JusticeInfo.net

40% of homicides worldwide are linked to large-scale crime. Between 2015 and 2021, #organizedcrime is estimated to have caused 700,000 deaths, a number comparable to that of armed conflicts. #gangs #mafias #cartels: 9 dangerous countries in focus. 🇨🇴 In Colombia: “You have neighbourhoods in Cali where the police cannot enter, or huge places in Amazon where the natural parks rangers cannot enter.”  Felipe Botero (researcher at Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime) 🇪🇨 In Ecuador, according to the investigative website InSight Crime, the homicide rate has risen from 5.8 per 100,000 in 2017 to 44.5 in 2023. This is a spectacular increase, at an unprecedented rate (+700%), fuelled by power struggles between various gangs. 🇳🇬 In Nigeria, the armed gangs, known to Nigerians as “bandits”, number between "10,000 and 30,000 members." These bandits operate “mostly in rural areas and forest areas where you have limited state presence.” - Kingsley Madueke (researcher at Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime) By Golnouche K. Barzegar

⚖️ #InternationalCriminalCourt - The reality of today’s situation at the International Criminal Court is that while very high-profile political leaders from different parts of the world are wanted, the only individuals who are actually tried remain mid-level African rebel commanders. And in 2025, apart from two verdicts, there will be only one ongoing trial and no prospect of any other case to reach trial stage. By Margherita Capacci, our correspondent in The Hague

Ralph Regenvanu in our latest article "The battle for the climate takes on the ICJ", available here 👉 https://lnkd.in/dvusXGzs #ClimateJustice #ClimateChange #InternationalCourtofJustice #ICJ

#Colombia #JEP - With more than 6,000 people awaiting a decision on their legal situation and with time running out, it is clear that opting for a maximalist approach is not the best strategy, nor does it guarantee greater compliance with the rights of the victims. - Paola Molano Ayala (Dejusticia) 👉 https://lnkd.in/dBN-3aNP

⚖️ #InternationalCriminalCourt - The annual Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court takes place in The Hague from December 2-7. Against the prospect of a hostile Trump administration in the U.S., an investigation on alleged misconduct of the ICC prosecutor, and a dearth of trials, clouds are gathering over the court. By Janet H. Anderson, our correspondent in The Hague and partner at Asymmetrical Haircuts 👉 https://lnkd.in/dgSSF6WH

🇻🇺 #Vanuatu, acutely vulnerable to the devastating effects of climate change, is at the forefront of a legal battle unfolding before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). “The commitments made in Baku [during the COP29] aren't enough. They were never going to be enough. And even then, based on our experience in the past, we know they will not be fulfilled.” - Ralph Regenvanu, special envoy for climate change and environment for the Republic of Vanuatu The International Court of Justice is asked to issue an “advisory opinion” on the “obligations” incumbent on states responsible for climate change and their “legal consequences”. “This includes obligations to finance adaptation and mitigation in vulnerable countries and to address loss and damage,” says Ralph Regenvanu. Vanuatu is responsible for 0.02% of global greenhouse gas emissions, but suffers disproportionately from its effects on the climate. “We are on the frontlines of climate change impacts. We are witnessing the destruction of our lands and livelihoods, our culture, and our human rights. We are resilient people, but resilience is not enough,” explains Ralph Regenvanu. “We have seen strong backing from nations across Latin America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. This isn’t simply about island nations — it is about all countries. This broad coalition sends a powerful message, and that is, the destruction from climate change violates fundamental principles of international law,” says Cristelle Pratt, deputy Secretariat of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) The level of participation [of the States] throws into stark relief the urgency scale and devastating impacts of the climate crisis and the need for collective clarity on some of the most critical legal issues of our generation.” - Joie Chowdhury (lawyer with the NGO Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL). Besides facilitating #climate negotiations, the advisory opinion of the ICJ could also serve as a precedent, Regenvanu says. “There must be thousands of litigation cases all over the world. This is a precedent, a legal authority, that will help all cases.” #ClimateJustice #ClimateChange #InternationalCourtofJustice #ICJ Read last Friday's article on the subject here 👉 https://lnkd.in/dvusXGzs

Catch up on this week's articles 👇 🇨🇴 Colombia: Going back to the original balance of justice [https://lnkd.in/dBN-3aNP] 🇮🇶 Iraq: Yazidi genocide trial to take place in France [https://lnkd.in/dk7bBRQX] 🇳🇴 Norway: The beginning of Norway’s reconciliation process [https://lnkd.in/dpgGfaan] 🇻🇺 Vanuatu: The battle for the climate takes on the ICJ [https://lnkd.in/dvusXGzs]

#Chagos #Colonialism 🇲🇺🇬🇧 - The ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the subsequent behind the scenes negotiations culminating in the announcement of the putative treaty was welcomed by some players as a vindication for international law processes; that if only enough political pressure is put on states via the courts, change will occur. The proof of the effects of international courts will always be in what happens in the real world. “I would throw in a slight word of caution”, says Ottilia Anna Maunganidze, “that even where they are binding decisions, whether it’s at the ICJ or elsewhere, the real challenge relates to implementation.” And in the case of the Chagos islands, the implementors are the states. 👉 https://lnkd.in/dzYKvc4y

🇻🇺 #Vanuatu - The COP29 just ended in Azerbaijan with a financial agreement deemed insufficient by many participants. Now states of the Global South and environmental campaigners are pinning their hopes on the legal battle being waged before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, where public hearings begin on December 2. By Karine G. Barzegar #ClimateJustice #ClimateChange #InternationalCourtofJustice #ICJ

👉 https://lnkd.in/dk7bBRQX #Yezidis #IslamicState #slavery #terrorism #SexualViolence #UniversalCompetence