Author: Communication Department

On 4 November 1998, exactly fourteen years ago, Mr. Hanafi died following acts of torture he suffered while in the hands of the Algerian authorities. Despite the condemnation of Algeria by the UN Committee against Torture in June 2011, those responsible for committing such acts have still not been punished, and the family has not received any compensation.

On 16 June 2011, the Committee issued a decision in which it condemned Algeria for the torture inflicted on Mr. Hanafi which led to his death. Following this decision, the Committee urged the Algerian government to initiate an impartial investigation without delay in order to prosecute those responsible for torture and compensate the family.

The proceedings initiated before the UN Committee against Torture and the decision condemning Algeria allowed the family of Mr. Hanafi to obtain justice. However, those responsible for the acts of torture that led to the death of Mr. Hanafi have not been punished under criminal law yet. The Algerian authorities are required to open an investigation immediately to identify the perpetrators and put an end to this intolerable situation. It is only through these measures that the family will enjoy a real and complete restorative process and that an end will be put to impunity.

In this light TRIAL contacted in May 2012 the Attorney General of Tiaret in order to ensure that the decision of the Committee will be effectively implemented and that a thorough, independent and impartial investigation will be carried out with a particular focus on the acts of torture that caused Mr. Hanafi’s death. On 30 July 2012, TRIAL informed the Committee against Torture about this step and drew its attention on the lack of response from the Algerian authorities.

However, more than sixteen months after the adoption of this decision by the Committee against Torture, no investigation has been initiated and those involved in the perpetration of acts of torture were not prosecuted. Additionally, the family has not received any compensation so far.

In light of the forthcoming meeting of the Committee against Torture on 16 November 2012 dedicated to the follow-up of the individual communications, TRIAL wrote today to the Committee to ask for an active monitoring of the activities of the Algerian authorities to ensure that the international decision is fully respected.

TRIAL also asked the Committee to consider whether to initiate joint efforts with the Human Rights Committee, which also issued several decisions on Algerian cases. Four of them concern cases of enforced disappearances submitted by TRIAL and whose decisions have not yet been implemented. Holding a joint mission of the two committees in Algeria should thus be considered in order to urge the Algerian authorities to finally comply with their international human rifghts obligations.

For more information

  • See the Hanafi case
  • See the letter sent by TRIAL to the Committee against torture
  • See the website of the Committee against torture

he United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) adopted a list of issues related to the combined 4th and 5th periodic reports on the implementation by Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The CEDAW remains concerned about the situation of women victims of sexual violence during the war and the existing legislative framework in BiH.

In September 2012, TRIAL (Swiss Association against Impunity), together with nine BiH associations dealing with the issue of victims of rape or other forms of sexual violence during the war1 submitted to the CEDAW a report highlighting the importance that the latter continues monitoring the implementation of the international obligations of BiH towards women victims of those crimes.

On 22 October 2012, TRIAL participated in Geneva in a private meeting with the CEDAW, during which it raised issues related to the ongoing impunity of perpetrators of rape or other forms of sexual violence during the war; the lack of a comprehensive programme to ensure that all victims of sexual violence during the war receive prompt, fair and adequate compensation, as well as integral reparation, including restitution, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition. TRIAL also mentioned the limitations to the freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly recently experienced by women associations in the Prijedor area.

On 25 October 2012, the CEDAW adopted a list of issues to which BiH will have to reply before July 2013, when the CEDAW will hold its 55th session, examine the report submitted by BiH and adopt its concluding observations and recommendations.

In the list of issues, the CEDAW requested BiH to indicate what steps have been taken to amend the definition of rape; to implement the National Strategy for War Crimes aimed at the prosecution of those responsible for sexual violence and to protect victims and witnesses; to assist and compensate women victims of war; to adopt and implement the National Strategy for Transitional Justice; and to provide reparation in cases of women victims of enforced disappearances. It also requested BiH to provide information, among others, on the draft Law on Free Legal Aid and on the measures taken vis-à-vis women returnees and internally displaced.

In 2013, TRIAL and local organizations will submit further written information to react to BiH’s replies to the list of issues and to update the CEDAW on the developments, which will have taken place on the situation of women victims of rape or other forms of sexual violence during the war.

Pour plus d’information

  • See the report submitted by TRIAL in September 2012 in view of the adoption of the list of issues (PDF not available)
  • See the executive summary (here the Bosnian version) of the report submitted by TRIAL in September 2012 in view of the adoption of the list of issues (PDF not available)
  • See also TRIAL’s website in Bosnian: trialinternational.org/BiH

 

1 Association of Women-Victims of War; Women’s Section of the Concentration Camp Torture Survivors Canton Sarajevo; Foundation of Local Democracy; Association of Women from Prijedor – Izvor; Medica Zenica; Snaga Žene; Society for Threatened Peoples; Sumejja Gerc; Vive Žene Tuzla

On 25 October 2012 TRIAL intervened before the United Nations Human Rights Committee in order to contribute to shedding light on several aspects of the right to liberty and security of persons embodied in Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The meeting, gathering representatives of several civil society organizations and States, took place in the framework of a half-day of general discussion promoted by the Committee in preparation of a new General Comment on Article 9. This initiative was a first for the Committee and represented a unique opportunity for TRIAL and other actors to express their views on important aspects of the Covenant.

In July 2012 the Human Rights Committee started the process of developing a new General Comment on Article 9 of the Covenant based on recent States reports, individual communications and other General Comments adopted on related issues. The purpose of the General Comment is to provide appropriate and authoritative guidance to States Parties and other actors on the measures to be adopted to ensure full compliance with the right to liberty and security of persons.

In September 2012 TRIAL had already submitted a Written Information raising some of the issues that TRIAL considers of pivotal importance in the interpretation and implementation of the right to liberty, especially on matters related to enforced disappearances.

At the meeting before the Human Rights Committee on 25 October 2012, TRIAL presented some remarks on the international legal standards concerning the absolute prohibition of deprivation of liberty in unofficial places of detention, incommunicado detention and enforced disappearance.

In this light TRIAL further outlined the most important obligations for States to guarantee the effectiveness of the right to liberty and security of persons, to prevent its violation and to provide effective remedies to victims. Particular reference in this respect was made by TRIAL to the legal obligations embodied in the 2007 International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

Some of the most debated topics raised by the participants and tackled in the ensuing discussion with the members of the Committee included detention by non-State actors, detention in situations of armed conflict, secret detention and enforced disappearances, detention of immigrants and detention of vulnerable categories of persons, such as persons with disabilities and children.

Following the discussion, the Rapporteur on the General Comment, Mr. Gerald Neuman, will produce a draft of the General Comment which will be presented to the Committee for a first reading in March 2013. The text resulting from the first reading will be made public for comments by all interested parties.

TRIAL intends to remain actively engaged in the process leading to the development of the General Comment.

For more information

  • Read the Written Information submitted by TRIAL to the Human Rights Committee in September 2012 on the right to liberty and security of persons
  • See the HRC webpage about the new General Comment

On 24 October 2012, within the framework of the recently launched British initiative to prevent sexual violence in armed conflict, TRIAL and other representatives of victims associations in Bosnia and Herzegovina held a meeting with the British Foreign Secretary William Hague. The main violations suffered during the armed conflict and the lack of truth, justice and reparation measures that victims of rape and sexual violence are still facing today in BiH were discussed.

 

In May 2012 William Hague announced that, during his country’s presidency of the G8 summit in 2013, the United Kingdom will embark on an initiative on preventing sexual violence in armed conflict by setting up a large team of experts (police officers, lawyers, psychologists and forensic experts) that would travel to war zones to gather evidence about mass sexual violence to ensure that those crimes are recorded and prosecuted in the future.

In such a framework, the British Foreign Secretary met with representatives of civil society and survivors of war-time sexual violence coming from the three ethnic groups present in BiH in order to better understand the violations suffered by men and women during the armed conflict and to identify the ongoing human rights concerns still afflicting this category of victims in BiH.

In this respect TRIAL gave an overview of the main human rights issues victims of war-time sexual violence are currently confronted with in BiH, namely the lingering impunity of the perpetrators, the lack of recognition as a category of victims of war and the ensuing lack of social and economic support, including compensation for the harm suffered and measures of rehabilitation such as adequate housing, preferential treatment in employment and education, and free medical treatment and psycho-social support.

The British Foreign Secretary announced to victims of sexual violence that in 2013 he would try to propose a new international agreement to stop rape as a weapon of war and that the United Kingdom would also allocate additional funds to the United Nations to support the work of the Office of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict.

“The time has come for a major international effort to challenge the use of rape and sexual violence as a weapon of war, and to shatter the idea that rape can be committed in war on a massive scale and with nothing being done about it afterwards,” concluded Hague.

TRIAL has been working in BiH since 2008 assisting more than 200 direct and indirect victims of the conflict to obtain justice and redress in front of international human rights bodies. In the last years TRIAL has focused its attention on the plight of victims of sexual violence and has defended their rights before UN human rights bodies. TRIAL warmly welcomes the initiative launched by the British government and reiterates its commitment to fight against the impunity of the perpetrators of rape and sexual violence and to make the voices of the victims heard and their rights effective.

As a follow-up to the meeting in Sarajevo, on 12, 13 and 14 November 2012 TRIAL will attend the High-level Wilton Park conference on “Preventing sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict situations”, organized under the initiative of the Foreign Secretary, which will aim at shaping and developing the British initiative on sexual violence and its international implementation.

For more information

  • Read here the British Foreign Secretary statement at the end of the meeting in Sarajevo
  • Read here (Bosnian) and here the news of the meeting as it was taken up by local and international media
  • Read here the legal guide for victims of sexual violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina published by TRIAL in April 2012
  • Read here the May 2011 general allegation sent by TRIAL to the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women on women victims of war-time sexual violence

On 26 September 2012 TRIAL submitted an individual communication to the United Nations Human Rights Committtee regarding the alleged arbitrary killing and the subsequent removal and concealment of the remains of Mrs. Anda Lale and Mrs. Staka Popovic that occurred in August 1992 in the municipality of Trnovo in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

During the devastating internal conflict that ravaged Bosnia-Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995 around 35,000 people went missing. Despite limited progress, thousands of families remain without information about what happened to their beloved relatives. Among these are the families of Anđa Lale and Staka Popović.

Following the Bosnian military attack against the town of Trnovo in mid-July 1992, Anđa Lale and Staka Popović fled the town and found refuge in an empty cottage in a nearby village. A few days later they were last seen in the house as Bosnian soldiers approached and set the house on fire shortly afterwards. Disquieting pieces of information came up in the following months confirming that the people who were in the cottage were executed.

More than twenty years after the events, and despite the unwavering efforts of their families, no investigation has been launched to establish the fate and whereabouts of Anđa Lale and Staka Popović nor to identify those responsible for their arbitrary killing and the subsequent removal and concealment of their remains.

TRIAL (Swiss Association against Impunity) submits their cases to the United Nations Human Rights Committee asking the Committee to request the Government of Bosnia-Herzegovina to ensure a prompt investigation to establish the fate and whereabouts of Anđa Lale and Staka Popović and to locate, exhume, identify their mortal remains and to return them to their families, bring the perpetrators to justice and provide their families with adequate compensation and measures of reparation.

TRIAL defends more that 300 direct and indirect victims in more that 115 cases in front of the European Court of Human Rights and the Human Rights Committee, acting on behalf of 220 victims in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the course of 78 cases.

  • For more information on the Lale and Popovic case, please click here
  • For more information on the other Bosnian cases filed by TRIAL before the UN Human Rights Committee, please click here

As requested since May 2011 by TRIAL and other 12 local associations dealing with women victims of sexual violence from the 1992-1995 conflict, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, Ms. Rashida Manjoo, will visit Bosnia-Herzegovina from 28 October to 5 November 2012. She will be able to meet with international organizations and representatives of civil society working with women victims of violence.

The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women was established in 1994 in order to enhance the efforts of the international community to eliminate violence against women.

TRIAL has been working in Bosnia since 2007 and is assisting more than 200 direct and indirect victims of the conflict to obtain justice and redress by submitting more than 80 individual communications in front of international human rights bodies.

In May 2011 TRIAL, together with 12 local associations dealing with women victims of sexual violence, submitted a general allegation to the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women highlighting the existing obstacles in the fulfilment of fundamental rights of women victims of sexual violence during the war. In their submission, TRIAL and its local partners specifically requested the Special Rapporteur to carry out a country visit.

During the country visit, the Special Rapporteur will meet with representatives of State’s authorities and institutions, international organizations, as well as representatives of civil society.

TRIAL welcomes this opportunity and plans on assisting the Special Rapporteur in its country visit in Bosnia-Herzegovina, in particular facilitating access to local organisations. The Special rapporteur’s report on the visit will be issued in March 2013 and presented to the Human Rights Council.

  • Click here to see the May 2011 general allegation sent by TRIAL to the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women.
  • Click here to see the official webpare of the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women.

Geneva, 11 September 2012

The United Nations Human Rights Committee recently condemned Algeria in a case of enforced disappearance. In May 1996, Mr. Kamel Rakik, 33 years old, was arrested at his home, around 30 km from Algiers, by policemen of Algiers’ wilaya. He was brought to the Chateauneuf Police officers school where he was tortured. He has not been seen since.

 

The Rakik family left no stone unturned in the quest to discover the whereabouts of their beloved ones. The case has been brought before all relevant judicial and administrative authorities. Yet no investigation has been opened and no one has ever been prosecuted.

In its decision, the Human Rights Committee holds that, because of the disappearance of Kamel Rakiki, Algeria breached several provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (one of the most important international conventions within the United Nations system), including the right to life and the right to be free from torture and other forms of ill-treatment. In doing so, Algeria also inflicted upon the family members of the disappeared person an inadmissible treatment through the severe mental distress and anguish they were forced to endure.

The Committee now requests Algeria “to conduct a deep and rigorous investigation into the disappearance of Kamel Rakik”. Algeria is also requested to “provide the authors with detailed information concerning the results of its investigation”, “to free the victim immediately if he is still being secretly detained” or, “if he is deceased, to return his mortal remains to his family”. Moreover, the Committee insists on Algeria’s obligation to “indict, put on trial and punish those responsible for the violations committed”. Algeria is also required to pay an appropriate compensation to the family of the victim for the violations committed.

The Committee especially points out that, with respect to torture, extrajudicial executions and enforced disappearances, the Algerian judicial authorities should not apply Ordinance Nr. 06-01 (adopted following the enactment of the “Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation” in 2005) which grants absolute impunity to the authors of the worst violations perpetrated during the conflict.

TRIAL expressed its satisfaction following this latest decision by the Committee condemning Algeria. According to Philip Grant, Director of the organisation, “it is about time that Algeria complied with its human rights international obligations. This decision represents the fifth time that Algeria is condemned by a Committee of the United Nations in a procedure triggered by TRIAL for cases of torture and enforced disappearances. Algerian authorities must enforce the decisions of the UN Committees without further delay by undertaking effective investigations on these human rights violations in order to finally disclose the truth about these tragedies, to try and sanction those responsible for the crimes and grant proper redress to the victims. Impunity for these crimes cannot be the rule any more in Algeria”.

Context

This cases represents the fifth case submitted by TRIAL resulting in a final decision. In May, June and December 2011, the Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture had already condemned Algeria for, respectively, enforced disappearances cases and a case of death under torture. Fourteen other cases brought by TRIAL are currently pending before the Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture concerning Algeria.

In total, TRIAL has submitted more than 130 cases before different international bodies (European Court of Human Rights, Human Rights Committee, Committee against Torture) related to instances of enforced disappearances, extrajudicial executions and torture in Algeria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burundi, Libya and Nepal.

For further information

On 23 August 2012, TRIAL together with the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Human Rights Watch (HRW), Advocacy Forum – Nepal and seven other local organisations working with victims of human rights violations and their families submitted a briefing note to the new Special Rapporteur on the Promotion of Truth, Justice, Reparation and Guarantees of Non-recurrence, Mr. Pablo de Greiff.

The briefing note highlighted the recent dissolution of Nepal’s Constituent Assembly (28 May 2012) and the way in which this development negatively impacts the efforts to secure truth, justice and redress of victims of gross human rights violations and international humanitarian law.

In particular, the organisations highlighted the danger that without a Constituent Assembly, the long awaited transitional justice mechanisms could be further stalled for an undetermined period or, what is worse, enacted through an ordinance by the interim Government, without public consultation and granting – as the draft Bill to create such mechanisms currently stands – amnesty to perpetrators. In either case the effect would be the same: to deny access to truth, justice, reparations and guarantees of non-recurrence to victims of gross violations of human rights and international humanitarian law and their relatives, in violation of Nepal’s obligations under international law.

The organisations urged the Special Rapporteur to remain seized of the situation and ensure that the government of Nepal upholds its international obligations inter alia, to adopt transitional justice mechanisms able to prosecute individuals who may be criminally responsible for gross human rights violations or crimes against humanity, to guarantee the victims’ rights to effective remedies and reparations as well as to guarantee the victims’ and society’s right to know the truth about established violations. The organisations also appealed to the Special Rapporteur to consider requesting the government of Nepal an invitation to conduct an official country visit.

For additional information:

  • Read the briefing note to the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence.
  • Read the cover letter adressed to the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence.
  • Check the other TRIAL activities on Nepal here.

Respect Obligations to Prosecute Worst Crimes From Civil War Era

(New York, August 31, 2012) – President Ram Baran Yadav of Nepal should return an executive ordinance that would effectively permit amnesty for crimes committed during the country’s civil war from 1996 to 2006, four human rights groups said today in a letter to the president. The president should return the ordinance to the government and remind it of its obligations under both national and international law to prosecute acts that constitute crimes under international law, the groups said.

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), and TRIAL (Swiss Association against Impunity) obtained a copy of the ordinance on August 28, 2012. It proposes the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry on Disappeared Persons, Truth and Reconciliation with absolute discretion to recommend the granting of amnesties for serious human rights violations, including crimes under international law. The cabinet delivered the ordinance directly to President Yadav without any consultation – either with the public or the National Human Rights Commission.

“This ordinance in its current form represents nothing more than a blatant attempt to sweep aside years of efforts to establish properly constituted, properly mandated, independent commissions on disappearances and on truth and reconciliation,” said Sam Zarifi, Asia director at the International Commission of Jurists. “Far from delivering justice, truth, and reparation after years of grievances, the proposed commission would allow amnesty for crimes under international law, which flies in the face of Nepal’s obligations under both national and international law.”

The rights groups have previously called on the government to ensure that legislation establishing transitional justice mechanisms conforms to international law and standards, including ensuring that amnesty is not granted for crimes under international law. These include extrajudicial executions, sexual violence committed as war crimes or crimes against humanity, enforced disappearance, and torture.

The groups urged President Yadav to return the ordinance, guarantee a fair and inclusive process for the establishment of transitional justice mechanisms, and ensure that the government meets its obligations under national and international law.

Granting amnesty for acts that constitute crimes under international law – such as torture, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide – violates the duties of countries under international law to prosecute these crimes, the groups said. A developing body of law, standards, and decisions by international bodies highlights the prohibition on amnesty for these crimes. Among other international standards, such a prohibition is included in article 24 of the United Nations Updated Set of Principles for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights through Action to Combat Impunity and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as affirmed by the UN Human Rights Committee.

“The mechanism as proposed conforms neither to international nor national standards,” said Polly Truscott, deputy director of Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific program. “If the president signs off on this ordinance, he will essentially be signalling that short-term political gain, rather than respect for the rule of law and human rights, is what matters in Nepal.”

The groups also expressed concern that under the procedures outlined in the ordinance, commission members would be political appointees, vulnerable to political pressure. The proposed role of a retired Supreme Court judge as chairperson of a selection committee for commission members is insufficient to shield the commission from political pressure, the groups said, as commissioners would ultimately be appointed on the basis of consensus between the political parties.

The ordinance also would allow the Attorney General to retain discretion in prosecuting criminal cases, which would place a political appointee at the centre of a process designed to carry out Nepal’s obligations to prosecute the most serious crimes. Moreover, the Attorney General’s Office has a poor track record in pursuing justice for human rights violations through the criminal justice system, as documented by the International Commission of Jurists in its June 2012 report, “Commissions of Inquiry in Nepal: Denying Remedies, Entrenching Impunity.”

Such inherent, predictable lack of independence and impartiality of the commission, its processes and members will have profound adverse consequences on its competence and effectiveness, the groups said.

“This ordinance evokes a time we all hope is long past, when those who abused their power and committed heinous crimes during the war later sought to cover them up with these kinds of arbitrary measures, ultimately fostering an overall culture of impunity,” said Philip Grant, director of TRIAL.

The executive ordinance would also expose victims and their families to threats and coercion that are certain to arise as those accused of crimes and their associates seek amnesty, the groups said. Nepal has international legal obligations to ensure that victims and their families have access to justice and remedies, including access to effective victim and witness protection programs when necessary.

“Nepal’s government needs to meet its obligation to respect the fundamental rights of victims of the conflict and their families,” said Phelim Kine, deputy director of the Asia division at Human Rights Watch. “Genuine reconciliation cannot be built on a foundation of impunity. While reconciliation is a laudable goal, justice, truth, and reparation are an integral and indispensable part of achieving that goal.”

In September 2012, TRIAL and 9 associations working with women victims of the war submitted a 72-page report to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women highlighting Bosnia-Herzevogina’s failure to enforce this category of victims’ right to obtain truth, justice and reparation.

In September 2012, TRIAL, together with six associations of relatives of missing persons, four associations dealing with the subject of rape or other forms of sexual violence during the war, and seven associations or federations of associations of former camp-detainees, submitted a report highlighting the violations of the fundamental rights suffered by the above-mentioned categories of persons.

Geneva, 31 August 2012

Mr. Erwin Sperisen, a dual Swiss-Guatemalan national living in Geneva, was arrested today by the Geneva prosecuting authority. A criminal complaint had been lodged before Swiss authorities over four years ago for atrocities committed between 2004 and 2007, while Mr. Sperisen was the head of the National Civil Police of Guatemala (PNC). The coalition of NGOs working on the case accuses him of having ordered extrajudicial executions and wishes that a trial may be taking place soon.

Between 2008 and 2009, two criminal complaints were submitted by a coalition of NGOs, among which TRIAL (Swiss Association against impunity), the World Organization against Torture (OMCT), the “Communauté genevoise d’action syndicale”, the “Action des Chrétiens pour l’abolition de la torture (ACAT)” and the trade association Uniterre, to the office of the prosecutor of the Canton of Geneva. The complaints concerned several grievous crimes allegedly committed by Erwin Sperisen as the head of the PNC. The coalition of NGOs demanded the competent authorities to shed light notably on the massacre of nine farmers during the evacuation of an occupied farm in 2004 and the practice of extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, torture and sexual violence committed by members of the PNC.

In August 2010 an international arrest warrant was issued by Guatemala. Shortly afterwards, Amnesty International and TRIAL denounced the inertia of Geneva authorities. As a consequence, in April 2011, an international legal assistance request was sent by Genevan authorities to Guatemala. The file sent by the Guatemalan authorities a few months ago presumably convinced the Swiss prosecuting authorities of the validity of the charges against Erwin Sperisen since they just issued a press release announcing the arrest of Mr. Sperisen.

The coalition of NGOs welcomes the steps taken by the Swiss prosecuting authorities. In its opinion, “the arrest of Erwin Sperisen represents a major advance in the case. It shows the credibility of the charges brought against Mr. Sperisen by NGOs closely following the case for years”.

It is now time for the investigation to effectively start. Mr. Sperisen will have the opportunity to explain his behavior and witnesses might be heard. NGOs wish that a trial can rapidly take place so that the truth will finally be unveiled and that the wall of impunity in Guatemala torn apart.

Context

In 2008, the “Communauté genevoise d’action syndicale”, ACAT and the association Uniterre filed a criminal complaint against Mr. Sperisen with the Public Prosecutor of Geneva. Confronted with the passive attitude of the Genevan justice system, TRIAL and the OMCT decided to join the other organisations and filed another criminal complaint in 2009. Because of his nationality, Mr. Sperisen can not be extradited to Guatemala and this is the reason why the canton of Geneva is competent to investigate on the matter.

For further information

Geneva, 27 July 2012

TRIAL (Swiss association against impunity) participated in the examination of the third periodic report of Kenya before UN Human Rights Committee. TRIAL expressed 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 its concluding observations on Kenya, the Human Rights Committee called for serious investigations, prosecution of the perpetrators and reparations for the victims.

On 16 July 2012 TRIAL participated in a private meeting with the Human Rights Committee together with the delegations of other Kenyan and international NGOs in view of the examination of the third periodic report of Kenya before the Committee. TRIAL raised the issue of the massive human rights violations (enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, torture) committed during the joint military-police operation Okoa Maisha in March and April 2008 in Mt. Elgon district. TRIAL denounced 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.

On 17 and 18 July 2012 the Human Rights Committee examined the State report raising with the delegation of the Kenyan government the above-mentioned concerns pertaining to the human rights situation in Mt. Elgon.

In the just published advanced unedited version of its concluding observations on Kenya, the Human Rights Committee, “concerned that the State party has not conducted conclusive investigations of alleged excessive use of force by the police during operation Okoa Maisha in Mt. Elgon […]”, demanded Kenya to “strengthen its efforts to ensure that police officers suspected of committing extrajudicial killings and other offences are thoroughly investigated and perpetrators brought to justice, and that the victims are adequately compensated.”

In July 2011 and June 2012, TRIAL, in partnership with the local NGO Western Kenya Human Rights Watch (WKHRW), had submitted an alternative report, and an update to the report, to the Human Rights Committee.

Context

At the end of 2006, an armed group, the Sabaot Land Defence Forces (SLDF) emerged in the Mount Elgon district in Western Kenya determined to resist what they considered unfair land-allocation attempts by the government. Over the next few years, the SLDF increased its control over the region, forcibly displacing the unwanted population and committing numerous atrocities in doing so. The response of the government, was initially lacklustre, but was stepped up in March 2008 with a joint police-military operation called Okoa Maisha (“Save Lives” in Swahili). Initially the population reacted favourably to this action but became quickly alienated by the government’s strategy which consisted of indiscriminately detaining all men and boys and torturing them, sometimes to death, in order to unmask SLDF members or supporters. Despite numerous reports from NGOs, the government has categorically denied the commission of any human rights violations. More than four years after the operation took place, no investigation into these crimes has been initiated and the families of the victims are denied their rights to know the truth and to obtain justice and to reparations, whilst continuing to endure a permanent state of anguish, frustration, distress and uncertainty.

For more information

  • See the alternative report submitted by TRIAL to the Human Rights Committee in July 2011
  • See the updated report submitted by TRIAL to the Human Rights Committee in June 2012
  • See the Centre for Civil and Political Rights press release on the examination of the third periodic report of Kenya before the Human Rights Committee
  • See the advance unedited version of the Human Rights Committee concluding observations on Kenya of 27 July 2012

Despite the positive achievement of the ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (hereinafter: the Convention), the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) have not recognized the crucial competence of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances to receive and consider individual and inter-state communications.

In a joint letter to the BiH government sent on 1 June 2012, Amnesty International, the Swiss Association against Impunity Trial and a group of local non-governmental organizations recommended the following measures so that it reaffirms its commitment to preventing and redressing enforced disappearance:

  • Recognize without delay the competence of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances to receive and consider individual and inter-state communications; and to
  • Enact the necessary measures to adapt – not only in law but also in practise – the domestic legal framework in the fields of criminal, civil and family law to the numerous obligations undertaken by ratifying the Convention, including among others by codifying enforced disappearance as a separate and autonomous crime under domestic criminal legislation.

The organizations noted that the ratification of the Convention by BiH represented a significant step forward and a clear signal to the international community of the genuine commitment of the State in the struggle against this heinous crime.

Valuing the ratification of the Convention by BiH, the organisations also noted that they look forward to acts that show the continuing determination of the BiH government to eradicate enforced disappearances.

Background:

On 30 March 2012, BiH ratified the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, thus becoming the 32nd State Party to the Treaty. Amnesty International calls on all states, when ratifying the Convention to recognize the competence of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances to receive and consider individual and inter-state communications pursuant to Articles 31 and 32.

Amnesty International, TRIAL (Swiss Association against Impunity) and victims’ groups based in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), welcome the recent ratification by BiH to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and suggest further steps to ensure its effective implementation at the domestic level.

The letter was co-signed by the following organisations:

  • Amnesty International
  • Association of Families of Killed and Missing Defenders of the Homeland War from Bugojno Municipality
  • Association of Relatives of Missing Persons from Hadžići Municipality
  • Association of Relatives of Missing Persons from Ilijaš Municipality
  • Association of Relatives of Missing Persons from Kalinovik (“Istina-Kalinovik ‘92”)
  • Association of Relatives of Missing Persons of the Sarajevo-Romanija Region
  • Association of Relatives of Missing Persons of the Vogošća Municipality
  • Association Women from Prijedor – Izvor
  • Association of Families of Fallen Soldiers and Missing Persons “Vrbanja, Kotor Varoš in Travnik
  • TRIAL – Swiss Association against Impunity

TRIAL has sent on behalf of the Swiss Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CSCPI) a letter to the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs asking Switzerland to follow up not the pledges made during the Review Conference of the Rome Statute in June 2010 that took place in Kampala, Uganda.

The NGOs members of the CSCPI regret notably that Switzerland is the only European state which has signed but not yet ratified the APIC (Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Court). Two years after the Conference, the CSCPI also asks Switzerland to accelerate the ratification process of the amendments to the Statute on the crime of aggression and on the prohibition of certain weapons used in the context of non-international armed conflicts.

The Coalition hopes that the Federal Council will soon announce concrete measures enabling it to meet the commitments made in Kampala.

  • See the CSCPI letter to the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (in French)

Introduction

In August 2008, TRIAL submitted an individual communication to the United Nations Human Rights Committee on behalf of Mrs Taous Djebbar and Mr Saadi Chihoub, acting in the name of their sons, Djamel and Mourad Chihoub. Djamel Chihoub first, then his brother Mourad six months latter, were arrested by members of the Algerian army and are have been repported missing since. These cases are to be put in the broader context of the disappearance of thousands of Algerian citizens in the hands of the army and of various security forces in the country between 1992 and 1998.

Djamel and Mourad Chihoub have been arrested at their home by soldiers from the Baraki barracks, respectively on 16th May 1996 at 8 am and on 13th November 1996 around 11 pm. The circumstances of Djamel Chihoub’s arrest show that he was taken away for no other reason than to exerce pressure on his older brother Saïd, suspected of having joined the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), to force him to surrender himself to the authorities. The abduction of Mourad Chihoub, then only 16, happened after the death of Saïd and despite the fact that the very officer in charge when he was arrested aknowledged that he had no clue indicating any involvement of Mourad in illegal activities.

Since their arrests, and in spite of constant efforts, their relatives failed to gather any official information about their fate.

The victim’s relatives, and particularly their parents, turned to all relevant institutions to find where the deasappeared were taken. In particular, the Chief Prosecutor of the Court of Algiers, informed by the family about the illegal treatement the two brothers suffered, did not initiate any proceedings and has not sought any information on the circumstances of the two disappearances. An investigative judge from El Harrach did initiate a formal proceeding, which however ended in the dismissal of the case, no serious investigation having been carried out despite the fact that the family even provided the identity of the people involved in the disappearances.

The family also adressed various administrative and governmental institutions, among which the President of the Republic, the Mediator of the Republic, the Minister of Justice and the National Observatory on Human Rights (ONDH), to no avail.

Moreover, the Chihoub family is now faced with a legal prohibition to resort to any judicial measure after the promulgation in February 2006 of the Order 6/10 enforcing the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation. In addition, any Algerian jurisdiction is duty-bound to dismiss any such case.

The authors of the communication request the UN Human Rights Committee to recognize Djamel and Mourad Chihoub as victims of enforced disappearances, a crime which infringed their most fondamental rights, as guaranted by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (the Covenant). They ask the Committee to recognize a violation of articles 2 § 3, 6 § 1, 7, 9 §§ 1, 2, 3 et 4, 10 § 1, 16, 17 § 1 and 23 § 1 of the Covenant in respect of both Chihoub brothers, and, as regards Mourad, who was still minor at the time of the events, a violation of article 24 § 1 of the Covenant. The authors of the communication also ask the Committee to consider that they themselves were victims of a violation of articles 2 § 3, 7 and 23 § 1 of the Covenant for the mental suffering they went through during so many years of incertitude about the fate of their sons and the failure of the State to protect the family.

 

The general context

7,000 to 20,000 persons, according to different sources, have been arrested or abducted by the Algerian security forces, all bodies considered, as well as by the government-armed militia between 1992 and 1998, and have been missing ever since.

Up to now, none of the victims’ families has received any information about the fate of their relatives, no investigation has been initiated following the complaints and proceedings they tried to initiate, and although the authors and those who ordered those crimes are well known, no one has ever been prosecuted.

 

The decision

In December 2011, the Human Rights Committee communicated its decision (called “views” in the UN language).

The Committee held that Algeria violated Articles 6 § 1, 7, 9, 10 § 1 and 16 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, taken alone and in conjunction with Article 2 § 3 of the Covenant with regards to Djamel Chihoub and Mourad Chihoub, as well as an additional violation of Article 24 with regards to Mourad Chihoub, minor at the time of the facts.

The Committee also held that Algeria violated Article 7 of the ICCPR, taken alone and in conjunction with Article 2 § 3, with regards to the victims’ parents.

The Committee requested Algeria to “conduct a deep and rigorous investigation into the disappearance of Djamel and Mourad Chihoub”, to “furnish their family with detailed information concerning the results of its investigation”, to free them immediately if they are still being secretly detained or, if they are deceased, to return their mortal remains to their family. Moreover, the Committee insisted on Algeria’s obligation to “indict, put on trial and punish those responsible for the violations committed”. Algeria was also required to pay an adequate compensation to the family of the victims for the violations endured.

 

Sarajevo / Geneva, 28 May 2012

TRIAL (Swiss association against impunity) presented today a report on the situation of former camp detainees in Bosnia and Herzegovina submitted to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel, Inhumane and Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. Drafted in cooperation with nine associations of former camp detainees representing different ethnic groups, the Report aims to highlight the remaining obstacles preventing Bosnia and Herzegovina’s full implementation of international obligations in regards to the issue of former camp detainees.

“As long as Bosnia and Herzegovina continues to violate the rights of thousands of men and women and ignores their constant quest for justice and satisfaction while holding them at the margins of society, former camp detainees may indeed be freed, but are certainly not free yet”.

Key problems highlighted in the Report include the lack of precise data, the inadequacy of the codification of torture, forced labour and arbitrary detention, the lack of legislation for the rights of victims of torture, the failure of the State to effectively investigate, prosecute and punish the persons responsible for crimes including torture inflicted to camp detainees, the failure to adequately protect and support witnesses in cases concerning former detainees, and the failure to grant adequate compensation and integral reparation to former detainees.

«As long as Bosnia and Herzegovina continues to violate the rights of thousands of men and women and ignores their constant quest for justice and satisfaction while holding them at the margins of society, former camp detainees may indeed be freed, but are certainly not free yet», stated the Coordinator Lejla Mamut-Abaspahić on behalf of TRIAL. She stressed that the State had been and still was in of numerous international  obligations prescribed, among others texts, by the Convention against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both ratified by Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The signatory organisations of the Report urge the Special Rapporteur and the Working Group to analyse the situation of former camp detainees in the country as well as the existing legal framework and to issue recommendations to the authorities. Moreover, they call on the Special Rapporteur and the Working Group to request to carry out a country visit, noting that on 7 May 2010, the State issued a standing invitation for all special procedures of the UN, through which it assumed the obligation to always accept country-visits. «An official visit to Bosnia Herzegovina would allow these UN bodies to gather first-hand data on the problems and injustices faced by former camp detainees. This issue would then not only be raised highly on the list of priorities of domestic authorities but also of international human rights bodies, which would help resolve the problems of this exceptionally vulnerable population», concluded Ms Mamut-Abaspahić.

The Report also highlights the difficult financial situation faced by former camp detainees, the fact that they live without health protection, the feeling of rejection and discrimination which they face during court proceedings due to the lack of legal aid, and the low level of protection of the identity of witnesses. In addition, the lack of psychological support complicates the already complex situation of people whose testimonies are a fundamental basis of cases against war crimes suspects in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

For more information:

Geneva / Kathmandu – 21 May 2012

After thirteen years of despair, of denial and of waiting for truth and justice, two families of victims of enforced disappearance during the civil conflict in Nepal bring their case to the United Nations. The perpetrators must be brought to account, says TRIAL – a Geneva-based human rights organisation.

Thirteen years ago to this day, on 21 May 1999, Mr. Danda Pani Neupane and Mr. Milan Nepali were arrested in Kathmandu by the Nepal Police as suspected members of the then Communist Party of Nepal – Maoist (CPN-M). Both men were witnessed in the custody of the Nepal Police approximately one month after their arrest in June 1999, but have not been seen since, alive or dead. The Nepal Police have continuously denied having arrested or detained either Mr. Neupane or Mr. Nepali, in spite of eyewitnesses confirming their arrest and subsequent detention inside both the Police headquarters and the Police training centre in Kathmandu.

Tragically, the likelihood that the families of Danda Pani Neupane and Milan Nepali will ever receive the truth about the fate of their loved ones becomes less probable the further the Government of Nepal strays from fully implementing both the decisions of its own Supreme Court and its legally binding obligations under international law.

The family members of the two men have now waited thirteen agonising years for news of their loved ones, but have been met only with official indifference. Indeed, their hopes that the Government of Nepal would implement the landmark Supreme Court judgement of June 2007, which ordered the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry on Disappearances leading to the investigation of cases of enforced disappearance and the criminal prosecution of perpetrators, have long been forsaken.

Almost five years after the Supreme Court judgment was passed, the Constituent Assembly remains paralysed by the power struggles and petty squabbles of its factious political parties, and bills establishing the Disappearance Commission and Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) have yet to be passed into law. There is also very real concern that even if passed, the two transitional justice bills will not be in line with international legal standards regarding victims’ rights to truth and reparations, nor the State of Nepal’s obligations to investigate, prosecute and punish perpetrators of enforced disappearance. Furthermore, recently proposed amendments by political leadership would empower the TRC to grant amnesty to leaders and members of both government forces and armed groups for acts that would amount to serious violations of international human rights or humanitarian law.

Tragically, the likelihood that the families of Danda Pani Neupane and Milan Nepali will ever receive the truth about the fate of their loved ones becomes less probable the further the Government of Nepal strays from fully implementing both the decisions of its own Supreme Court and its legally binding obligations under international law. Nor are the cases of Danda Pani Neupane and Milan Nepali unique: the families of over one thousand victims of enforced disappearance have similarly endured years of official indifference and the prolonged suffering that this has brought about.

On the thirteenth anniversary of the enforced disappearance of Danda Pani Neupane and Milan Nepali, TRIAL (Swiss Association against Impunity) submitted their cases to the United Nations Human Rights Committee. TRIAL has called on the Committee to request that the Government of Nepal ensure a prompt investigation into the arbitrary deprivation of liberty and subsequent enforced disappearance of Danda Pani Neupane and Milan Nepali; bring the perpetrators to justice; provide their relatives with adequate compensation and measures of reparation; and in the event of their death, locate, exhume, identify and return their mortal remains to their families.

Context

In 1996, a violent armed conflict started between Maoist insurgents and the Government of Nepal. Nearly 14,000 persons died during the ten year-long civil war that followed. Grave human rights violations, such as arbitrary arrests, abductions, rapes, torture and extrajudicial executions were committed by both sides. The practice of enforced disappearances was particularly widespread, with more than 2,100 cases reported during the conflict. Despite the signature of a peace agreement between the Maoists and the government in November 2006, the authorities have failed to initiate any serious investigations into the crimes perpetrated during the war and not a single perpetrator has been convicted to date. As a result, over five years after the conclusion of the conflict, perpetrators still enjoy immunity from prosecution, while victims continue to be denied their fundamental rights to truth, justice and reparations.

The cases of Mr Danda Pani Neupane and Mr. Milan Nepali represent the 8th and 9th cases brought by TRIAL before the UN Human Rights Committee. All cases are currently under consideration by the Committee.

In May 2012, TRIAL submitted an alternative report to the UN Committee against Torture.

The report highlights the existing obstacles in the implementation of the Convention against Torture by Mexico, providing numerous concrete examples as well as recommendations to improve the situation.

The report was submitted in partnership with seven Mexican and Central American human rights organisations namely, i(dh)eas – Strategic Human Rights Litigation (Litigio Estratégico en Derechos Humanos); the National Forum for Migration in Honduras (Foro Nacional para las Migraciones en Honduras – FONAMIH); the Foundation for Justice and the Democratic Rule of Law (Fundación para la Justicia y el Estado Democrático de Derecho); the Diocesan Centre for Human Rights Fray Juan de Larios (Centro Diocesano de Derechos Humanos Fray Juan de Larios, A.C.); United Forces for our Disappeared in Coahuila (Fuerzas Unidas por Nuestros Desaparecidos(as) en Coahuila – FUUNDEC); the Committee of Relatives of Deceased and Disappeared Migrants – El Salvador (Comité de Familiares de Migrantes Fallecidos y Desaparecidos – El Salvador – COFAMIDE); and the Association of Relatives of Disappeared-detainees and victims of human rights’ violations in Mexico (Asociación de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos y Víctimas de Violaciones de Derechos Humanos en México – AFADEM) .

Geneva / Sarajevo, 5 April 2012

Under the title BETWEEN STIGMA AND OBLIVION, A Guide on Defending the Rights of Women Victims of Rape or other Forms of Sexual Violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina, TRIAL has just published, in cooperation with UN Women a legal Guide for victims of sexual violence committed during the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Using true examples and refering to best practices, the Guide aims to offer victims of sexual violence and the organisations that support and defend them a new tool for action, rooted in international law.

According to Gabriella Citroni, TRIAL senior legal advisor, “In order to claim for a victim’s rights, it is necessary to know what these rights are. The aim of this Guide is to familiarize victims of rape with their rights and existing international mechanisms to which they could resort. Ideally, this should represent a tool to empower women victims of sexual violence to leave the limbo where they have been kept over the past years, between stigma and oblivion”.

The Guide was  launched during a public event held in Sarajevo on 4 April 2012, organized by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), TRIAL and Medica Zenica with the support of UN Women and the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina

“BETWEEN STIGMA AND OBLIVION – A Guide on Defending the Rights of Women Victims of Rape or other Forms of Sexual Violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina” (preface by Madeleine Rees)

is available here in electronic format

  • in English
  • in Bosnian