, as corroborated by a study carried out by Advocacy-Forum Nepal and the International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) (‘Across the Lines’).

“Nepal has a huge debt with its victims of sexual violence. They have been excluded from the post-conflict reparations scheme”, said Alejandra Vicente, Head of Law at REDRESS, said. “Women also face numerous legal and practical obstacles to report cases of sexual violence. Even when they manage to report it, a statute of limitations is in place which prevents investigation and prosecution if the event took place more than a year prior to reporting.”

Om Prakash Sen Thakuri, Director of Advocacy Forum-Nepal, who has worked with many victims of sexual violence, added: “Victims of sexual violence during the conflict still experience serious physical and psychological problems. By ignoring their needs and by not adopting much-needed legislative and policy reforms, Nepal is perpetuating the roller-coaster of sexual violence in the country even in times of peace.”

The non-compliance by Nepal has led the HRC to reiterate its recommendations to the government in other cases. On 20 May 2019, the HRC issued another important decision in the case of Fulmati Nyaya (not her real name), an indigenous girl who was the victim of rape, torture and forced labour by the Nepalese Army during the war. Helena Rodríguez Bronchú, Head of TRIAL International-Nepal program, who provided legal support to Fulmati, explained that this decision “explicitly recognised the stigmatization, marginalization and shame endured by conflict-related sexual violence in Nepal” and added “the Government of Nepal should seize the opportunity of the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict to acknowledge that sexual violence was widespread during the civil war. This is an opportunity to address the rampant impunity prevailing in the country and provide full reparation to survivors without further delay.”

In 2014, Sara (real name withheld) was severely tortured in Burundi. Five years later, with no accountability in sight for the perpetrators, TRIAL International has brought Sara’s case to the international level.

Over the course of 2014, the Burundian authorities led a violent crackdown on members of the political opposition and civil society. Many people were detained and tortured. Sara was one of those people.

In March 2014, Sara participated in a day of mobilization organized by political parties in Bujumbura. When police officers intervened to break up the demonstrations, Sara, a member of one of the opposition parties, was arrested and violently beaten.

The police officers struck particularly sensitive parts of Sara’s body – her back, kidney area and breasts, in a deliberate attempt to inflict severe pain. After the beating, the officers took Sara into custody where they continually insulted and intimidated her. Despite her grave injuries, Sara was initially refused medical care; it was only after many hours that she was finally hospitalized.

Several days after the incident, while she was still suffering from major injuries, Sara was forced out of the hospital and taken to an isolation cell, where she was interrogated and detained for hours. When the interrogation ended, Sara was transferred to prison. She was held, in deplorable conditions, for more than a year.

 

No investigation to uncover the facts

Sara reported the torture she had endured, numerous times and to multiple national agencies. She even identified the perpetrators. Yet the Burundian authorities never conducted an investigation.

 

Torture continues to be denied… but it remains prevalent

Faced with the Burundian authorities’ inaction, TRIAL International filed a claim with an international human rights body. The case aims to ensure that Sara’s suffering will finally be recognized and that she will be able to obtain reparations.

Sara’s case is not an isolated one. Many people have been tortured in Burundi simply because they expressed a viewpoint at odds with the government. In 2018, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Burundi reported that repressive tactics were still being used against political opponents.

The procedure is ongoing.

 

The hearings began in November 2018, yet they are still far from over. Why? The trial of warlord Ntabo Ntaberi, known as Sheka, is one of the most complex ever held in North Kivu.

How is the legal system supposed to adjudicate the crimes of one of the worst militias in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) – a militia that sowed terror over hundreds of square kilometers for more than five years?

An even more difficult question – how can victims be kept safe when the main accused, a warlord who goes by the name Sheka, still boasts of his support in the region? Through its work with the Cadre de concertation of North Kivu*, TRIAL International is helping the legal actors confront the challenges of this case.

Learn more about the case

 

Reasons for hope after the first hearings

The trial got off to an auspicious start. “The first victims to be heard, in February 2019, were six former child soldiers recruited by Sheka’s militia. They had spent months, sometimes years, with the group,” explains Legal Advisor Elsa Taquet, who was dispatched to Goma to follow the trial. “They provided very detailed explanations of the militia’s functioning, the chain of command leading to Sheka, and the barbaric techniques that were used to terrorize the population.”

 

Guaranteeing victims’ safety

The child soldiers’ participation in the hearings did not come without difficulty. An extremely detailed protection plan had to be developed… and it was soon put to the test. As the date of the hearings approached, the youths received telephone threats warning them not to testify against Sheka.

“As part of the Cadre de concertation of North Kivu, the group in charge of protection immediately organized the children’s relocation and reinforced their protection. The security plan, which TRIAL International had helped elaborate, anticipated such risks in the lead-up to the hearings. We were therefore able to react quickly,” notes Elsa Taquet. It is because of this accompaniment that the six child soldiers were able to testify before the court.

On the other hand, most of the witnesses to an incident crucial to the prosecution’s case (the attack on the village of Luvungi in July 2010) declined to appear before the court for fear of retaliation, even though a strict protection plan had been put in place. Only two women, demonstrating remarkable courage, ultimately agreed to confront their torturer. The court was especially impacted by their story, which brought to light another of the militia’s terrifying practices: mass rape as a weapon of war.

Learn more about the support provided to victims in the Sheka case

 

A step backward?

Unfortunately, despite their promising start, the hearings seem to be at a standstill. Sheka and his co-defendants are deploying delay tactics to draw the proceedings out. Making matters worse, the pace of the hearings slowed at the beginning of May, with the court only in session three to four hours per day, two days per week.

Of course, the court must attend to other cases in addition to this trial. Nevertheless, Elsa Taquet remains frustrated: “Given the gravity of the crimes, it is disappointing to see that the case is not moving faster. And for the victims, every postponement of their appearance increases the risks to their security, lowers their confidence in the legal system and their determination to testify… In order to keep the victims engaged and invested, the lawyers are working diligently to explain to them the twists and turns of the proceedings.”

 

Adapting the legal strategy

Faced with these setbacks, TRIAL International has adapted its legal strategy: the victims’ lawyers are introducing a limited number of victims and witnesses, whose testimony will serve to bolster the prosecution’s case on the next indictment counts.

Elsa Taquet defends this choice: “Our goal is to demonstrate the scope of the crimes perpetrated by Sheka’s militia. While each victim’s testimony is unique and important, some include more incriminating elements than others. We are counting on those testimonies to convince the judges of the defendants’ guilt.”

It is clear that despite these adjustments, the trial will continue for several more weeks, or even months – an exercise in perseverance for TRIAL International, its partners and above all, Sheka’s victims, who are still waiting for justice.

 

* TRIAL International’s work in North Kivu is conducted in the framework of the Cadre de concertation, an informal network of international actors collaborating to support the work of Congolese military jurisdictions in the investigation and prosecution of mass crimes in North Kivu.

 

(Geneva, Berlin, New York, 3 June 2019)

Three groups working on accountability for atrocity crimes – the Syrian Archive, TRIAL International, and the Open Society Justice Initiative – have filed criminal complaints with prosecutors in Antwerp, Hamburg and Essen. They have asked the authorities to clarify the role of three European companies in a 2014 shipment to Syria of chemical components that can be used to produce both pharmaceuticals and chemical weapons. Two months ago, the organizations informed the Belgian and German customs authorities, who replied that they were not aware of these exports. They therefore decided to take the case to the next level.

The complaints cite export documents and investigative work indicating that the three companies – BASF Antwerpen NV, Sasol Germany GmbH, and Brenntag AG (and its Swiss subsidiary) — may have been involved in the shipping of quantities of the chemicals isopropanol and diethylamine, which were delivered to Syria via Switzerland in 2014.

“It is time to have these transactions investigated,” says Montse Ferrer, corporate responsibility coordinator at TRIAL International. “There is sufficient evidence for an investigation to be conducted – and we hope the prosecutors will clarify why dual-use components manufactured by European companies ended up in Syria.”

Both products are used in the production of pharmaceuticals. But isopropanol can also be used in the production of sarin, a deadly chemical agent that has been used by the Syrian government against civilians. Diethylamine is also used in the production of VX, a highly toxic nerve agent that has been found in Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles.

At the time, both chemicals were on a list of restricted dual-use materials under European Union sanctions that required prior approval for export directly or indirectly to Syria. The EU’s sanction regime also applies to the actions of EU citizens outside the EU’s territory. The groups have asked prosecutors to investigate whether the European companies circumvented such sanctions.

 

EXPORTED RIGHT UNDER THE NOSE OF CUSTOMS AUTHORITIES

The complaints note that the relevant Belgian export agency stated that it did not receive any authorization requests for the export of diethylamine from Belgium with Syria as final destination, and the German export agency said they did not provide authorization for any such shipments during the period in question.

Details of the isopropanol shipment from Switzerland were first reported in Switzerland last year, with the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) saying in April 2018 that the shipment was legal under Swiss law. SECO added that the client was “a private Syrian pharmaceutical firm” and that there was “no indication that it had links to the Syrian government at the time, nor today.”

 

A BUYER WITH CLOSE TIES TO SYRIA’S GOVERNMENT

Subsequently, three Swiss newspapers, Le Matin Dimanche, Sonntagszeitung, and Tribune de Genève, reported further details of the sales, including that the customer was Mediterranean Pharmaceutical Industries (MPI), a Syrian company with close links to the Syrian government.

MPI was licensed to manufacture Voltaren, an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory that uses the two chemicals, by a subsidiary of Novartis, the Swiss pharmaceutical company. All of the companies say their actions were in accordance with existing sanctions regulations. Novartis in particular states that the due diligence they conducted on MPI “indicated no red flags.”

Yet the investigation by the three NGOs shows that, in 2014, MPI was headed by Abdul Rahman Attar, now deceased, who was a prominent Syrian businessman with close ties to senior figures in the Syrian government. At the time of the export, it was known that Mr. Attar was suspected of attempting to facilitate evasion of U.S. sanctions. “Attar had close business relationships with Cham Holdings, a company that was sanctioned in Switzerland and the European Union since 2012, and in the United States and Canada since 2011,” said Hadi al Khatib, director of Syrian Archive.

 

PROHIBITED BUT WIDESPREAD CHEMICALS

The United Nations launched its investigation on the possible use of chemical weapons in Syria in April 2013, after first reports of chemical weapons use appeared in December 2012.

The shipment of 5,000 kg of Isopropanol came after the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons announced in May 2014 that Syria had destroyed its stock of 120 metric tons of isopropanol.

In April 2017, nearly 100 people were killed and more than 200 injured in a chemical attack at Khan Shaykun using sarin produced with isopropanol.

Access to justice is more crucial than ever to ease the existing tensions in the North and South Kivu provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which have been torn apart by violence for decades. On 21 and 23 May 2019, Lawyers Without Borders (Avocats Sans Frontières, or ASF), RCN Justice & Démocratie (RCN) and TRIAL International launched a shared project to fight impunity in those regions. Two workshops, held in Goma and Bukavu, gathered over a hundred people playing a part in the prosecution of international crimes.

In North and South Kivu, many human rights violations stem from conflicting attempts to secure natural resources, regional rivalries and ethnic tensions. Although hundreds of victims already saw their perpetrators prosecuted and punished between 2016 and 2018, there is much more to be done for all the people responsible to be brought to justice and all the victims to receive reparation.

“Promoting efforts to fight against impunity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo” is a three-years project funded by the European Union meant to foster access to justice for people and communities that fell victim to international crimes.

 

A response that matches the stakes

“The intervention benefits from the joint experience and expertise of our three organizations, which makes for a fitting response to the stakes identified in the region, whether one is looking at the demand for justice or its delivery”, according to Gilles Durdu, ASF’s Country Director.

“The key to success lies in increased coordination, not only among our organizations but also among all the people involved in that sector”, Daniele Perissi, Head of the Great Lakes program at TRIAL International, corroborates. “Together, we hope to devise a truly efficient national strategy in order to prosecute the gravest crimes.”

The workshops used to launch the project were precisely designed to allow the players who had been invited to reflect on the current stakes and challenges in the fight against impunity and international crimes in DRC, as well as to reassert the importance of a joint operation to promote a holistic response.

Joel Phalip, Head of Mission for RCN, specifies that “part of that response will be to reinforce the technical capacities at the disposal of the justice professionals, including civilian and military courts and tribunals. We also wish to increase the involvement of the victims in all the steps of the lawsuits and their collaboration with the judicial actors.”

 

A shared will to join forces

The people attending the workshops also underscored the importance of coordination and collaboration in the sector, as Walid Henia, Military Investigation Advisor at MONUSCO and the person in charge of the Bukavu Task Force, remarks. He said: “We need to work together, to join forces and act as one to provide the judicial authorities with better support in the fight for the victims against impunity in severe or mass crimes.”

“We must find tools and means to coordinate our knowledge and the ways that we act together”,two other participants added. “For greater transparency, we truly need to collaborate, all of us – courts and tribunals, NGOs, civil society organizations, technical and financial partners, the media… This will allow us to do away with many clichés and stereotypes attached to justice and the prosecution of international penal crimes, and to recreate trust with the people.”

Just one year ago, the Swiss Federal Criminal Court (FCC) recognized the existence of a civil war in Algeria during the “Black Decade,” between 1992 and 2002. This was a very thorough judgment which brought together, in a single decision, numerous aspects of international law. TRIAL International has translated key passages of the judgment into English in an effort to make it more accessible to international stakeholders.

“The decision of the FCC is the first judgment in the world to recognize the existence of a non-international armed conflict in Algeria during the ‘Black Decade.’ It therefore ought to be translated and widely circulated,” explains Philip Grant, Director of TRIAL International. Rendered one year ago in the case of Khaled Nezzar – the former Algerian Minister of Defense suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity – this judgment directly contradicted an earlier decision of the Swiss Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to close the case. The text of the Court’s opinion, however, goes beyond the scope of the Nezzar case by considering two fundamental issues: the existence of war crimes and the possibility of prosecuting Nezzar for crimes against humanity.

 

Simple internal unrest or true conflict?

Without an armed conflict, there can be no war crimes. In order to rule on the question of whether such a conflict existed in Algeria at the time of Nezzar’s alleged crimes, the Court first had to establish a framework for analysis based on international law, to which the Algerian context during the “Black Decade” could then be applied. On this basis, the Court took the view that the violence reached a sufficient degree of intensity, and the Islamist armed groups had a sufficiently organized structure, to consider the conflict a civil war.

The evidence in the case pointed to a number of clashes between the government and its opponents. One sign of the virulence of the fighting and of the government forces’ determination is a statement by Nezzar, according to which the authorities aimed to “wipe out this den of terrorists by any means.” The Court cited Nezzar’s statement in its decision.

As to the second question, of whether Nezzar can be prosecuted for crimes against humanity, the judgment responded in the affirmative. It noted that the characteristics of Nezzar’s alleged crimes – the level of organization, the number of victims and the systematic practice of torture – indisputably meet the criteria for crimes against humanity. These were decisive factors in the FCC’s examination of the case. It is within precisely this framework that the OAG should have assessed whether Nezzar could be charged with torture. The OAG clearly did not undertake the appropriate analysis. Why then such a rush to close the case…?

 

Read the translated excerpts

 

Simple internal unrest or true conflict?

Without an armed conflict, there can be no war crimes. In order to rule on the question of whether such a conflict existed in Algeria at the time of Nezzar’s alleged crimes, the Court first had to establish a framework for analysis based on international law, to which the Algerian context during the “Black Decade” could then be applied. On this basis, the Court has taken the view that the violence reached a sufficient degree of intensity, and the Islamist armed groups had a structure sufficiently organized, to consider the conflict a civil war.

The evidence in the case points to a number of clashes between the government and its opponents. One sign of the virulence of the fighting and of the government forces’ determination is a statement by Nezzar, according to which the authorities aimed to “wipe out this den of terrorists by any means.” The Court cited Nezzar’s statement in its decision.

As to the second question, of whether Nezzar can be prosecuted for crimes against humanity, the judgment responds in the affirmative. It notes that the characteristics of Nezzar’s alleged crimes – the level of organization, the number of victims and the systematic practice of torture – indisputably meet the criteria for crimes against humanity. These were decisive factors in the FCC’s examination of the case. It is within precisely this framework that the OAG should have assessed whether Nezzar could be charged with torture. The OAG clearly did not undertake the appropriate analysis. Why then such a rush to close the case…?

 

On 20 May 2019, the Human Rights Committee (HRC) issued a landmark decision in the case of Fulmati Nyaya (pseudonym), an indigenous girl who was the victim of rape, torture and forced labor during the Nepali armed conflict: for the first time, the UN body has recognized the existence of forced labor, and has proposed a holistic approach to sexual violence.

 

“This is the first time that the HRC has issued a decision against Nepal concerning the prohibition of forced labor provided in article 8(3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights”, said Helena Rodríguez-Bronchú Carceller, Legal Advisor and Head of TRIAL International’s Nepal program. The organization has been supporting the young woman in her pursuit of justice since June 2014. “The Committee recognized that forced labor was used as a form of cruel treatment against Nepali detainees during the Nepali armed conflict. This acknowledgment may open the door for other forced labor victims to seek justice.” In 2002, Fulmati Nyaya, then aged 14, was arbitrary arrested by the Armed Police and the Royal Nepalese Army, and forced to work in the barracks on the construction of a temple.

During the same period, she was also raped multiple times and subjected to other forms of sexual violence, torture and inhuman treatment. “The Committee’s findings on sexual violence are also remarkable, as the Committee has adopted a holistic approach to the impact of sexual violence on survivors’ lives”, added Ms Rodríguez-Bronchú. Indeed, for the first time, the Committee recognized that the stigmatization, marginalization and shame endured by Fulmati Nyaya also amounted to an interference with her privacy and sexual autonomy.

Finally, the Committee acknowledged that the violations were also discriminatory in nature since as a child, a woman and an indigenous person, Ms Fulmati suffered from three-fold discrimination.

 

THE NEED FOR REFORMS AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL

In the same progressive vein, the Committee called on Nepal to remove all obstacles for conflict-related sexual violence victims to obtain justice and compensation. It further added that the transitional justice bodies cannot serve to dispense with the criminal prosecution of serious human rights violations. “I don’t even know if the Truth and Reconciliation Commission examined my complaint in all this time. They never called me”, Fulmati said.

The decision calls on Nepal to take a series of measures to prevent these crimes from happening again, including by extending the statute of limitation to report cases of rape. “Nepal recently extended the statute of limitation for reporting rape from 35 days to one year. This decision shows that, although this legislative amendment is welcome, it is still insufficient if Nepal wants to respect international human rights standards, as the HRC explicitly held that one year is not commensurate with the gravity of this crime”, added Ms Rodríguez-Bronchú.

 

UNCERTAIN AFTERMATH

TRIAL International had asked the Committee to support Fulmati Nyaya’s quest for justice. Thanks to the HRC, she has regained hope: “I am very happy that my case was heard by the Human Rights Committee. It’s like someone has finally listened to me; that’s why it feels good,” the young woman said. However, she’s aware of the challenges ahead. “I don’t know when or how the Nepalese government will implement the decision of the UN, but I hope it will eventually do it. I want a proper investigation into my case. I want to feel as I used to feel before what happened to me.”

 

BACKGROUND

In 2002, Fulmati Nyanya, aged 14, was arrested by members of the Royal Nepalese Army and armed police forces and taken to a military barrack. The indigenous girl was secretly detained for more than 6 weeks, during which she was subjected to repeated rapes and other forms of sexual violence. She was also a victim of torture (repeated beatings, prolonged periods of being blindfolded and handcuffed, death threats). Furthermore, during her captivity, Fulmati Nyanya was subjected to forced labor and forced to sign confessions admitting to involvement in terrorist activities. When she was freed, she was forced to become an informer and share information about the movements of the Maoist rebellion with the security forces.

 

Read more

OHCHR press release

TRIAL International’s activity report for 2018 is hosted on its own website.

To receive a print abridged copy, please contact TRIAL’s secretariat.

Re-discover the Activity Report 2017

On 16 May 2019, TRIAL’s members gathered for the organization’s General Assembly.  

On this occasion, Executive Director Philip Grant gave an overview of the activities undertaken in 2018, including new cases, the African Great Lakes regional strategy and the video series Voices for Justice.

Read the full 2018 Activity Report

TRIAL International’s President Daniel Bolomey was unanimously reelected. After sitting on the Comittee for eight years, Mr Jean-Jacques Martin was replaced by Ms Sonja Maeder Morvant, a Genevan lawyer.

Finally, the audited accounts of 2018 were unanimously validated.

Consult the audit report of the 2018 accounts and balance sheet by Cofida SA, external auditor (in French)
Consult the proposed 2019 budget (in French)

Do you wish to participate in the next General Assembly? Become a member of TRIAL today!

Venue

Maison des Associations – Room Équitable (ground floor, next to the restaurant)
15, rue des Savoises
1205 – Geneva

See on a map

 

Agenda

tbc

 

Framework Documents

tbc

Not a member yet? Please consider joining today!

 

 

Portraits of Volunteers #1

Since 2018, twelve volunteers have taken on the specific mission of translating TRIAL International’s website news. To thank them for their invaluable commitment, the “Portraits of Volunteers” series gives them the floor. The first to take part is Aleksandra Chlon, a freelance translator based in Menton (France).

When and how did you hear about TRIAL?

I first heard about TRIAL at university. A professor of translation at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh (Scotland), where I did my Master’s degree, encouraged us to volunteer to improve our skills and gain experience… all the while supporting a great cause. I started in October 2015 and have remained a faithful volunteer ever since.

Tell us a little about yourself…

I like to describe myself as a bit of a globetrotter. My family moved around a lot when I was young and I’ve lived in many countries: Poland, Finland, Belgium, Estonia… I did my university studies in Scotland, and a year ago I moved to the south of France. Languages have therefore always played a defining role in my life and I always wanted to become a translator. After completing a translation traineeship at the European Parliament in Luxembourg and working in-house at a translation agency in Scotland for two years, I went freelance in January 2017. Apart from languages, I love hiking and making stained glass.

What aspects of TRIAL’s work speak the most to you?

I have a profound admiration for TRIAL. The organization genuinely helps victims of atrocious crimes, people who have been completely let down and neglected by their own governments and who are powerless against the injustice committed against them. TRIAL’s missions save lives and I’m honored to be able to contribute in any way that I can, however modestly.

How do you fit your volunteering around your schedule?

One of the advantages of being a freelance translator is that I work from home and therefore make my own schedule. This means that, as long as I don’t have any urgent projects, I can easily take half an hour or an hour to complete a translation for TRIAL.

What have you learned since you started volunteering?

Volunteering for TRIAL has made me aware of impunity and human rights violations in the world in a way that simply keeping up with news would not. The translations I do for TRIAL teach me things that I don’t think I would learn otherwise. Through the research necessary to translate the texts, I often digress and start reading about the history of an African country or a project run by the United Nations, for example.

Do you think that your experience as a volunteer could help you in your career?

As a translator, any experience in translation is helpful and improves my professional skills. By volunteering for TRIAL, I broaden my knowledge and vocabulary in areas I would not deal with otherwise, such as humanitarian aid, human rights, injustice and impunity, etc. What’s more, it helps me develop an area of specialization, which is very important for translators.

 

Detractors of Pierre Nkurunziza’s regime have long-since been the targets of attacks and intimidations. David (real name withheld), for instance, suffered violent torture at the hands of Burundian authorities in 2014. He is still waiting for his torturers to be prosecuted.

In March 2014, many people were detained and tortured in Bujumbura. These acts of violence stemmed from a wider context of repression directed at members of the country’s civil society and political opposition.

David was a leading figure of Burundi’s political opposition. During a joint demonstration day attended by several political organizations, he was shot, wounded and severely assaulted by state agents. Instead of receiving emergency care, he was then locked up in jail, where he was interrogated and verbally abused. He was denied all forms of medical assistance, and was only taken to hospital much later, as a result of the pressure exerted by human rights advocates.

One month later, as soon as his health condition allowed, David was sent back to prison. Today he remains in jail, living in awful conditions of detention.

 

The perpetrators are yet to be prosecuted

The Burundian authorities still haven’t taken the first step towards punishing the people accountable for these events, five years after they transpired. Although David denounced the abuse inflicted upon him, and identified the people responsible for it, the State still hasn’t launched any inquiry.

But, in spite of hindrances in Burundi’s national justice system, David’s case is not a lost cause: TRIAL International has referred the matter to an international entity so that the acts of torture he suffered might at last be recognized.

Such decision would both confront the State with its obligations and rekindle the hope of many victims in similar situations that their voice might one day be heard.

The procedure is ongoing.

 

On 5 May we mark the 7th anniversary of the massacres of Lumenje and Kamananga, in South Kivu (DRC), where 48 people were killed by a rebel militia.

On 21 September 2018, a military tribunal in Bukavu condemned two high-ranking militiamen to life sentences for murder and torture constituting crimes against humanity.

This success is the result of a close cooperation between the NGOs WITNESS, eyeWitness to Atrocities and TRIAL International. Together, they assisted the victims’ lawyers in collecting the strongest incriminating evidence, including verified video footage and photos.

Not only was the case a success, but it was also the first time that video footage was submitted and considered as incriminating evidence in a mass crimes case in DRC.

Watch the video showing the stages of this unique project:

Read more about the case

TRIAL International’s work on this case has been conducted in the framework of the Task Force for International Criminal Justice, an informal network of international actors collaborating to support the work of Congolese military jurisdictions in the investigation and prosecution of mass crimes in DRC.

The work of TRIAL International on mass crimes cases in DRC would not be possible without the support of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and the Belgian Development Cooperation.

DRC:

Today we mark the 7th anniversary of the massacres of Lumenje and Kamanaga, in South Kivu (DRC), where 48 people were killed by a rebel militia.

On 21 September 2018, a military tribunal in Bukavu condemned two high-ranking militiamen to life sentences for murder and torture constituting crimes against humanity. This success is the result of a close cooperation between the NGOs WITNESS, eyeWitness to Atrocities and TRIAL International. Together, they assisted the victims’ lawyers in collecting the strongest incriminating evidence, including verified video footage and photos. Not only was the case a success, but it was also the first time that video footage was submitted and considered as incriminating evidence in a mass crimes case in DRC.

Read more about the case

 

 

In 2018, more than 30 trials were initiated in over 15 countries, from Guatemala to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Colombia. At least 18 guilty verdicts were delivered, sometimes against multiple defendants. “(Un)forgotten” constitutes TRIAL International’s first attempt to present an overview of the prosecution of sexual violence as an international crime around the world.

For victims of conflict-related sexual violence, justice is not always a stepping-stone on their path to reconstruction. However, when it is perceived and asserted as a priority, justice becomes a multifaceted objective. While some victims may request an official and public acknowledgement of their suffering, others will focus on returning home and reintegrating into their community. Similarly, while certain individuals will find justice in the provision of financial compensation, others will define it as holding perpetrators accountable.

 

MANY FORMS OF JUSTICE

Although TRIAL International’s report focuses on perpetrator accountability, it undoubtedly touches upon the various forms justice can take, and demonstrates that prosecuting sexual violence often goes beyond a mere conviction. “We hope that this first report will be used as a practical tool by legal practitioners and judicial authorities throughout the world”, said Lucie Canal, legal advisor and coordinator of the publication. “Moreover, we hopes that it will encourage civil society actors to engage with existing legal systems and to strengthen their coordination in the support they bring to survivors. Last but not least, we hope that it will allow survivors to see that justice, as imperfect as it may be, can be achieved.”

None of the investigations or trials included in this report constitute clear-cut, easy, or ordinary cases. Behind every page resides courage and fear, victory and disillusion, betrayal and cooperation. In fact, we do not solely address successful prosecution, as we believe it is crucial to draw and apply lessons from all cases – both from best practices and from challenges.

Read the full report online or download your digital copy here