Author: Communication Department

Bern / Geneva / Berlin, April 5, 2012

Following a Guardian report published today, the international human rights organizations Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and TRIAL (Track Impunity Always) repeat their call to the UK government to immediately take measures against a suspected war criminal. Former Major General of the Sri-Lankan army Prasanna De Silva, who is currently serving as defense attaché to the Sri Lankan High Commission in London, is set to return to Sri Lanka.

In today’s article, The Guardian reported on the refusal of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to declare De Silva, who is accused of alleged involvement in war crimes committed during the last months of the Sri Lankan civil war, persona non grata. According to a spokesperson of the Sri Lankan Government, De Silva will shortly be sent back to Sri Lanka, tehreby avoiding being questioned by the british authorities. The report refers tp a 28-pages background dossier prepared by the Society for Threatened Peoples with support of ECCHR and TRIAL.

The submission of this dossier to the FCO and to the Prime Minister on 24 January 2012 has been confirmed to the Guardian by the FCO. Prepared on the basis of authoritative and reliable sources, including the United Nations Panel of Experts report, the dossier includes detailed information on allegedly targeted attacks on the civilian population and hospitals allegedly carried out by troops commanded by Major General De Silva in the North of Sri Lanka. The authors conclude that there is sufficient evidence against Mr. De Silva to prompt a criminal investigation.

The British Government has known about Major General De Silva’s presence for some time. In October 2011 the Foreign Office stated that it was aware of the allegations against Mr. De Silva, but that there was no concrete evidence against him. Furthermore, Mr. De Silva could only be prosecuted in the UK after his diplomatic immunity had been waived.

STP, ECCHR and TRIAL now  publicly call to the UK government to immediately take the indicated measures in order to initiate a criminal investigation before a possible return of De Silva to Sri Lanka.

Regrettably, the Foreign Office has not taken any steps to end Mr. De Silva’s immunity neither after receiving the background dossier in January, nor after a dialogue with the authoring organizations in March.

STP, ECCHR and TRIAL state that “instead of complying with its international obligations to immediately investigate allegations of war crimes, the British government permitted access to its territory for an alleged war criminal and grants him diplomatic immunity from criminal investigations. The British government has tolerated impunity with regard to war crimes committed in Sri Lanka by both parties to the conflict. Suspects of war crimes must no longer profit from diplomatic immunity”.

STP, ECCHR and TRIAL now  publicly call to the UK government to immediately take the indicated measures in order to initiate a criminal investigation before a possible return of De Silva to Sri Lanka.

The British government has in the past expressed its disappointment in the failure of the Sri Lankan authorities to adequately investigate the countless credible allegations of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law in Sri Lanka. The case of Major General De Silva now presents the opportunity for the British Government to show through concrete judicial and political steps that it is indeed unacceptable for suspects of these crimes to escape justice.

Joint press release of Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and TRIAL (Track Impunity Always).

ICTY PRESS RELEASE

Sarajevo, 4 April 2012

A public debate on wartime sexual violence and accountability was held today in Sarajevo during which the Tribunal’s Outreach Programme premiered its documentary “Sexual Violence and the Triumph of Justice“. The event was attended by some 80 guests, amongst whom were victims, Bosnian government officials, members of academia, Embassy and NGO representatives as well as journalists. 

The public dialogue, organised in cooperation with TRIAL and Medica Zenica with the support of UN Women and the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, highlighted the challenges, gaps and efforts in obtaining justice and redress for survivors of wartime sexual violence in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The focus was on the rights of the victims, the obligations of states in ensuring accountability for crimes of wartime sexual violence and the pursuit of criminal justice for these crimes.The Outreach Programme’s documentary was praised by the audience. “I would like to congratulate the Outreach program on this film which presents the important work of the Tribunal in prosecuting crimes of sexual violence, as well as the support and care provided to witnesses who come to testify in The Hague. I believe it would be useful to provide copies of the film to all judges and prosecutors in BiH in order to encourage them in their future work on war crimes cases,” said Bakira Hasečić, Head of the Association Women Victims of War.

The screening was followed by a round table discussion. The panel was composed of  Nerma Jelačić, ICTY Head of Outreach; Lejla Mamut, Human Rights Co-ordinator at TRIAL; Božidarka Dodik and Ibro Bulić from the BiH Prosecutor’s Office; Alma Taso-Deljković, Head of the Witness Support Office at the BiH Court; Gorana Mlinarević, ACIP’s project coordinator for “Implementation of gender-sensitive monitoring of trials of war sexual violence cases in the Court of BiH”; Esma Palić, expert team member of the Sexual Violence Victims Improvement Programme; and Sahiba Haskić, Director of NGO Medica Zenica.

The panelists spoke about the rights of and support provided to victims and witnesses of wartime sexual violence and the prosecution of war crimes containing elements of sexual violence in cases before local Bosnian courts.

Lejla Mamut from TRIAL emphasised that “in line with the international obligations it has accepted, BiH has the duty to guarantee victims of gross human rights violations, including victims of rape and sexual violence, their right to truth, justice and reparation. In order to help victims resort to existing international mechanisms and demand the realization of their rights by the State, TRIAL drafted and presented a Guide containing information about all relevant international instruments and stating the procedures which need to be followed, hoping that victims and their representatives will reach out for the existing international instruments and in that way exert pressure on the State to guarantee their rights.”

Speaking about the prosecution of war crimes containing elements of wartime sexual violence before national judiciary in BiH, Božidarka Dodik, a prosecutor if the BiH Office of the Prosecutor, concluded: “For a judicial system to be truly efficient in prosecuting these types of crimes, it must be supported not only by institutional mechanisms that the state is required to provide, but also through activities of civil society which should work towards raising the awareness of citizens and combating existing prejudices, and exert constant pressure against all those responsible for the progress of society as a whole.”

Similar events will be held in Tuzla on 19 April, Mostar on 24 April and Prijedor from 22 to 26 May 2012.

In April 2012, TRIAL and 9 local associations working with former camp detainees from all sides, submitted a report (called ‘general allegation’ in the UN jargon) to the Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel, Inhumane and Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in order to highlight the remaining obstacles preventing Bosnia and Herzegovina’s full implementation of international obligations in regards to the issue of former camp detainees.

By refusing to give prosecuting authorities the necessary means, Switzerland takes the risk of becoming a safe haven for war criminals and torturers. The Swiss Coalition for the International Criminal Court has submitted a petition to the Swiss Government today, asking for the creation of a war crimes unit tasked with investigating and prosecuting authors of genocides, war crimes and torture present in Switzerland. The petition has been signed by over 10,000 people.

This press release does not exist in English.

Geneva, 15 February 2012.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee recently condemned Algeria in two separate cases of enforced disappearances. In November 1994, Mr. Kamel Djebrouni, 31 years old, was abducted from his home in Algiers by a group of soldiers. He has not been seen since. In May and in November 1996, the brothers Djamel and Mourad Chihoub were arrested one after the other at their home in Baraki (outskirts of Algiers). Djamel was then 19, and Mourad 16. Their fate remains unknown to this date.

The Djebrouni and Chihoub families left no stone unturned in the quest to discover the whereabouts of their beloved ones. The two cases have been brought before all the relevant judicial, political and administrative authorities.. Yet no investigation has been opened and no one has ever been indicted..

In two separate decisions (Djebrouni v. Algeria and Chihoub v. Algeria), the Human Rights Committee held that, because of the disappearances of Kamel Djebrouni and Djamel and Mourad Chihoub, Algeria violated several articles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (one of the most important  international conventions within the United Nations system), namely 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 families of the three disappeared persons an inadmissible treatment by way of the severe mental distress and anguish they were forced to endure.

The Committee requests Algeria “to conduct a deep and rigorous investigation into the disappearance” of Kamel Djebrouni and of Djamel and Mourad Chihoub. Algeria is also requested to “provide their families 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 families. Moreover the Committee insists on Algeria’s obligation to “indict, put on trial and punish those responsible for the violations committed”. Algeria was also required to pay an appropriate compensation to the families of the victims 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 Order n°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 these latest decisions by the Committee condemning Algeria. According to Philip Grant, Director of the organisation, “in Algeria impunity for crimes committed during the civil war is absolute. Not a single perpetrator has in fact ever been prosecuted. The United Nations has unmistakably reminded Algeria that such a system, even though sanctioned by national law, blatantly violates international law”. Mr. Grant added that “the international community should require that Algeria respect the international conventions that Algeria itself signed up to. The families of the three disappeared persons, just as the thousands of persons who are still waiting to know the fate of their loved ones, have a right to truth and justice.”

Context

These two cases represent the third and the fourth cases submitted by TRIAL resulting in  a final decision. In May and June 2011, the Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture had already condemned Algeria for, respectively, an enforced disappearance case and a case of death under torture. Another fourteen cases are currently pending before the Human Rights Committee and the Committee against Torture concerning Algeria.

In total TRIAL has submitted more than 70 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

Geneva, 10 February 2012
Hundreds of perpetrators of serious human rights violations in Nepal remain free. The possibility to hold them accountable for their crimes is inexistent as the main Nepalese parties agree to grant a blanket amnesty for most crimes perpetrated by both State and Maoist forces during the armed conflict that ravaged Nepal between 1996 and 2006.

More than 5 years after the Supreme Court issued its landmark decision confirming the enforced disappearance and torture of dozens of persons by the Nepalese police and military during the decade-long conflict, impunity continues being the rule in Nepal.

Such is the case for the perpetrators of the enforced disappearance of human rights defender Rajendra Dhakal and ironmonger Padam Narayan Nakarmi. Mr. Dhakal was arbitrarily deprived of his liberty and disappeared by Nepalese police forces on 8 January 1999. Mr. Nakarmi was also illegally arrested and subsequently forcibly disappeared by members of the Royal Nepal Army on 23 September 2003. Their fate until this day remains unknown.

The Supreme Court judicially confirmed Mr. Dhakal’s illegal arrest and enforced disappearance by a police team under the command of erstwhile Police Inspector K.B.R. (name omitted). It also concluded that Mr. Nakarmi succumbed to death as a result of the torture inflicted upon him by the Royal Nepal Army at the infamous Bhairabnath Battalion barracks.

Despite the findings of the Supreme Court, the numerous eyewitnesses to their arbitrary deprivation of liberty and the countless attempts by their families to locate Mr. Dhakal and Mr. Nakarmi, the national authorities have stubbornly denied their arrest and refused to reveal any information concerning their fate and whereabouts. This together with the proposed amnesty bill, clearly demonstrates the unwillingness and inability of the government of Nepal to prosecute human rights violators and adopt transitional justice mechanisms that live-up to international standards.

Reiterating its commitment to justice and accountability in Nepal, TRIAL (Swiss association against impunity) submitted the cases of Mr. Dhakal and Mr. Nakarmi’s enforced disappearance to the United Nations Human Rights Committee. TRIAL has called on the Committee to request the government of Nepal to ensure a prompt investigation into the arbitrary deprivation of liberty and subsequent enforced disappearance of Mr. Dhakal and Mr. Nakarmi, to bring the perpetrators to justice, provide their relatives with adequate compensation and measures of reparation and in the event of their death, to locate, exhume, identify and return their mortal remains to their families.

The cases of Mr. Dhakal and Mr. Nakarmi are, sadly, not unique. Local and international human rights organizations estimated the number of enforced disappearances attributed to the security forces during the conflict at over one thousand.

In the last two years TRIAL had already submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Committee five Nepalese cases concerning some of the most heinous human rights violations such as arbitrary detention, torture and enforced disappearance dating back to the civil war.

n November 2011, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child issued its Concluding Observations concerning the Democratic Republic of Congo and Thailand, setting forth a series of recommendations in line with what TRIAL had called for in its alternative reports submitted in April and August 2011.

In April and August 2011, TRIAL had submitted to the Committee two reports, the core of which was a critical analysis of Congolese and Thai domestic legislation underlining their incompatibility with the provisions of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvment of Children in Armed Conflict and dealing with the obligation to introduce domestic criminal provisions allowing the repression of the crimes related to children involvement in armed conflict and the prosecution of these offences according to the principle of universal jurisdiction.

In brief, the Committee followed TRIAL demands requesting the two States to adopt domestic provisions properly criminalizing the different crimes related to children involvement in armed conflict and allowing the prosecution of alleged offenders, even for acts committed abroad, only by the very fact that the suspect is found on their territory.

TRIAL had submitted a third report concerning Greece in 2011. The Committee should issue its Observations on Greece during its next session in June 2012.

For further information

In its January/February 2012 issue, the Global Journal ranked TRIAL within the Top 100 best NGOs worldwide. The Global Journal is a new journal which takes a fresh look at global governance, issues and players from Geneva and New York. TRIAL is very proud to have achieved this after only 10 years of existence. Giorgio Malinverni, TRIAL’s president, states: “This award is a recognition of TRIAL’s serious and dynamic approach and the important gap it is filling in the field of human rights.”

 

Please click here to access the article, please click here.

RTEmagicC_Top_100_NGOs_02.png

In November 2011, the Committee against Torture issued its Concluding Observations concerning Sri Lanka, Bulgaria and Germany, setting forth a series of recommendations in line with what TRIAL had called for in its alternative reports submitted in September 2011.

In September 2011, TRIAL had submitted to the Committee three reports the core of which was a critical analysis of Sri Lankan, Bulgarian and German domestic legislation underlining their incompatibility with the provisions of the Convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment dealing with the obligation to introduce domestic criminal provisions allowing the repression of the crime of torture and the prosecution of these acts according to the principle of universal jurisdiction.

In brief, the Committee followed TRIAL demands requesting the three States to adopt domestic provisions properly criminalizing the crime of torture and allowing the prosecution of suspected torturers, even for acts committed abroad, only by the very fact that the suspect is found on their territory.

TRIAL had submitted a fourth report concerning Greece. Due to the fact that the State was not present at the last session, the Committee is going to issue its Observations on Greece in the upcoming months.

For further information

  • Special TRIAL page on universal jurisdiction and the United Nations Treaty Bodies
  • TRIAL Report on Sri Lanka
  • Concluding Observations of the Committee on Sri Lanka
  • TRIAL Report on Bulgaria
  • Concluding Observations of the Committee on Bulgaria
  • TRIAL Report on Germany
  • Concluding Observations of the Committee on Germany

Sarajevo / Geneva 15 December 2011

In December 2011 TRIAL (Swiss Association against Impunity), seven associations of relatives of missing persons, five associations working on the subject of women victims of rape or other forms of sexual violence during the war and four associations or federations of associations of former concentration camp-detainees submitted a report to the United Nations Human Rights Committee (HRC) to react to the second periodic report on the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) that Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) presented on 17 November 2010.

At its 104th session (New York, 12 to 30 March 2012), a special task force within the HRC will study the periodic report of the State together with the information shared by TRIAL and its partner associations and it will formulate a “list of issues” on which it deems appropriate to request further information and explanations to BiH.

“The report highlights a number of matters on which the State did not comprehensively inform the HRC” said Ms. Lejla Mamut, the Human Rights Coordinator of TRIAL in Sarajevo. “Indeed, we do consider that these subjects are crucial in terms of full enforcement of BiH’s international obligations and we therefore call on the HRC to include specific matters, in particular related to the situation of relatives of missing persons, former camp-detainees and victims of sexual violence from the war, in the list of issues that it will submit to BiH”.

BiH will be then given some months to formulate its answer to the questions put forward by the HRC. The latter will analyse the replies and adopt its concluding observations and relevant recommendations between October and November 2012.

Ms. Selma Korjenić, TRIAL’s Human Rights Officer in charge of sexual violence for BiH indicated that “in the concluding observations on BiH that the HRC adopted in 2006, the State had already been recommended to take effective measures with regard to the mentioned categories of people. Unfortunately, it does not appear that much has been done to implement the previous recommendations. It is therefore of the utmost importance to provide extensive information to the HRC, expressing the view-point of civil society and giving voice to those that are usually left behind”.

The report submitted to the HRC thoroughly analyses the situation of relatives of missing persons, former camp-detainees and victims of sexual violence from the war, pointing out how their basic rights, enshrined and guaranteed in the ICCPR, continue being violated more than 16 years after the conclusion of the conflict. Furthermore, a number of questions considered to be crucial to understand what the State has done or is planning to do in order to address this situation are spelled out, in the hope that the HRC will reproduce those questions and submit them to BiH.

“The report formulates almost 50 questions on which we would like to learn the position of the State. Nevertheless, they could easily be summarised: how and when does BiH plan to finally guarantee relatives of missing persons, victims of sexual violence and former camp-detainees their right to know the truth, to justice and to redress?”, concluded Ms. Lejla Mamut and Ms. Selma Korjenić.

Ultimately, BiH owes the answer to this question to the international community, but even before that, to the whole BiH society.

Overall Context 

It is estimated that around 100,000 persons died as a consequence of the conflict in BiH during the period 1992-1995 and that between 25,000 and 30,000 were victims of enforced disappearance. As of today, between 10,000 and 13,000 people are still missing. During the war the use of rape or other forms of sexual violence was widespread (rates of victims of sexual violence vary from 20,000 to 50,000). It is also known that during the war clandestine detention facilities were set up. At present, 652 places of detention have been registered. The total number of people who were held in the mentioned concentration camps has not been determined with certainty.

In September 2010 TRIAL and six organisations of relatives of missing persons submitted to the HRC information on the subject of missing people, in order to highlight the progresses made, as well as the remaining obstacles for the full implementation of the recommendations issued in November 2006 by the HRC. TRIAL has also filed 40 individual complaints before the European Court of Human Rights or the UN Human Rights Committee on behalf of relatives of missing persons. In May 2011, TRIAL and 12 associations dealing with the subject of victims of rape or other forms of sexual violence during the war submitted a general allegation to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, its Causes and Consequences to highlight the ongoing violations suffered by this category of people. In October 2011, TRIAL, seven associations of relatives of missing persons, seven associations working with victims of sexual violence and four associations of former camp-detainees submitted a follow-up report to the UN Committee against Torture (CAT) to provide it with information on the implementation by BiH of the concluding observations issued by CAT in November 2010. TRIAL will continue to resort to international mechanisms for the protection of human rights in order to turn the attention to the situation of families of missing persons, victims of sexual violence, as well as former camp-detainees in BiH and to put pressure on the government to work harder for the improvement of the current position of these groups of victims.

For further information

  • On the individual complaints filed before the European Court of Human Rights or the UN Human Rights Committee, see here.
  • For the report submitted in September 2010 to the HRC see here.
  • For the concluding observations on BiH issued in 2006 by the HRC, see here See also TRIAL’s website in the local language: trialinternational.org/BiH.

Since January 2011, Switzerland disposes of a thorough legal arsenal for prosecuting war criminals and other torturers present on Swiss territory. But the practical means available in this respect are clearly insufficient as criminals often use Western countries as a refuge and manage to stay there without any worries. Consequently, Switzerland should set up a special unit in charge of tracking down international crimes, following the example of several other European States.

On 1 January 2011 new provisions implementing the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court into Swiss law entered into force. Crimes against humanity have found their way into the Swiss Criminal Code along with a more precise definition of war crimes. The Office of the Attorney General of the Swiss Confederation is now in charge of the prosecution of these crimes. His competence goes as far as to also apply to crimes committed abroad by foreign nationals finding themselves on Swiss territory (universal jurisdiction).

Criticising the lack of effectiveness


While the International Criminal Court starts hearing the case of the former Ivorian president Laurent Gbabo, less renowned criminals travel the world sheltered from justice. In Switzerland, the first and so far only conviction dates back to ten years (a Rwandan national sentenced to 14 years in jail for his participation in the genocide). Although NGOs such as TRIAL managed to track down some suspects on Swiss territory, these people nevertheless represent just the tip of the iceberg. 

This lack of effectiveness is mainly due to the absence of a special unit in charge of prosecuting these criminals. In fact, at present, only two federal prosecutors are dealing with such cases on a part-time basis. Whereas several Western countries have already successfully set up specialised teams, Switzerland is lagging behind. In this respect, the Swiss Coalition for the International Criminal Court, which includes the main human rights organizations in Switzerland, is launching a campaign aimed at raising the awareness of the swiss authorities. It urges them to close this gap as soon as possible in order to avoid that Switzerland becomes a refuge for the perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

 

Among the personalities supporting the campaign are Dick Marty, well-known for his long-standing struggle against impunity, and former European Court of Human Rights judge Giorgio Malinverni. According to Richard Greiner, coordinator of the Swiss Coalition for the International Criminal Court, “the Swiss law is rather developed in the fight against impunity. But in order for the provisions to be effectively applied, Switzerland needs to acquire the means for their implementation. This requires a better coordination of the different actors involved in tracking down war criminals, meaning inevitably the creation of a special unit. Such a unit would allow for a better training of policemen and officers, a more enhanced information exchange between the Office of the Attorney General and the Office for Migration as well as for a better cooperation with international tribunals”.

 

The performance of such a war crimes unit mainly hinges upon the level of political will. If Switzerland does not want to be sloppy about international criminal justice, it should seriously start thinking about adopting the means necessary to the realisation of these goals by starting the to prosecute egregious criminals present on its territory.

 

Links:
Special pages of the campaign “War crimes Unit”
Swiss Coalition for the International Criminal Court website
Article of Philip Grant, Plaidoyer, Pour une unité spécialisée traquant les crimes de guerre

 

With the support of:

Action des Chrétiens pour l’Abolition de la Torture (ACAT) | Alliance Sud | Amnesty International – Swiss section | Association for the prévention of torture (APT) | Humanrights. ch/MERS | International Commission of Jurists, Swiss section | Ligue Suisse des Droits de l’Homme | World organisation against torture (OMCT) | Society for threatened people | TRIAL (Swiss association against impunity)

In December 2011, TRIAL and 16 associations of relatives of missing persons, of victims of sexual violence and of former concentration camp detainees in Bosnia and Herzegovina from all sides, submitted a 51-page report following Bosnia and Herzegovina’s own second periodical report before the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

Read press release.

A sole candidate for the TRIAL Presidency. But what a candidate!

RTEmagicC_giorgio_malinverni.1_06.jpgGiorgio Malinverni, who recently retired from his post as Judge at the European Court of Human Rights, will in all likelihood become the next President of TRIAL.

Giorgio Malinverni, was born in 1941. He carried out his studies at the universities of Fribourg and Geneva.In 1980, he was appointed Professor at the University of Geneva where he taught constitutional law, international law and international human rights law. In 2006, he was elected as Judge of the European Court of Human Rights where he sat in this capacity from February 2007 until October 2011.

TRIAL, a NGO specialized in the fight against impunity for perpetrators of serious international crimes, is delighted that it will soon have at its head such a highly regarded personality.

According to Philip Grant, the Director of TRIAL, “Giorgio Malinverni will bring to TRIAL his wide knowledge of human rights issues which will further enhance its work in favour of the victims. In his role as judge, he was called upon to pass judgment on dozens of cases related to enforced disappearances or extrajudicial executions committed in Chechnya. We have here therefore a renowned international expert together with whom the entire TRIAL team is impatient to start working”.

For his part Giorgio Malinverni stated that “after having taught human rights as a university professor, and after officiating as a judge, the time has now come for me to take up a new role as a citizen. Working for TRIAL, I hope to promote the cause of justice on behalf of the victims in order that the law might contribute to putting an end to barbarity“.

The current President of TRIAL, François Membrez, will stay on as a member of the NGO’s Board, of which he is a member since TRIAL was founded in 2002. He will continue to officiate therein as Vice-President. The organization is therefore highly pleased to be able to continue to benefit from his wide experience

Following various assertions published in the media in connection with the Khaled Nezzar case, TRIAL wishes to clarify the following:

1. TRIAL (Swiss association against impunity) is an independent, apolitical and non-confessional organisation and has consultative status before the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The main objective of TRIAL is to put the law at the service of the victims of international crimes (genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture and enforced disappearances).

In this sense, TRIAL fights against the impunity of the perpetrators and instigators of the most serious international crimes and their accomplices and defends the interests of the victims (whoever they are) before Swiss tribunals, international human rights organisms and the International Criminal Court.

Contrary to what has sometimes been stated, TRIAL does not side with any faction, party or State: it initiates proceedings against individuals suspected of serious violations of human rights, without discrimination. Its only purpose is to defend victims of the most heinous crimes.

The organisation does not answer to the CIA or Islamist networks and is not a member of any Masonic Lodge, as it has sometimes been asserted.

TRIAL reserves the right to take any legal action in case of defamatory statements.

2. At this stage, only two criminal complaints and a denunciation have been filed in the Khaled Nezzar case.

TRIAL challenges any assertion to the contrary.

3. TRIAL has a clear and transparent communication. The organization regrets that several articles and reports containing erroneous facts in connection with the case have been published by certain media without prior consultation.

TRIAL remains available to journalists who wish to check and validate information.

In 2008-2009, Mr Dias was the Major General of the 57th Division of the Sri Lankan army, tasked with attacking the Tamil Tigers during the final offensive against the rebel group. In this respect, he is alleged to have committed serious violations of the law of war. It is alleged that, from December 2008 to January 2009, the town of Kilinochchi was relentlessly shelled by his troops, destroying the entire infrastructure, including a hospital, and forcing tens of thousands of civilians into exile. It is also alleged that the 57th Division was involved in the bombardment of areas that had been defined as “no fire zones” and, therefore, supposedly safe zones for civilians, causing a veritable blood bath.

In September 2009, Jagath Dias was appointed Deputy-Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Switzerland, Germany and the Holy See. Based on a case put together by its partner ECCHR, TRIAL International and Société pour la protection des peuples menacés launched a campaign to get Mr Dias stripped of his diplomatic status. Faced with the passiveness of the authorities, in August 2011, the NGOs filed a criminal report against Jagath Dias before the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland.

After this campaign, Mr Dias was dismissed in early September 2011. For the very first time, a diplomat had been fired on the grounds of suspected serious violations of human rights.

In dealing with the criminal complaint, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland decided to close the case. However, it stated that it would open an investigation into the important allegations of suspected war crimes against Mr Dias if he represented himself on Swiss territory. If that were to happen, it would be the first time for a judicial authority to acknowledge the commission of war crimes by the Sri Lankan army.

 

Bern/Geneva/Berlin, 13.09.2011

According to media reports today, Jagath Dias, a former Sri Lankan General suspected of having committed war crimes, was stripped of his diplomatic status. The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), TRIAL (Swiss association against impunity) and ECCHR (European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights) welcome this decision. However, these human rights associations reiterate their initial demand: Jagath Dias must be brought to justice. The STP and TRIAL have recently filed criminal charges against him in Switzerland.

Dias is the Deputy Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Switzerland, Germany and the Vatican. He is suspected of having committed war crimes during the last phase of the conflict in Sri Lanka when he was one of the leading generals on the frontline. In January 2011, ECCHR published a report detailing allegations of war crimes. In particular, this report highlights the attacks carried out by the 57th Division under Jagath Dias’s orders, against the civilian population in protected areas and against hospitals, humanitarian facilities and religious sites. In January 2011, the STP and TRIAL initially called upon on the Federal Council to take measures against Mr. Dias. In August 2011, a criminal complaint was eventually filed against him.

A first step in the fight against impunity

According to media reports today, Mr Dias could already have been sent back – following the recent announcement by Swiss authorities that measures have been taken against him. The intervention of the three non-governmental organizations has thus led to the removal of the diplomatic status of Mr. Dias. These organizations now invite the Attorney-General of the Swiss Confederation to monitor Jagath Dias’ possible presence in Switzerland and to issue an arrest warrant if he were to enter the country. 

The STP, TRIAL and ECCHR also invite the Swiss government to ensure that it takes into serious consideration any allegations of international crimes when examining visas requests from diplomatic personnel. If no impartial investigation has yet been initiated, the matter should also be transferred to the criminal prosecution authorities. Another case like that of Mr. Dias, where the granting of a diplomatic visa has probably prevented a criminal investigation, must be prevented. 

See also: 

Geneva/Bern, 22nd September 2011

Following a criminal complaint brought by TRIAL (Swiss association against impunity) and the Society for threatened peoples (SPM) against the Sri Lankan Deputy Ambassador to Switzerland, Jagath Dias, for war crimes, the Swiss Federal Attorney General has decided that a criminal investigation will be launched if Mr. Dias were to come back on Swiss territory, because of “his personal involvement in the atrocities committed”.

RTEmagicC_dias_03.jpgOn 13 September, media reports already announced that Mr. Dias, former Deputy Ambassador for Sri Lanka in Germany, Switzerland and the Vatican, had been stripped of his diplomatic status because he was strongly suspected of having committed war crimes. During the last phase of the internal conflict in Sri Lanka he was the major general of the 57th Division of the Sri Lankan Army, which is accused of intensive shelling of civilians, hospitals and religious sites. In August 2011, TRIAL and the SPM filed a criminal complaint with the Federal Attorney General against Jagath Dias for war crimes based on the previous facts.

The above-mentioned organisations have just received a 5-page decision dating back to 16 September 2011 by which the Federal Attorney General decided not to open an investigation, on the ground that Mr. Dias was no longer present on Swiss territory. However, the Federal Attorney General pointed out that several episodes of the conflict “highlight Mr Dias’ personal involvement in the military operations undertaken and in the attrocities committed”. Accordingly, the federal judicial authority considers that “the existing suspicions against him are enough to justify the opening of a criminal investigation” in the event that Mr Dias comes back to Switzerland.

Acknowledging the suffering of victims

TRIAL and the SPM welcome the decision of the Federal Attorney General. According to Philip Grant, the director of TRIAL, “Sri Lanka still denies the extent of the crimes committed. As long as no impartial investigation is carried out in Sri Lanka, the authors of these crimes may be punished abroad”. Angela Mattli, head of campaigns at the SPM, says that “after this judicial decision, the time has now come for the politics to send a clear message to the sri-lankan government: impunity for war crimes is not an option any more”.

The aforementioned organisations now invite the Swiss authorities to put pressure on the Sri-Lankan government to conduct impartial investigations about the war crimes committed by the sri-lankan armed forces and the Tamil Tigers and to prosecute the authors of these crimes.

Context

From the end of 2008 until May 2009, the Sri-Lankan government launched its final offensive to take control of the last territories in the hands of the guerrilla of the Tamil Tigers. The peak of horror was reached during this period: according to UN sources approximately 40,000 civilians were slaughtered. As such, both parties to the conflict have been responsible for multiple serious violations of international law, which, to date, have not been impartially investigated, neither in Sri Lanka nor before an international tribunal.

Sarajevo/Geneva, 14 October 2011

 

TRIAL (Swiss Association against Impunity), seven associations of relatives of missing persons, seven associations dealing with women victims of sexual violence during the war and four associations dealing with former concentration-camp detainees submit a follow-up report to the United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT).

In October 2011 TRIAL, seven associations of relatives of missing persons(1), seven associations working on the subject of women victims of rape or other forms of sexual violence during the war(2) and four associations or federations of associations of former concentration camp-detainees(3) have submitted a follow-up report to the CAT to highlight the absence of any significant progress with regard to the fulfilment of the international obligations of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). In fact, in November 2010, after having examined BiH’s periodic report, the CAT issued a number of conclusions and recommendations related to the obligations of BiH pursuant to the Convention against Torture. On that occasion the CAT requested BiH to submit follow-up information within one year with regard to the implementation of some of the recommendations contained in its concluding observations.

In particular, BiH failed to modify its criminal legislation with regard to crimes of sexual violence committed during the war and to bring it into accordance with international law; to solve the systemic problem of non-implementation of decisions and rulings issued by the Constitutional Court of BiH; to establish the Fund for Support for the Families of Missing Persons; and to guarantee adequate compensation and integral reparation for the harm suffered to relatives of missing persons, former camp-detainees and women victims of rape or other forms of sexual violence during the war.

“Relatives of missing people, victims of war-time rape and former camp detainees feel discouraged by the lack of implementation of the recommendations formulated by the CAT one year ago” said Ms. Lejla Mamut, the Human Rights Coordinator of TRIAL in Sarajevo. “All the more so, because authorities have not fulfilled their rights over the past 20 years: some of these people are dying and they have not seen justice done, nor have they obtained adequate compensation for the harm suffered or learned the truth about the fate or whereabouts of their loved ones”.

Although some actions have been undertaken on the recommendations formulated by the CAT with regard, for instance, to the investigation, judgment and sanction of crimes committed during the war, the pace of this process is far from satisfactory and the National Strategy for War Crimes is not being implemented in an effective manner.

Ms. Selma Korjenić, TRIAL’s Human Rights Officer in charge of sexual violence for BiH stressed that women victims of sexual violence during the war continue to experience serious troubles in realizing their rights. She highlights that “in some cases, associations dealing with this category of victims have been subjected to instances of harassment, threats or attacks that have been reported to competent authorities. However, to date those responsible for the crimes concerned have not been duly judged and sanctioned”.

In its concluding observations of November 2010, the CAT also recommended that BiH takes a number of measures with regard to the adoption of the law on the rights of victims of torture and civil victims of war; to the functioning of the Missing Persons Institute (MPI); to the completion of the Central Record of the Missing Persons (CEN); to the establishment of a mechanism to keep families of missing persons informed on the progress made in the process of exhumation and identification of mortal remains and to provide them psycho-social assistance during the process; and to the ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

With minor exceptions, none of the measures recommended in 2010 by the CAT has been fully implemented to date, leaving relatives of missing persons, former camp-detainees and women victims of rape during the war to bear the brunt of violations that have been ongoing over the past 19 years. “This situation is causing a climate of deep distrust among victims of gross human rights violations from the war and their relatives towards Bosnian institutions and, given that not even the recommendations of international mechanisms are proving to be effective, there is a general feeling of powerlessness and frustration. BiH remains in breach of its international obligations” concluded Ms. Aleksandra Nedzi, TRIAL’s legal consultant in Sarajevo. “However”, she added, “TRIAL will continue monitoring this process and reporting to international mechanisms until this impasse is eventually overcome and the rights to truth, to justice and to reparation are fully guaranteed”.

Overall Context

It is estimated that around 100,000 persons died as a consequence of the conflict in BiH during the period 1992-1995 and that between 25,000 and 30,000 were victims of enforced disappearance. As of today, between 10,000 and 13,000 people are still missing. During the war the use of rape or other forms of sexual violence was widespread (rates of victims of sexual violence vary from 20,000 to 50,000). It is also known that during the war clandestine detention facilities were set up. At present, 652 places of detention have been registered. The total number of people who were held in the mentioned concentration camps has not been determined with certainty.

In October 2010 TRIAL, together with 11 local associations of relatives of missing persons and organizations dealing with women victims of rape or other forms of sexual violence submitted an alternative report to the CAT. Many of the recommendations contained in that 80-page report were reproduced in the concluding observations issued in November 2010 by the CAT. TRIAL has also filed 40 individual complaints before the European Court of Human Rights or the UN Human Rights Committee on behalf of relatives of missing persons. In May 2011, TRIAL and 12 associations dealing with the subject of victims of rape or other forms of sexual violence during the war submitted a general allegation to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, its Causes and Consequences to highlight the ongoing violations suffered by this category of people. TRIAL will continue to resort to international mechanisms for the protection of human rights in order to turn the attention to the situation of families of missing persons, victims of sexual violence, as well as former camp-detainees in BiH and to put pressure on the government to work harder for the improvement of the current position of these groups of victims.

For further information
  • Read the executive summary
  • Read the full document
  • On the individual complaints filed by TRIAL before the European Court of Human Rights or the UN Human Rights Committee, see here.
  • For the report submitted in October 2010 to the CAT see here.
  • See also TRIAL’s website in the local language: trialinternational.org/BiH.

 

[1] 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; and Association of Women from Prijedor – Izvor.

[2] Association of Women-Victims of War; the Centre for Legal Assistance to Women Zenica; Infoteka Women’s Information and Documentation Centre; Sumejja Gerc; Viktorija 99; Vive Žene Tuzla; and the Women’s Section of the Concentration Camp Torture Survivors Canton Sarajevo.

[3] Association of the Concentration Camp-Detainees – Bosnia and Herzegovina; Association of the Concentration Camp-Detainees of the Republika Srpska; Croatian Association of War Prisoners of the Homeland War in Canton of Central Bosnia; and Prijedor 92.

In October 2011, TRIAL and 19 associations of relatives of missing persons, of victims of sexual violence and of former concentration camps detainees in Bosnia and Herzegovina submitted to the United Nations Committee against Torture a 52-page report showing how the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina have failed to enforce the November 2010 recommendations of the Committee against Torture.

Read the press release

Geneva, 6 July 2011

Impunity still exists in the Mount Elgon district in Western Kenya where hundreds of men were subject to enforced disappearance by the government in the context of a military operation in 2008. For the second time this year, TRIAL (Swiss association against impunity) in partnership with the local NGO Western Kenya Human Rights Watch (WKHRW) seized the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances by submitting twenty individual cases of enforced disappearances attributed to the military in Kenya.

TRIAL presented these cases to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (UNWGEID) during a private meeting with  members of the Working Group, representatives of TRIAL and the Executive Director of Western Kenya Human Rights Watch, which was held today in Geneva to discuss the situation of enforced disappearances in Mt. Elgon and during which TRIAL appealed to the experts once again to transmit these cases to the government of Kenya.

Under the mandate of the Working Group, individuals may report cases of enforced disappearances to the UNWGEID. The Working Group then transmits these cases to the government concerned with a view to ensuring that an investigation is carried out and the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared person are established. In this sense, the Working Group acts as a channel of communication between the families of the victims or their representatives and the governments.

To this day, TRIAL and WKHRW have filed a total of 40 cases to the Working Group. Dozens more have been documented and are under preparation for submission to the Working Group on completion. In addition to the cases already filed, in May of this year TRIAL submitted a general allegation to the Working Group on the legislation concerning enforced disappearances in Kenya and on the background to the situation, pointing out the various obstacles encountered in the respect and implementation of the 1992 Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

Up until May of this year, when TRIAL and WKHRW submitted the first twenty individual cases of enforced disappearances in Mount Elgon, the Working Group had not received a single case of enforced disappearance concerning Kenya, despite this being the appropriate organ within the United Nations to deal with this phenomenon.

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 three years after the operation took place, b.No investigation into these crimes has been initiated and 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 further information