Judicial Body: UN Human Rights Committee (CCPR)

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

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

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

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

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

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

For more information:

See the summary of the case on the site Sahbi TRIAL

Joint press release of TRIAL and Alkarama

Geneva, 27 June 2012

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Read the Human Rights Committee Decision
• See the Aboufaied case

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gross violations condemned by the UN Human Rights Committee

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

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

A landmark decision giving hope for the future

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

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

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

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

For more information

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

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

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

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

Among the issues addressed in the report are:

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

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

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

• Nepal’s ongoing failure to criminalise crimes against humanity, war crimes, torture and enforced disappearance.

• Nepal’s ongoing failure to sanction rape with appropriate penalties and to remove the 35-day limitation on reporting such crimes.

• Nepal’s ongoing failure to provide adequate reparation to both conflict and post-conflict victims of serious human rights violations.

• Nepal’s ongoing failure to establish the fate and whereabouts of some 1,300 alleged cases of conflict-era enforced disappearance and to establish a system for exhumation, identification and return of mortal remains to relatives.

• Nepal’s ongoing failure to provide adequate and effective witness and victim protection and support and to respond to threats and reprisals against human rights defenders and victims who attempt to report crimes committed against them by security forces.

• Nepal’s ongoing failure to prevent and punish serious human rights violations in the post-conflict period, particularly in the Terai region where a pattern of extrajudicial killings, unlawful detentions and torture at the hands of security forces is documented.

• Nepal’s failure to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

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

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

Disappeared and tortured

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

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

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

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

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

Total impunity in Nepal for conflict-era crimes

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

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

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

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

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

Alkarama, the Collective of families of disappeared persons in Algeria (CFDA) and TRIAL keep up their efforts for victims of grave human rights violations in Algeria.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee will meet on Monday, March 25, 2013 in order to monitor the implementation of its decisions in cases of human rights violations. In preparation for this meeting, the three afore-mentioned organizations draws the attention of the Committee on Algeria by denouncing the complete lack of implementation of sixteen decisions issued by the Committee condemning the Algerian government. Speaking with one voice, the three organizations call for the adoption of stringent measures of follow-up to ensure that Algerian authorities finally initiate effective investigations into crimes of forced disappearance and summary execution committed during the “black decade” in order to shed light on what happened and identify, prosecute and punish the perpetrators. The victims and their families, who keep living in pain and looking for answers, must have access to an effective remedy and appropriate reparation without delay.

For Rachid Mesli, “the families of the disappeared have placed their trust in the Human Rights Committee when submitting the cases of serious human rights violations they had been victims of. They now expect that the Committee’s decisions, that recognize their suffering and establish the responsibility of the Algerian state, will be finally implemented effectively.”

Nassera Dutour notes that “families have been waiting twenty years for the return of their children and still face the silence of the authorities. The refusal of the Algerian government to implement the Committee’s decisions is even more painful as it tarnishes the memory of the victims. It is high time for the Algerian authorities to seriously deal with the suffering of the families of the disappeared and to take appropriate and concrete steps to uphold their rights.”

Philip Grant recalls that “the United Nations Human Rights Committee ruled in favor of the victims in these sixteen cases after a thorough and impartial review of their complaints. Algerian authorities must therefore comply with the Committee’s findings and uphold their international obligations urgently. Impunity for serious human rights violations must end, and victims and their families must be fully restored in their rights. They have suffered enough!”

The United Nations Human Rights Committee condemned Libya in a new case concerning serious human rights violations committed against Abdeladim Ali Mussa Benali. According to the decision issued by the Committee, the Libyan authorities are required to conduct a thorough investigation to shed light on the enforced disappearances as well as the torture he was subjected to while in detention. The Libyan authorities should free him immediately if he is still being detained, or return his remains to his family if he died in custody. Investigations should also be aimed at punishing the perpetrators of these crimes and granting appropriate compensation to the victim. TRIAL and Alkarama, the organisations representing the victim, call again on Libya to comply with the decision of the Human Rights Committee and to work towards the establishment of genuine rule of law in the country.

Abdeladim Ali Mussa Benali was first arrested on 9 August 1995 by members of the Libyan Internal Security Agency (ISA) and held in detention until 15 October 2002. During his first five years of detention he was deprived of any contact with the outside world and his family was never informed of his situation and whereabouts.

On 16 February 2005, Mr Benali was arrested a second time by ISA agents. This time, his relatives received no news about him until the beginning of 2006, when they were informed that he was being kept in Abu Slim prison, near Tripoli. They were allowed to visit him once a month until the autumn of that year. All visits were then suspended as a collective punishment for a riot which took place in the prison at the beginning of October 2006. The prison protests were met with brutal repression. To avoid a bigger massacre, Mr Benali used a hidden cell phone to acquaint external sources of the incident.

Mr Benali disappeared from the Abu Slim prison on 23 March 2007. His disappearance is probably a reprisal measure from the authorities in response to the role he took during the October 2006 events inside Abu Slim Prison During both detentions, Mr Benali was subjected on many occasions to various kinds of serious torture, years-long isolation periods in a sparse, unhealthy underground cell In almost 10 years of detention, Mr Benali was never charged with any offense and he was never brought before any judicial authority.

In its decision, the Human Rights Committee condemned Libya for multiple violations of the basic human rights contained in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Committee found that Abdeladim Ali Mussa Benali has twice been victim of enforced disappearance, unlawful arrest, torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The Committee also noted that Libya subjected Abdeladim’s brother Mussa Ali Mussa Benali to ill-treatment through the severe mental distress and anguish he was forced to endure because the state refused to release any information about Abdeladim’s fate or his whereabouts for several years.

The Committee obliged Libya to immediately release Abdeladim Ali Mussa Benali, if he is still in detention, or to return his remains to his family if he died in custody. Likewise, Libya is requested to conduct a thorough and effective investigation into his disappearance and the torture he suffered in detention. The Committee also underlined Libya’s obligation to prosecute, try and punish those responsible for the abuses committed, to provide adequate compensation to the victims and to guarantee the non-repetition of those crimes in the future.

TRIAL and Alkarama welcome the recent decision hoping that it may lead to finally establishing the truth about the serious human rights violations committed during the past regime and piercing the veil of impunity that protects the perpetrators of these heinous acts.

This case represents the third case jointly submitted by TRIAL and Alkarama resulting in a final decision. In May 2012 and earlier in February 2013 the Human Rights Committee already condemned Libya for other two cases of multiple human rights violations, including torture and enforced disappearance.

Libya has a period of six months to inform the Committee of the actions taken to implement the Committee’s decision. Both organisations will follow the implementation of the decision by Libya closely to ensure that the victims’ rights and dignity are finally restored.

For more information:

• Read the views of the Human Rights Committee on the Benali case
• Read the summary of the Benali case on TRIAL’s website

The United Nations Human Rights Committee recently condemned Libya following serious human rights violations committed against one of its nationals. According to the decision issued by the Committee, the Libyan authorities are required to conduct a thorough and effective investigation to shed light on the enforced disappearances of Abdussalam Il Khwildy as well as the torture inflicted on him while in detention. Investigations should be carried out in view of to punishing the perpetrators of these crimes and granting appropriate compensation to the victim. TRIAL and Alkarama, the organisations representing the victim, call on Libya to comply with the decision of the Human Rights Committee and to work towards the establishment of genuine rule of law in the country.

Abdussalam Il Khwildy was arrested a first time in April 1998, together with his father and three brothers. After the rest of his family members were released, Abdussalam Il Khwildy was kept in secret detention for years without his family ever being informed about his fate and whereabouts. They later learned that he was ill-treated and regularly subjected to torture. He was eventually released in May 2003, without ever having been brought before a judge or a court.

He was again arbitrarily arrested on 17 October 2004, kept in detention and, sentenced to two years imprisonment by a special court on 7 August 2006 following a judicial procedure conducted in complete disregard of the most basic fair trial guarantees. On 19 October 2006, as Abdussalam was about to be freed, he disappeared within the prison system. Again, his parents were left without news about his fate and completely lost track of his whereabouts. The Libyan authorities denied his detention and refused to give any information other than that he had been released.

In May 2008, Abdussalam Il Khwildy was finally permitted to call his family and inform them that he was in Abou Slim Prison. The victim remained in detention until he was released on 22 August 2011 after the regime change in Libya.

In its decision, the Human Rights Committee condemned Libya for multiple violations of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, one of the most important UN human rights conventions. The Committee found that Abdussalam Il Khwildy has been twice victim of enforced disappearance, as well as torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The Committee also noted that Libya subjected Abdussalam’s brother Khaled Il Khwildy to ill-treatment through the severe mental distress and anguish he was forced to endure because the state refused to release any information about Abdussalam’s fate or his whereabouts for years.

The Committee obliged Libya to conduct a thorough and effective investigation into the disappearance of Abdussalam Il Khwildy and on the torture he suffered in detention. The Committee also underlined Libya’s obligation to prosecute, try and punish those responsible for the abuses committed and to provide adequate compensation to the victims.

TRIAL (Track Impunity Always) and Alkarama, the organisations representing the victims before the Human Rights Committee, welcome the outcome of the procedure. TRIAL director, Philip Grant, stated: “Libya must now commit to the rule of law and swiftly implement the UN’s decision”. For Rachid Mesli, director of the legal department at Alkarama, “It is high time Libya faced its past and rejected impunity for such crimes”.

Libya has a period of six months to inform the Committee of the actions taken to implement the Committee’s decision. Both organisations will closely follow the implementation of the decision to ensure that the victims’ rights and dignity are finally restored.

For more information:

• Read the views of the Human Rights Committee on the Il Khwildy case
• Read the summary of the Il Khwildy case on TRIAL website

The Human Rights Committee (HRC) adopted its concluding observations on the second periodic report on the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). Despite some progresses, numerous remain the measures to be undertaken, in particular with regard to relatives of missing persons, former camp-detainees and victims of rape or other forms of sexual violence during the conflict.

In September 2012 TRIAL (Swiss Association against Impunity), together with six associations of relatives of missing persons,¹ four associations dealing with the subject of rape or other forms of sexual violence during the war,² and seven associations or federations of associations of former camp-detainees³ submitted to the HRC an alternative report for the consideration of BiH’s second periodic report, highlighting the violations of the fundamental rights suffered by the above-mentioned categories of persons.

On 22 October 2012 TRIAL participated in a private meeting in Geneva with the HRC, together with delegations of other Bosnian and international NGOs, raising issues related to the ongoing failure to effectively investigate, judge and sanction those responsible for enforced disappearance, torture and rape during the conflict, the non implementation of the Law on Missing Persons, the systematic lack of enforcement of decisions issued by the Constitutional Court of BiH and the limitations to the freedom of expression and the right of peaceful assembly recently experienced by associations in the Prijedor area.

On 22 and 23 October 2012 the HRC examined the report submitted by BiH and the replies provided to the previously adopted “list of issues” with a delegation of the BiH government. During the session, the HRC raised the issues pointed out by TRIAL and sought explanations and clarifications from the State.

On 2 November 2012 the HRC released an advance version of its concluding observations expressing its concern at the slow pace of prosecutions of war crimes, particularly those relating to sexual violence, as well as lack of support to victims of such crimes and to witnesses at war crimes trials. The application of the criminal code of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia instead of the 2003 criminal code to try those accused of crimes committed during the war was also considered to be worrisome as it might affect consistency in the sentencing among entities, eventually resulting in undue discrimination. The HRC further raised its concerns about the fact that the Strategy on Transitional Justice and the law on the rights of victims of torture have not yet been adopted and that disability benefits received by civilian victims of war are significantly lower than those received by war veterans. Moreover, the fact that relatives of missing persons must declare their loved ones dead in order to accede and maintain a monthly disability pension was deemed not to be in line with international standards.

In light of the above, the HRC recommended BiH to, among others, expedite the prosecution of war crimes cases; ensure effective protection and psychological support for victims and witnesses during war crimes trials and promptly investigate cases of suspected intimidation or threats; take concrete measures to ensure that survivors of sexual violence and torture have access to justice and reparation and to harmonize disability benefits among entities and cantons and among civilians and veterans; expedite the investigation of all unresolved cases involving missing persons and ensure that the Missing Persons Institute is adequately funded and able to fully implement its mandate. Moreover, the HRC recommended that the freedoms of expression and assembly are fully guaranteed and called on authorities to investigate on the legality of prohibitions to conduct commemorations related to the war, in particular in the Prijedor area.

On 2 November 2013 BiH will have to submit a follow-up report on the measures adopted to implement the recommendations issued by the HRC. The conclusions and recommendations by the HRC represent a road-map for BiH authorities and shall be enforced without delay. TRIAL will actively engage in the dissemination of the contents of the concluding observations and will monitor the implementation of its recommendations, advocating with competent domestic authorities for a prompt enforcement.

For more information

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

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

• Decision of the Human Rights Committee in the case Rakik v. Algeria
• See the summary of the Rakik case on TRIAL’s website

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, 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

• See the summary of the Djebrouni case on TRIAL website
• See the summary of the Chihoub case on TRIAL website

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.

• Click here to read more about Mr. Dhakal’s case 
• Click here to read more about Mr. Nakarmi’s case

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.