Author: Communication Department

TRIAL submits its views to the Swiss Government (the Federal Council) relating the project of a new federal law on the freezing and restitution of assets of illicit origin linked to politically exposed persons (LBVR).

Considering its limited mandate, namely the fight against impunity in cases of crimes under international law (genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture, enforced disappearance), TRIAL only commented on the aspects of the projected law that could influence the victims’ right to obtain reparation for the violations committed.

The organisation asked the Federal Council to modify the draft law so that only clear legal considerations linked to Switzerland’s international commitments in the fight against impunity and related to the rights of victims to obtain redress should prevail over purely political imperatives in order to freeze potentates’ assets in Switzerland. TRIAL also is of the view that victims and associations recognised by law should independently be authorised to initiate proceedings aimed at freezing and confiscating assets illicitly acquired by potentates.

 

Promoting Accountability through the Human Rights Bodies in Geneva

New TRIAL and ICJ publication shows how Geneva-based UN human rights bodies can be used more effectively to combat impunity.

At a side event at the UN Human Rights Council 24th session, TRIAL and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) presented yesterday their newest publication on  opportunities for Geneva-based human rights bodies to tackle impunity and to promote accountability of individuals responsible for crimes under international law and gross human rights violations.

 

The publication Promoting Accountability through the Human Rights Bodies in Geneva focuses on bodies such as the Human Rights Council, the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), Special Procedures and Treaty Bodies.

The report proposes measures through which States, civil society and other stakeholders can better engage the Human Rights Council and other Geneva-based human rights mechanisms promoting better accountability, ensuring that: RTEmagicC_DSC_0863_02.JPG

  • The Human Rights Council focuses more consistently on accountability, for instance through the introduction of a periodic resolution on international justice and accountability and with greater attention given to international criminal law and the International Criminal Court;
  • Accountability-related action points are systematically taken up by the Human Rights Council in thematic and country-specific resolutions, as well as in recommendations made within the UPR mechanism;
  • Ensuring that Special Procedures and Commissions of Inquiry engage more deeply with accountability-related issues, formulating appropriate recommendations and conducting studies where and when needed.

Gabriella Citroni, TRIAL’s Senior Legal Adviser said: “putting higher on the agenda the fight against impunity requires cooperation between all stakeholders, in particular States and civil society organizations. This publication aims at making accountability a key objective for the Geneva-based human rights bodies”.

“Although the UN human rights system has made great strides over the years in the promotion and protection of human rights, one area in which it has fallen short of its potential is in the area of combating impunity,” said Ian Seiderman, ICJ’s Legal & Policy Director.”As long as perpetrators of gross human rights violations avoid facing justice, human rights can never be fully realized”.

  • Report for States
  • Report for NGOs

A side event to the 24th Session of the UN Human Rights Council

On Wednesday September 11th 2013

 

TRIAL and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) will present on Wednesday 11 September 2013 their latest publication entitled «Promoting  Accountability through the Human Rights Bodies in Geneva».

RTEmagicC_Capture_d_ecran_2013-09-04_a_08.57.40_05.pngWhat are the potentials of Geneva-based human rights bodies in the fight against impunity? How can these bodies better promote the liability of individuals and of States responsible for crimes under international law and gross human rights violations?.

 

 

The two NGOs propose initiatives through which States, civil society and other stakeholders can better engage the Geneva-based human rights bodies to better promote accountability.

 The launch of the publication is scheduled on Wednesday 11 September, 14.00, Palais des Nations, Room XI, at a side event to the 24th Session of the UN Human Rights Council.

Libya is found responsible for the enforced disappearance, torture and death of Ismail Al Khazmi. The NGOs TRIAL (Track Impunity Always) and Alkarama welcome the UN Human Rights Committee decision and urge Libyan authorities to shed light on this and thousands of other cases of gross human rights violations.

TRIAL and Alkarama submitted four cases concerning violations committed by Libya to the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) since 2008. Two other cases brought by TRIAL against Libya are still pending before the Committee. Al Khazmi’s case represents the thirteenth condemnation of Libya by the UN relating to cases of enforced disappearance and torture to date.

The HRC recently determined that Ismail Al Khazmi’s detention, enforced disappearance, torture and death constitute violations of his rights enshrined in theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:

  • to life
  • to liberty
  • not to be subjected to torture
  • to be recognized as a person before the law

Al Khazmi’s case is one of thousands involving political dissidents from the Gaddafi era. We welcome this decision but urge Libyan authorities to break the cycle of impunity and swiftly implement the UN’s decision – Philip Grant, TRIAL Director

Libya is now under the obligation to:

  • conduct an investigation into the disappearance and death of Ismail Al Khazmi
  • provide his family with information on the results of the investigation
  • hand over Ismail Al Khazmi’s mortal remains to his family
  • prosecute and punish those responsible
  • provide compensation to his relatives
  • take steps to prevent similar violations in the future

“Since the 2011 revolution, Libyan authorities have expressed their intent to cooperate with UN human rights mechanisms, but victims of human rights violations need more than words. Libya must comply to this, and the 12 other decisions issued by the Human Rights Committee, with timely and practical measures to repair the harm committed“, said Rachid Mesli, Alkarama Legal Director.

For more information

Read the summary of the case on TRIAL’s website

Background information

Al Khazmi, an oil engineer viewed as a political opponent by the Gaddafi regime, was working in a petrol field in Libya. On 17 June 2006, he was arrested by members of the Libyan internal security forces without a warrant or any reasons given for his arrest. The authorities refused to acknowledge his arrest or provide any information about him to his relatives. Witnesses however declared seeing Al Khazmi at the Asseka prison in Tripoli and former co-prisoners testified upon their release that he had repeatedly been tortured. He was seen there for the last time unconscious, and taken to an unknown place. Almost a year later, his father was informed of his son’s death. No details were provided about the circumstances of his death and the officers refused to conduct an autopsy. Despite requests to the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Justice, no investigations were initiated to find the causes of his death or to identify those responsible. The government of Libya also ignored the UN Human Rights Committee’s repeated requests between 2008 and 2011 to submit its observations on the case.

TRIAL and its Nepalese partner HimRights denounce the ongoing impunity for perpetrators of acts of sexual violence committed in Nepal during the conflict (1996-2006) and post-conflict periods in a report submitted to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW or the Committee).

The NGO’s deplores that not a single case of rape or sexual violence has to date, been investigated by the government of Nepal and that criminal legislation on the matter doesn’t meet international standards.

“The Nepalese government was given two years to implement the recommendations made by the CEDAW in 2011, but none have been yet executed”, says Frida Castillo, TRIAL legal advisor for Nepal.

In their report to the UN, the NGOs highlight the failure of the Nepalese government to amend its inadequate criminal legislation dealing with rape and other forms of sexual violence; the need to eliminate the obstacles to the investigation, identification and prosecution of perpetrators of these crimes and; the need to guarantee women’s access to justice, legal aid and integral reparations. The NGOs also give recommendations on how the government of Nepal can better fulfill its international obligations with regard to crimes vis-à-vis victims of rape or other forms of sexual violence.

Main issues of concern raised by TRIAL:

  • Nepal’s failure to define rape in accordance with international standards and to ensure that other forms of sexual violence are criminalized;
  • Nepal’s on going failure to sanction rape -including marital rape- or other forms of sexual violence with penalties that are consistent with the gravity of the offences;
  • Nepal’s failure to remove the 35-day limitation on reporting sexual violence crimes;
  • Nepal’s failure to eradicate the procedural difficulties that exist in filing a First Information Report;
  • Nepal’s failure to combat the stigmatisation of women who are victims of rape;
  • Nepal’s failure to investigate, prosecute and sanction those responsible for rape and other forms of sexual violence including police and military officers;
  • Nepal’s attempt to establish transitional justice mechanisms with the power to grant amnesty to perpetrators of crimes under international law, including rape;
  • Nepal’s failure to provide legal aid to victims of rape or other forms of sexual violence; Nepal’s failure to adequately protect and support victims and witnesses of rape or other forms of sexual violence;
  • Nepal’s failure to provide adequate compensation and integral reparation to victims of rape or other forms of sexual violence.

“In addition to being stigmatized and ostracized by society, victims of sexual violence in Nepal are denied any access to justice. Those who gather the courage to denounce their aggressors face numerous obstacles in filing their claims, have no access to legal aid or victim protection programmes and are not entitled to integral reparations. This must end”, says Frida Castillo.

Historical Background

During the conflict in Nepal lasting from 13 February 1996 to 21 November 2006, an estimated 13,236 people were killed and 1,300 suspected enforced disappearances were carried out, as well as at least 2,500 acts of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, thousands of arbitrary arrests and an untold important number of rapes. Women and girls have suffered from the culture of wide spread impunity in Nepal hallmarked by a lack of prosecutorial action being taken against perpetrators and inadequate reparations being made to victims.

About Trial

TRIAL is a public-interest tax-exempt association under Swiss law based in Geneva. Established in 2002 by lawyers, human rights activists and victims, it is apolitical and non-confessional and enjoys consultative status before the United Nations Economic and Social Council. TRIAL implements information, advocacy, research and legal support projects to further its aim of putting law at the service of victims of international crimes (genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture, enforced disappearances). Its objectives are: to fight against impunity of perpetrators, instigators and accomplices of the most serious international crimes; to defend the interests of victims before Swiss courts and international human rights mechanisms and the International Criminal Court.

In the last ten years, TRIAL has defended more than 300 victims (notably in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burundi, Nepal, Kenya, Libya and Algeria), launched 120 international procedures, submitted 25 reports to the UN and filed 10 criminal complaints in Switzerland. In 2012 and 2013, TRIAL has been featured in the Global Journal ranking of the 100 best NGOs in the world.

Since 2009 TRIAL has been working in Nepal to provide justice and redress to victims of serious human rights violations committed both during the conflict and in the post-conflict context. In cooperation with local partners, TRIAL has provided free legal assistance to over 100 individuals and submitted 10 cases to the UN Human Rights Committee on behalf of victims and relatives of victims of enforced disappearance, torture and unlawful detention. In addition, it has submitted numerous reports to UN human rights bodies highlighting the nature and extent of the impunity for crimes under international law in Nepal and conducted a number of capacity-building programs benefitting over three dozen Nepalese lawyers and other relevant civil society actors to promote the use of the UN human rights complaints mechanisms as a remedy for victims of crimes under international law.

On 29 July 2011 the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women adopted its concluding observations with regard to Nepal’s combined fourth and fifth periodic reports, requesting the government to provide within two years, written information on the steps undertaken to implement the recommendations contained therein.

In light of this request, TRIAL together with its local partner Himalayan Human Rights Monitor submitted a 30-page report to the Committee assessing the government of Nepal’s efforts to implement the recommendations focusing on those concerning the codification, criminalization, investigation and prosecution of rape or other forms of sexual violence committed during the conflict, the provision of legal aid, adequate protection and integral reparation to victims and witnesses and women’s access to justice in general.

Read the press release.

Geneva, 31 July  2012 

The Federal Criminal Court (FCC) released today a landmark decision in the case of Khaled Nezzar, an Algerian former defence minister denounced by TRIAL for war crimes. The FCC found that Mr. Nezzar cannot claim immunity for acts committed during his tenure, thus paving the way for a trial in Switzerland. The present decision opens up significant possibilities in the fight against impunity based on the principle of universal jurisdiction. 

Mr. Khaled Nezzar, former General, Minister of Defence and member of the Algerian military junta in power in the early 1990s, was arrested in Geneva on October 20, 2011 following a denunciation by TRIAL (Swiss Association against Impunity) and a complaint of two victims, accusing him of war crimes committed during the early years of the Algerian civil war (1992-2000). Heard during two days by the Public Ministry of the Confederation, he was released upon his promise to participate in the subsequent procedure.

The criminal investigation, which continued in the presence of Mr. Nezzar’s counsel, was however suspended last January, following an appeal by Mr. Nezzar challenging the proceedings against him. In the appeal submitted to the FCC, Mr. Nezzar argued that his position as Minister of Defence and member of the junta at the time protected him from a possible criminal prosecution in Switzerland.

These arguments did not convince the federal judges. The FCC indeed took the view that one could not possibly invoke immunity for crimes of such a serious nature that they could amount to international crimes, notably war crimes in the present case.

The FCC held that “it would be both contradictory and futile to, on the one hand, fight against these gross violations to the most fundamental human values and, on the other hand, to accept a large interpretation of the immunity rules […]”.

According to Philip Grant, director of TRIAL, “this decision sets a ground-breaking precedent that will have a significant impact beyond our borders and gives a very strong signal to executioners: in the future, they can no longer hide behind their official position to commit atrocities.”

The investigation will now continue, with the possibility for parties to call new witnesses to the stand. A war crimes trial might eventually take place in Switzerland against Mr. Nezzar.

Context

Mr. Nezzar held various management positions. Chief of Army in 1986, he was promoted to Chief of Staff and Minister of Defence in 1990. With this position, he became the man of all decisions within the government. From 1992 to 1994, at the beginning of the “dirty war”, he was one of the five members of the High Council of State (HCS), military junta replacing the elected president. In this respect, several human rights organisations accuse him of having ordered, authorised and encouraged the military and public servants to engage in acts of torture, commit extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances and other acts constituting serious violations of international humanitarian law.

Swiss law allows for the prosecution of certain international law violations, including violations to the Geneva Conventions, as long as the suspect is present on Swiss territory. In the past, a Rwandan national has been sentenced in Switzerland to 14 years in prison for his participation in the Rwandan genocide.

For further information:

  • See the decision of the Federal Criminal Court of 25 July 2012

RTEmagicC_nezzarE_01.jpg

News release

Geneva/Sarajevo, 30 July 2013

 

TRIAL welcomes the concluding observations published by the UN today calling on Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) to respect without delay the rights of women victims of war crimes, relatives of missing persons and victims of sexual violence during the war. In its concluding observations, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women took into account most of TRIAL’s recommendations. BiH has now two years to report on the measures adopted to implement these recommendations by reforming its legislation and practices to fit international requirements. This process will be closely followed by TRIAL and local NGOs.

TRIAL and ten local associations working with victims of sexual violence during the war and relatives of missing persons in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) welcome the conclusions of a key UN body about war crimes against women in BiH. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) took into account most of TRIAL’s recommendations submitted a few weeks ago in a report. Indeed, the CEDAW’s concluding observations published today express deep concern at the slow pace of prosecutions and very low level of conviction rates of perpetrators of sexual violence which result in pervasive impunity; the inadequate codification in domestic legislation of acts of sexual violence as war crimes and crimes against humanity; the long delays in adopting measures to address the needs of a large number of women victimized by the conflict; the lack of adequate victim reparation in war crime trials; the deficiencies of witness protection measures in cases prosecuted at district and cantonal levels; women’s inadequate and unequal access to compensation, support and rehabilitation measures; the lack of access to free legal aid throughout the country; and the lack of measures to address the systematic stigmatisation faced by women victims of war-time sexual violence.

«Criminal legislation on sexual violence is not yet in accordance with international standards in BiH. Victims lack any form of compensation and redress, and the majority of perpetrators of sexual violence during the war still enjoy impunity», says Selma Korjenic, TRIAL sexual violence program manager in BiH. «We welcome the very serious look the UN took at the issues of accountability and access to justice in BiH and hope it will lead to concrete changes for the victims».

CEDAW’s concluding observations follow the report recently published by the UN Special Rapporteur on Sexual Violence after her first visit in BiH in November 2012. Both UN bodies stressed that BiH must respect without further delay the rights of women victims of sexual violence during the war and of relatives of missing persons.

BiH now has to submit follow-up information to CEDAW by 26 July 2015 on the measures taken to implement its recommendations. TRIAL urges the authorities to ensure that both recommendations from the CEDAW and the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women are promptly implemented.

«Despite years of work and promises, the issue of justice for war crimes is not yet efficiently enough addressed in BiH. Four major legislative initiatives that would concretely benefit victims of torture, relatives of missing persons, and women victims of sexual violence during the war remain pending. It is now time for BiH authorities to take action and show results and we will closely follow this process», says Adrijana Hanusic, TRIAL Legal adviser.

TRIAL just won a seventh case against Algeria before the United Nations Human Rights Committee concerning Mr. Djaafar Sahbi’s enforced disappearance in 1995.. The NGO welcomes the Committee’s decision and hopes that light will be shed on the serious human rights violations that took place during the Algerian internal conflict and that impunity will no longer protect the perpetrators of these crimes. 

RTEmagicC_Enquete-sur-les-disparitions-forcees_NGArticleFull_01.jpgThe arrest and disappearance of Djaafar Sahbi took place in the context of thousands of other enforced disappearances of Algerian citizens who were in the hands of the army or State agents during the civil war in Algeria between 1992 and 2002. Employed at the Mustapha Bacha Hospital in Alger, married and father of two children, Mr. Sahbi was arrested by the police in July 1995 and hasn’t been seen by his family members ever since. A few days after his arrest, the police entered by force in his house and seized a number of documents including his “livret de famille”. Since then, Mr. Sahbi’s relatives seized all the competent authorities to clarify the fate of the disappeared, but without success. Despite the constant efforts of the family, the Algerian authorities have not provided them with any information about the disappeared’s fate and did not conduct any effective investigation into his disappearance. No charges were brought against the alleged perpetrators.

This case is the seventh submitted by TRIAL leading to a condemnation. In 2011 and 2012, the Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture had already condemned Algeria, respectively, for five cases of enforced disappearances and one case of death under torture. Twelve other cases defended by TRIAL are pending against Algeria before the Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture. In total, TRIAL submitted more than 130 cases before different international bodies (European Court of Human Rights, the Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture), concerning enforced disappearances, extrajudicial executions and torture in Algeria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burundi, Libya and Nepal.

In its decision, the Human Rights Committee observed that Mr. Djaafar Sahbi’s enforced disappearance constituted a violation by Algeria of several provisions of theInternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in particular the right to life, the right to liberty, the right not to be subjected to torture and other ill-treatment and the right to respect for private and family life and home. Because of these violations, Algeria also ill-treated the missing person’s family members due to the psychological suffering that they had to overcome after his disappearance.

The Committee now asks Algeria to “conduct a full and thorough investigation into the disappearance of Djaafar Sahbi”.  Algeria must also “provide the author and his family with detailed informations about the results of the investigation”, “and immediately release Djaafar Sahbi if he is still held incommunicado” or “return his remains to his family” in case of death. The Committee also stressed Algeria’s obligation to “prosecute, try and punish those responsible for violations”. Algeria must also provide adequate compensation to the victim’s family for the violations suffered.

Algeria must also guarantee the effectiveness of its domestic legal system, particularly with regard to the victims of torture, extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances and take measures to prevent such violations from recurring.

For more information:

See the summary of the case on the site Sahbi TRIAL

 

Joint press release of TRIAL and Alkarama

Geneva, 27 June 2012

The United Nations Human Rights Committee has recently condemned Libya following the disappearance in 2006 and 2007 of two brothers defended by TRIAL (Swiss association against impunity) and Alkarama. The new Libyan authorities are now required to investigate these facts, to punish the perpetrators of these enforced disappearances and to compensate the victims. The two organisations call on Libya to comply with the decision of the Human Rights Committee and to work towards the establishment of a genuine rule of law.

Idriss Aboufaied, a doctor committed to defending human rights, was a political refugee in Switzerland. He returned to Libya in September 2006 following public guarantees offered by Colonel Gaddafi that the exiles could return home without fear of persecution. Soon after, he was arbitrarily arrested and detained incommunicado for 54 days, during which he was tortured so badly that he had to be hospitalised. Released on December 29, 2006, he nevertheless continued his activities in favour of democracy. Idriss Aboufaied was again arrested on 16 February 2007 along with 11 others who were preparing to stage a peaceful protest against the regime and held incommunicado for two months. All the detainees declared that they were tortured during the first 5 months of detention. On 20 April 2007, Idriss Aboufaied was charged with various criminal offences, punishable by death. Already gravely ill, Idriss Aboufaied was then placed in a cell without light or contact with the outside world for months. On June 10, 2008, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison. He was finally released on 8 October 2008 on health grounds.

Following the arrest of Idriss Aboufaied on 16 February 2007, his brother Juma tried to alert Alkarama by phone. He was immediately arrested by the internal security services and taken to an unknown destination. He was released on 27 May 2008, after being held incommunicado for 15 months, without having been brought before a judge.

In a decision that has just been rendered, the Human Rights Committee condemns Libya for multiple violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, one of the most important UN human rights conventions. The Committee recognises that the two Aboufaied brothers have been victims of enforced disappearances, as well as cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and in the case of Idriss Aboufaied, of torture. The Committee requires Libya to conduct a thorough and rigorous investigation into the disappearance of Idriss and Juma Aboufaied and on the treatment they were subjected to and to provide them with detailed information on the results of its investigation. The Committee also stresses the obligation of Libya to prosecute, try and punish those responsible for the abuses committed and to provide adequate compensation to the victims.

TRIAL and Alkarama, who defended the victims before the Human Rights Committee, expressed great satisfaction with this condemnation of Libya. For Philip Grant, Director of TRIAL, “even if the crimes were committed by the former regime, the new authorities have an obligation to prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes. Reconstructing a State based on the rule of law implies that the truth is shed, that criminals are prosecuted and that justice is given to the Aboufaied brothers, like so many other victims of the dictatorship.” For Rachid Mesli, Legal Director of Alkarama, “Libya needs to be rebuilt in compliance with the law. It is imperative to avoid future violations that perpetrators are prosecuted effectively, in accordance with international standards.”

Libya has a period of six months to inform the Committee of the actions it has taken to implement the Committee’s decision. Both organisations are examining which follow-up measures they can themselves take following this condemnation.
For more information

For the first time ever, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has been condemned by an international human rights body concerning enforced disappearances committed during the war. The United Nations Human Rights Committee (HRC) found several violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political

Rights (ICCPR) in regards to 5 Bosnian citizens from the Vogošća municipality who were forcibly disappeared in June 1992 after having been subjected to torture and forced labour in several concentration camps. TRIAL represented the victims’ relatives before the HRC and now calls on BiH to bring to justice those responsible for these crimes and to establish the fate and whereabouts of the victims without further delay.

Fate of victims of ethnic cleansing in Vogošća remain unknown 20 years later

Several waves of enforced disappearances and “ethnic cleansing” operations were perpetrated by the Bosnian Serb forces (Vojska Republike Srpske – VRS) during the war in BiH (1992-1995). The VRS burst into the village of Svrake on 4 May 1992, arrested almost all its inhabitants and took them to the Kasarna JNA detention camp in Semizovac. While most women and children were freed a few days later, the boys and men were kept prisoners and transferred to various concentration camps present in the region.

Fikret Prutina, Huso and Nedžad Zlatarac, Safet Kozica, and Salih Čekić were among the 850 prisoners of Svrake subjected to torture and forced labour in the concentration camps. The five men were last seen on 16 June 1992 in “Planjina kuca”, a detention camp located in the municipality of Vogošća. They are part of the 9’000 whose fate and whereabouts still remain unknown out of the 30’000 people who tragically disappeared during the war.

The families of Fikret Prutina, Huso and Nedžad Zlatarac, Safet Kozica, and Salih Čekić relentlessly tried to discover the truth regarding the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones.

“For over 20 years, we attempted in vain to see the authors of the disappearances of our husbands, fathers and sons prosecuted and sanctioned”, recalled Ema Čekić, wife of Salih Čekić and President of the Association of Relatives of Missing Persons from Vogošća.

 

 

In 2009, twelve relatives of the victims – including the wives, siblings, sons and daughters of the five disappeared men, all members of the Association – decided to refer their cases to the UN Human Rights Committee. TRIAL represented them throughout the proceedings.

 

 

Gross violations condemned by the UN Human Rights Committee

In a decision just made public, the HRC found BiH responsible for several violations of the ICCPR for its failure to properly investigate the disappearance of Fikret Prutina, Huso and Nedžad Zlatarac, Safet Kozica, and Salih Čekić and to bring their perpetrators to justice. In particular, it found that the relatives of the five men were further victimized because they were forced to have their loved ones declared dead in order to have access to social allowances, while their fate and whereabouts were in reality still unknown. Moreover, two of the victims’ relatives were minor when they witnessed the enforced disappearance of their fathers. BiH failed to adopt the special measures of protection required by their young age.

The HRC urged BiH to provide justice and redress to the victims of these crimes. In particular, it recommended BiH to strengthen the ongoing efforts to establish the fate and whereabouts of the five disappeared men and to bring their perpetrators to justice by the end of 2015, to abolish the obligation for family members to declare their missing relatives dead in order to benefit from social allowances, to grant an adequate compensation to the 12 relatives and to guarantee that investigations into allegations of enforced disappearances are accessible to the families of victims.

A landmark decision giving hope for the future

TRIAL welcomes this historical decision in the hope that it will incite BiH authorities to rapidly uncover the truth on the fate of the victims and render justice to their relatives.

“This decision is a positive signal for the thousands of other relatives of disappeared persons throughout BiH that are in the same situation of anguish and uncertainty as the applicants in this case”, said Lejla Mamut, TRIAL Human Rights Coordinator in BiH.

 

TRIAL calls upon BiH, which now has six months to inform the HRC of the actions taken to enforce the decision, to implement the recommendations set out by the UN body. BiH should also publish the HRC decision and widely disseminate it in the three official languages. “TRIAL will closely monitor the enforcement of the decision to ensure that the victims’ rights and dignity are restored”, added Ms. Mamut.

“The path leading to justice for the victims is long in BiH, but the HRC decision gives us hope for the dozens of other cases of enforced disappearances currently pending before the Human Rights Committee and the European Court of Human Rights submitted by TRIAL”, concluded TRIAL directorPhilip Grant.

For more information

Read the views of the HRC on the Prutina, Zlatarac, Kozica and Čekić cases

Read the summaries of the Prutina, Zlatarac, Kozica and Čekić cases on TRIAL’s website

Geneva / Sarajevo, 28 May 2013 – The Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CCBH) recently adopted two landmark decisions[1] concerning the applications submitted by families of 71 persons went missing during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The majority of them were supported by TRIAL and its partner organization Izvor.

As in other similar cases, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CCBH) found a breach of the relatives’ right not to be subjected to inhuman treatment as well as to their right to private and family life, guaranteed by the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and by the European Convention on Human Rights.

Interestingly, the court also urged the state and entity-level governments to conduct thorough investigations about these disappearances, and to notify the relatives about the results of such investigations. They have also been directed to forward without delay all relevant information about the circumstances of these disappearances to the relatives through the Missing Persons Institute.

And for the very first time, the CCBH also made very clear the obligations of the Missing Persons Institute, the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and other government entities towards the missing persons’ families and their associations. The Court insisted on the utmost need for their full cooperation and constant exchange of information in determining the facts about each disappearance, as well as their full transparency with the missing persons’ relatives.

“We believe the decisions taken by the Constitutional Court will offer better guidelines to all institutions involved in the process of tracing missing persons. They should also encourage all local associations dealing with the issue of missing persons to continue their courageous struggle alongside families”, said Adrijana Hanušic, TRIAL legal adviser for Bosnia and Herzegovina about the CCBH decisions.

The CCBH particularly emphasized:

  • The importance of adequate criminal investigations in line with international standards as the most important step in finding the location of the missing persons’ mortal remains.
  • The obligation for the prosecutor’s offices to undertake measures needed for the investigation, identification and criminal prosecution of the suspects of such crimes on the simple basis that records of missing persons exist.
  • The fact that such obligation exist in all disappearance cases, including when the missing person could be considered a soldier when he was seen for the last time.
  • The importance of informing missing persons’ relatives about the initiation of official investigations, the outcome of such investigations and the fate and the circumstances of their loved ones’ disappearance.

TRIAL, the Swiss association against impunity based in Geneva and Sarajevo, has – together with its partner organisation Izvor from Prijedor – prepared most of the applications submitted to the CCBH (2).

 

Adrijana Hanušic, TRIAL legal adviser for Bosnia and Herzegovina, welcomed the CCBH milestone decisions: “We believe the decisions taken by the Constitutional Court will offer better guidelines to all institutions involved in the process of tracing missing persons. They should also encourage all local associations dealing with the issue of missing persons to continue their courageous struggle alongside families”.

TRIAL now calls for all prosecuting authorities across the country to duly implement the obligations laid out by the highest court of Bosnia and Herzegovina by conducting adequate investigations into crimes related to these and other disappearances and to involve the families accordingly.

 

________________________________________

1 AP – 3783/09 and AP 2101/11 2 48 of the 61 applications, for 71 victims in total.

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the UN Committee against Torture, the guardian of one of the most widely accepted international human rights conventions. In a campaign for universal ratification of the Convention against Torture, several leading human rights organisations now call on the remaining 42 countries to join the treaty and recognize the full competence of the Committee against Torture.

The Convention against Torture, ratified by 153 countries, is the only treaty at the international level concerned exclusively with the eradication of torture around the world. By ratifying the convention, States commit to make torture a crime, ensure accountability for perpetrators, and to provide redress for torture victims. The Convention also requires States parties to take effective measures to prevent all forms of torture and ill-treatment of people deprived of their liberty.

In a joint effort, international NGO’s are addressing the remaining States to encourage them to join the Convention and make it the first universally-ratified human rights treaty – and a great step towards a world free from torture.

Of the countries that have not yet ratified the UN Convention against Torture, almost all have made voluntary pledges to consider ratification, especially in the context of the regular Universal Periodic Review by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council.

The undersigned organisations therefore call on all States which are not yet parties to the Convention to seize the opportunity of the 25th anniversary of the Committee against Torture, and take this necessary step towards the global eradication of torture.

On 15 and 16 May 2013 the UN Committee against Torture will examine Kenya’s human rights record with regard to torture. In light of this, TRIAL (Swiss association against impunity) submitted an alternative report to the Committee against Torture highlighting the main shortcomings in the implementation by Kenya of the Convention against Torture and expressing concerns at the situation of impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators of the gross violations committed in the context of a 2008 security operation in Mt. Elgon.

In late 2012, Kenya submitted its second periodic report to the UN Committee against Torture describing the measures taken by national authorities to give effect to the Convention against Torture in the country. On 15 and 16 May a Kenyan delegation will be present in Geneva to engage in an interactive dialogue with the UN independent experts of the Committee against Torture on the effective status of implementation of the Convention in Kenya.

On the occasion of the upcoming dialogue TRIAL, in partnership with the local NGO Western Kenya Human Rights Watch (WKHRW), drafted and submitted an alternative report to the Committee against Torture raising issues concerning the main shortcomings of the national legislative framework with regard to the prohibition of torture and enforced disappearances; the failure to investigate and sanction those responsible for these crimes; the lack of adequate legislation on universal jurisdiction; and the lack of protection, reparation and compensation for victims and their relatives.

Part of the analysis by TRIAL and WKHRW focus in particular on the massive human rights violations (among which systematic torture and enforced disappearances) committed during the joint military-police operation Okoa Maisha in March and April 2008 in Mt. Elgon district. The alternative report denounces the enduring and complete state of impunity and the despairing situation of the families of the hundreds of victims that have no means to shed light on the fate and whereabouts of their loved ones, properly mourn their deaths and obtain justice and reparation for their sufferings.

At the end of the month, the CAT will publish its concluding observations and recommendations which will represent a road-map for Kenyan authorities in order to take further steps to effectively comply with their international obligations under the Convention against Torture.

Survivor of rape during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina relieved as Doboj court today hands out a three-year prison verdict against perpetrator. Despite being a light sentence with no compensation for the victim, TRIAL nevertheless hails this ruling as a major step against impunity of perpetrators of sexual violence during the Bosnian war.

The Doboj municipality court today sentenced Mr Dragoljub Kojic to a three-year prison sentence for rapes and war crimes against civilian population committed during the 1992-1995 war. The Court however refused to grant her compensation and referred on of her victims, Lejla B. (alias name) to civil courts to that end. The emotional trial, which started in late February 2013, was made possible by the courage and perseverance of the victim, supported in her struggle for justice by the Swiss NGO TRIAL.

Raped and put to forced labor

In May 1992, as the war was raging in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lejla B . left her home town Živinice to find and protect her 19-year old son, living at the time with relatives in the town of Bosanski Šamac. The town had been occupied by the Army of the Republika Srpska and her son taken into forced labour. He was eventually shot in Zasavica village on 3 July 1992. On the week of her son’s death, Lejla B. was arrested by three police men and taken to the Zasavica camp. Under gun threat, she was there raped by Dragoljub Kojic on three occasions. Lejla B. stayed in Zasavica camp for 10 months, put to forced labour and survived under inhumane conditions.

Empowering victims seeking for justice

After a long silence, Lejla B. found the courage to demand that justice be done. Since 2007, she repeatedly wrote to the competent authorities. Her efforts remained unheeded until TRIAL began supporting her case in 2010, advocating for the initiation of an investigation and prosecution of the suspected perpetrator.

As the verdict was pronounced, the victim was extremely relieved: “I have been expecting this moment for so long. Fighting for justice is a way to get my life back. Today, I truly hope that my story and this verdict will serve as an example for other victims struggling to be heard”, declared Lejla B.

“Today is a great day for justice and for the victims of sexual violence during the conflict” declared Adrijana Hanusic, TRIAL Legal advisor in BiH. “This verdict shows that courage and perseverance can bring change to victims of horrendous crimes. Too often left alone, the victims can find from civil society organisations the professional support needed for justice to be delivered” added Ms Hanusic.

For TRIAL Director Philip Grant, “the verdict is a wonderful news for the victim and long awaited recognition of her sufferings. The court should however have addressed her claim for compensation. The courts handling such cases throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina should indeed now stop sending the victims to claim compensation in a civil suit that almost none can afford to file, and must address all claims for compensation in the course of the criminal trial”.

Background to the case

Rape and other forms of sexual violence were widely used as a means of war and ethnic cleansing during the 1992-1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to source, between 20’000 and 50’000 people were raped or otherwise sexually abused during the war. Since then, perpetrators of such crimes have enjoyed an overall climate of impunity, as only about 50 criminals have been brought to account before the courts of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

TRIAL started in 2010 a program of support to victims of sexual violence from the war and has been since been assisting survivors of rape, notably in the initiation of criminal prosecutions.

The organisation identified Lejla B.’s case as the first one eligible for litigation before the Constitutional Court of BiH, on the ground that no investigation had been carried out, even though the rapes had been repeatedly reported to the authorities by the survivor. Before filing the case to the Constitutional Court, TRIAL and Lejla B. however undertook last efforts to prompt the Prosecutor’s Office of BiH into conducting a prompt and serious investigation with a view to raising criminal charges against the suspect.

Following a long procedure, the case was eventually transferred to the Doboj municipality court, where an investigation was initiated. TRIAL continued to provide the victim with legal counsel and administrative support, accompanying her during the various stages of the proceedings. As the trial started in February 2013 in Doboj, TRIAL stepped up its work, preparing for instance with the victim a compensation claim.

In March 2014, the UN Human Rights Committee will review Nepal’s compliance with its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, a core human rights treaty it has been a party to since 1991. As Nepal submitted its state party report almost 14 years later, this will be the first time the Human Rights Committee has the opportunity to scrutinise the state’s human rights record in almost two decades.

TRIAL and its partners have submitted an “alternative report” to the UN Human Rights Committee to assist a Country Task Force on Nepal ahead of its adoption of a List of Issues concerning Nepal in July 2013 at its 108th session. The report focuses on impunity for serious human rights violations during the period of conflict in Nepal as well as ongoing violations in the post-conflict period, and the obstacles faced by victims in accessing justice, truth and reparation. It documents the overall failure of Nepal to protect and ensure the right to life (Art. 6), the prohibition of torture (Art. 7), the right to liberty and security of person (Art. 9), the right of detainees to be treated with humanity and dignity (Art. 10), the right to recognition as a person before the law (Art. 16), the rights of the child (Art. 24) and the right to an effective remedy (Art. 2.3).

Among the issues addressed in the report are:

Nepal’s failure to bring a single perpetrator of crimes amounting to serious human rights violations to justice in the aftermath of the armed conflict.

Entrenched practices of impunity in Nepal, the withdrawal of criminal cases concerning serious human rights violations by successive government of Nepal and shielding members of the security forces from justice.

Nepal’s attempt to establish a Commission of Investigation into Disappeared Persons, Truth and Reconciliation with the power to grant amnesty to perpetrators of crimes under international law in March 2013.

  • Nepal’s ongoing failure to criminalise crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture and enforced disappearance.
  • Nepal’s ongoing failure to sanction rape with appropriate penalties and to remove the 35-day limitation on reporting such crimes.
  • Nepal’s ongoing failure to provide adequate reparation to both conflict and post-conflict victims of serious human rights violations.
  • Nepal’s ongoing failure to establish the fate and whereabouts of some 1,300 alleged cases of conflict-era enforced disappearance and to establish a system for exhumation, identification and return of mortal remains to relatives.
  • Nepal’s ongoing failure to provide adequate and effective witness and victim protection and support and to respond to threats and reprisals against human rights defenders and victims who attempt to report crimes committed against them by security forces.
  • Nepal’s ongoing failure to prevent and punish serious human rights violations in the post-conflict period, particularly in the Terai region where a pattern of extrajudicial killings, unlawful detentions and torture at the hands of security forces is documented.
  • Nepal’s failure to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

TRIAL (Swiss Association against Impunity) is the principal author of this report with contributions from the following leading Nepali human rights organisations and victims’ associations: Conflict Victims’ Society for Justice-Nepal (CVSJ-Nepal), Forum for the Protection of People’s Rights Nepal (PPR Nepal), Himalayan Human Rights Monitors (HimRights), National Network of Families of Disappeared and Missing (NEFAD), Terai Human Rights Defenders Alliance (THRD Alliance) and Terror Victims Orphan Society Nepal (OTV-Nepal).

TRIAL today submitted a complaint to the UN Human Rights Committee, alleging the unlawful detention, enforced disappearance and torture of Himal Sharma from 2003 to 2005 by state security forces, during the height of the armed conflict in Nepal.

Disappeared and tortured

On 21 October 2003, Himal Sharma was unlawfully arrested in Kathmandu by members of state security forces dressed in civilian clothes. He was taken to the notorious Maharajgunj barracks run by the Bhairabnath Battalion of the Royal Nepalese Army and forcibly disappeared for almost a year and a half. During more than 500 days he was subjected to torture.

“Throughout my detention, the authorities denied they had me – even to my wife and even to the Supreme Court of Nepal,” said Himal Sharma. “They deny it to this day, but they have to acknowledge what was done to me and many others, including those who did not survive Maharajgunj.”

Himal Sharma’s wife, left with three young children, suspected her husband had been taken by the army and launched a search for him. But it took until March 2005 to locate him. By then, Himal Sharma had been moved to Mahendradal Battalion barracks in the district of Gorkha in mid-western Nepal. It then took a further seventeen months to secure his effective release.

At the time of his unlawful arrest, Nepal was fighting an armed conflict with Maoist insurgents. Himal Sharma held the post of Secretary-General of the All Nepal National Independent Student Union Revolutionary, the student wing of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). The detention and torture of suspected Maoist sympathisers at the hands of the Bhairabnath Battalion is retold in the film Slaughterhouse (“Badhshala”), which hit screens in Nepal on 19 April 2013 after previously being banned by the authorities.

“What happened to me must never happen to anyone again in Nepal. This is why I continue to fight for justice”, said Himal Sharma.

Total impunity in Nepal for conflict-era crimes

In May 2006, a report published by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights confirmed the shocking regime of incommunicado detention and torture at Maharajgunj barracks carried out by members of the Bhairabnath Battalion of the Royal Nepalese Army.

The case of Himal Sharma is the fourth individual communication lodged by TRIALconcerning victims forcibly disappeared at Maharajgunj Barracks.

For Philip Grant, Director of the Geneva-based organisation representing Himal Sharma before the UN Human Rights Committee: ” No credible or effective investigation has been carried out into those responsible for Himal Sharma’s arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance and torture. Rather, Nepal has taken step after step to entrench impunity and to shield perpetrators from justice.”

The UN Human Rights Committee is asked to make a finding concerning the serious human rights violations experienced by Himal Sharma and his wife and to request Nepal to open a prompt, thorough and independent investigation into the crimes alleged and prosecute and sanction the perpetrators, according to the petition lodged by TRIAL today.

“This case also asks for the Human Rights Committee to call for the removal of the amnesty provision in the ordinance establishing the Commission for Investigation into Disappeared Persons, Truth and Reconciliation adopted in March 2013,” added Philip Grant. “For too long, justice has been delayed and denied – and now it might be put out of reach to victims like Himal Sharma altogether if perpetrators are granted amnesty contrary to international law.”

London/Geneva, 12 April 2013 – A Declaration on Preventing Sexual Violence In Conflict was agreed yesterday by the G8 countries, declaring that rape and other serious sexual violence amount to war crimes and grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions constitutes an emphatic reminder that states are required to investigate and prosecute conflict-related sexual violence wherever it occurs. Amnesty International UK, REDRESS and TRIAL welcomed the landmark Declaration but called on states to enact comprehensive laws that enable them to do so and to take steps to ensure the G8 Declaration results in more trials of alleged perpetrators.

Every state is obliged to exercise universal jurisdiction over “grave breaches” of the Geneva Conventions, defined as certain war crimes that occur in international armed conflict. The Declaration means that the G8 countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, theUK and the US- now reaffirm and support the view that all states have an obligation to search for and prosecute (or hand over for trial) any individual alleged to have committed or ordered rape and other serious sexual violence regardless of the nationality of the suspect or victim or where the crime occurred, said the rights groups.

A milestone to end impunity for rape in war?

It has long been recognized by the International Committee of the Red Cross and others that rape and other serious forms of sexual violence amount to grave breaches, but the G8 Declaration demonstrates that these countries now have the political will to act on their obligation to pursue alleged perpetrators.

“This Declaration is a major political milestone in the struggle to end impunity for rape in war,” said Philip Grant, TRIAL Director. “But not enough states have opened their doors to prosecuting grave breaches wherever they occur despite what international law has long said. The human rights community will now be watching and waiting to see if governments follow through on the G8’s pledge by bringing their laws and practices into line with their international obligations.”

The rights groups hailed the Declaration as recognition by states that they have a shared responsibility to tackle impunity for sexual violence in conflict and that such crimes cannot be left only for international courts to address.

Lingering gaps

The Declaration only applies to sexual violence that occurs in international armed conflicts and amounts to torture, inhuman treatment or willfully causing great suffering but if states show real political will, it could pave the way for prosecution of alleged perpetrators of rape in international armed conflicts from the Balkans to the DRC by foreign courts, said the rights groups.

“This Declaration must not become yet another piece of paper. G8 states must use it as impetus to renew their commitment to ending impunity for sexual violence in conflict, whether committed in internal or international armed conflicts and whether against men, women or children. States must prosecute these crimes in their national courts or extradite suspects to face justice in another country exercising universal jurisdiction,” said Kate Allen, Director of Amnesty International UK. “In this way, the Declaration should galvanize efforts to ensure that there is truly no safe haven for alleged perpetrators of sexual violence crimes committed in armed conflict of all kinds.”

Holder of the G8 presidency, the UK proposed the move as part of its Preventing Sexual violence in Conflict Initiative , a multi-million pound programme launched in May 2012 that also saw the formation of a UK team of experts that has provided technical assistance in Bosnia and Herzegovina and on the Syrian border to strengthen investigation and prosecution of sexual violence in conflict.

“This Declaration is a useful tool for the UK’s global initiative to combat sexual violence in armed conflict,” said Dadimos Haile, Interim Director of REDRESS. “Now the UK must fulfill its commitment by prosecuting suspected perpetrators of sexual violence amounting to international crimes – wherever they have been committed – who are present within its jurisdiction. Part of its obligation also includes ensuring victims’ access to adequate reparation.”

Amnesty International UK, REDRESS and TRIAL called on states to remove all obstacles to the investigation and prosecution of all crimes under international law, including sexual violence, noting that states should establish specialized units to handle such investigations and prosecutions in fair trials without the death penalty.

In a case soon to be decided by the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, TRIAL represents the families of thirteen residents of Prijedor municipality who were forcibly disappeared in 1992 during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH).

Early 1992, during the first months of the war ravaging the former Yugoslavia: thirteen men are abducted from their families in the Prijedor region and taken to concentration camps. Evidence indicates that most of them were the victims of extra-judicial killings. Their bodies have never been found. The fate and whereabouts of the thirteen men remain unknown to date.

Families demand justice

More than 20 years afterwards, no serious investigation has been undertaken by the authorities in order to locate the missing persons or their mortal remains and to establish the facts about their fates. Furthermore, the perpetrators of the crimes concerned have not been judged and sanctioned for the disappearance and probable execution of the thirteen men. The families of the victims complain that Bosnia-Herzegovina has failed to fulfill its obligation to thoroughly investigate the enforced disappearance of their missing relatives. They demand to disclose the truth, judge and sanction those responsible for the crimes, provide compensation and redress for the harm suffered.

A landmark case

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg could soon precisely deliver the justice they have so long been denied. After two prominent human rights organizations,REDRESS and the World Organization Against Torture (OMCT), were given leave to submit an amicus curiae to the Court in January 2013, TRIAL has just now filed its final submissions in a case that was brought to Strasbourg in September 2008. The judgment to be rendered would be the second ever ruling by the European Court on enforced disappearances committed during the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, after the Palić judgment issued in February 2011.

TRIAL litigation activities in Bosnia-Herzegovina

TRIAL represents more than 200 victims of enforced disappearance and extrajudicial killings of the armed conflict in BiH before the European Court of Human Rights and the United Nations Human Rights Committee. TRIAL help them to find out the truth about what happened to their loved ones and to finally get justice and redress.

On behalf of the Swiss Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CSCPI), TRIAL handed over a document setting out its position on the ratification and national implementation of the Convention against Enforced Disappearances to the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

After many calls, including the launch of a public petition signed by over 9000 persons, to accelerate the accession of Switzerland to the Convention against Enforced Disappearance, the CSCPI welcomes the position of the federal Council holding that “enforced disappearance is one of the worst human rights violations not only for the person who is the direct victim for such crime but also for his or her family” and that the Convention is “in perfect harmony with Switzerland’s belief that it is necessary to do everything possible to combat this very serious crime.”

The Federal Council’s commitment to the ratification process and the consultation on the implementation of the Convention is a very encouraging sign for the CSCPI.

It is nonetheless time now for the authorities to respect their promises.

Victims, enforced disappearances: two concepts in need of a better definition

Indeed, although the new draft law of implementation and the envisioned amendments generally comply with the requirements of the Convention, certain gaps and challenges remain and have been raised by the CSCPI in the position just handed to the Federal Council. First of all the definition of enforced disappearance has not been included as such in the new draft law.

The Convention grants victim status and protection against refoulement to relatives of a missing person. This requires certain modifications of Swiss legislation. In addition, a network must be set up along with a coordination service promoting the initiation of research and access to information for families of the disappeared. The proposed solution is not entirely satisfactory, and the CSCPI advocates for a prompt and more effective procedure.

For full implementation of universal jurisdiction

TRIAL insists that universal jurisdiction must be used to prosecute any perpetrator of enforced disappearance who is present on Swiss territory without being limited by the dual criminality requirement.

This position also engages a discussion on the situation of victims of a crime committed abroad, a situation frequently encountered in practice.

The Confederation encouraged to ratify the Convention

The CSCPI supports the proposal of the Federal Council to accept the competence of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances. Indeed, the recognition of this mechanism is a concrete demonstration of the willingness of Switzerland to accept the obligations contained in the Convention and to subject itself to international supervision in this domain.