Coalition for the International Criminal Court

#AccesstoJustice The ICC team in the Central African Republic held a Q&A session about the closing statements in the Yekatom and Ngaïssona trial, with journalists, victims’ associations, local authorities and religious leaders. Yekatom and Ngaïssona case: Closing statements took place last week until 12th December. More info on this trial for crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed in the Central African Republic: https://bit.ly/41abveq

On 21 November 2024, the International Criminal Court - ICC issued 3 arrest warrants in the Situation in the State of Palestine, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed from at least 7 Oct 2023 in Israel and Palestine. The arrest warrants were issued against: 🔴 Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s Prime Minister; 🔴 Yoav Gallant, Israel’s Former Defence Minister; 🔴 Mohammed Al-Masri (commonly known as 'Deif'), Commander-in-Chief of the military wing of Hamas. #NGOVoices from Palestine and across the globe reacted to the issuance of the warrants, calling on all actors to respect the ICC's decisions and independence. For more background information and to learn about the reactions from civil society #NGOVoices https://lnkd.in/e-iPFp5x...

📢 Civilian Infrastructure in Crisis: Documenting Attacks in Ukraine — Insights from #ASP23 Side Event   The Republic of Lithuania, together with Global Rights Compliance, eyeWitness to Atrocities, Physicians for Human Rights, and Truth Hounds, hosted a critical side event titled "Civilian Infrastructure in Crisis: Documenting Attacks in Ukraine" during the 23rd Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to the Rome Statute. The discussion highlighted the widespread and systematic assaults on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, focusing on their devastating humanitarian impact and the legal avenues for accountability. 🔗 Read a summary of the event, including expert commentary and links to the projects and research presented: https://lnkd.in/g7f4qmy6 Catriona Murdoch, Joseph H., Anna Gallina, Rebecca Bakos Blumenthal, Ольга Мацьків, Uliana Poltavets, Dmytro Koval

The Republic of Lithuania, together with Global Rights Compliance, eyeWitness to Atrocities, Physicians for Human Rights, and Truth Hounds, hosted a critical side event titled Civilian Infrastructure in Crisis: Documenting Attacks in Ukraine - during the 23rd Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute. The discussion highlighted the widespread and systematic assaults on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, focusing on their devastating humanitarian impact and the legal avenues for accountability. Read the Insights from the ASP 23 Side Event via the link https://cutt.ly/beXJSMjw Catriona Murdoch Joseph Hollerhead Anna Gallina Rebecca Bakos Blumenthal Ольга Мацьків Uliana Poltavets Dmytro Koval

Strengthening Ukraine’s Justice System to Address New International Crimes: sneak peek from the final conference of the MATRA-Ukraine project During the conference Zera Kozlyieva, Truth Hounds Legal Director, gave a speech about strengthening capacity to document, investigate, prosecute and adjudicate international crimes and we are happy to share the main statements. Since 2014, Ukraine has faced significant challenges in addressing international crimes. These challenges intensified dramatically following the full-scale invasion in 2022, bringing new types of crimes and unprecedented complexity to the justice system. Emerging Crimes: Direct, indiscriminate, and disproportionate attacks on civilians and infrastructure. Environmental crimes, targeting resources essential for survival. New methods of warfare, including guided aerial bombs in densely populated areas and double-tap attacks, which deliberately target rescuers and survivors. Crimes committed across the entire territory of Ukraine, complicating investigations. These crimes demand innovative approaches to documentation, investigation, and legal assessment. The scale of offenses, with over 144,000 documented incidents since 2022, highlights the need for systemic, multi-episode case management to hold high-level commanders accountable for widespread violations. Priorities for Justice: Robust Evidence Preservation: Ensuring evidence withstands scrutiny years later, critical for future trials. Collaboration with Civil Society: Strengthening partnerships between NGOs and authorities to streamline investigations and pool expertise. Strengthening Ukraine’s Justice System: Providing training and resources to national actors, fostering resilience in the face of ongoing attacks. Innovative Legal Approaches: Developing frameworks to prosecute novel offenses, such as attacks on the environment and complex military tactics, under international humanitarian law. International Cooperation: Leveraging global mechanisms to ensure war criminals face detention and justice, countering the current sense of impunity. Truth Hounds’ Work: Our team focuses on multi-episode cases of systemic violations, including patterns like double-tap attacks and aerial bombings. We consolidate evidence to hold commanders accountable for orchestrated crimes, ensuring accountability for those who continue to devastate Ukraine. We express our gratitude to the T.M.C. Asser Instituut and Ministry of the foreign affairs of the Netherlands, MATRA and Global Rights Compliance for creating a platform to advance justice and strengthen international collaboration. Together, we can ensure these crimes do not go unanswered.

📣 PHR’s Executive Director Sam Zarifi & Ukraine Emergency Coordinator Uliana Poltavets were in The Hague last week to sound the alarm about violence against health care while at the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC). They shared PHR’s research and evidence on attacks on health care with the ICC, UN Member States, and representatives of global civil society. #ASP23 🔦The PHR team shared findings from our new joint report with Truth Hounds “Health Care in the Dark" which shows how strikes on the Ukrainian energy grid impedes health care delivery and endangers patients and health care workers. Read the report: https://lnkd.in/dDsyKjT7 ⚖️PHR calls on the International Criminal Court and the international community to: ✔️Prioritize investigations of attacks on health care ✔️Ensure adequate resources & training to support investigations ✔️Continue coordination with national & international prosecutorial offices to strengthen information sharing.

🚨 La Coalition pour la Cour pénale internationale demande aux États membres de la CPI à se rassembler et à défendre la Cour contre les ingérences et les menaces. Il est temps d'agir ! Les États doivent agir contre les menaces actuelles et les sanctions potentielles des États-Unis d’Amérique qui visent à affaiblir la #CPI. Il ne peut y avoir aucune hésitation, aucune justice sélective, aucune place pour l'ambiguïté quant aux obligations des États. Les sanctions impactent les victimes, représentants légaux, défenseur·e·s des droits humaines et la société civile. Pourtant, l'engagement et la résilience des ONG et des défenseur·e·s en faveur de la justice sont plus forts que jamais. Nous demandons aussi aux États parties de mettre en œuvre des mesures pour protéger et défendre les ONG #NGOVoices et défenseur·e·s des droits humains qui coopèrent avec la CPI. https://lnkd.in/ghHxeasA (disponible en anglais).

Last Friday, I had the privilege of moderating the #ASP23 side event “Civil Society & the International Criminal Court: Pathways to Collaborative & Genuine Engagement”, co-organised by FIDH - International Federation for Human Rights & the Coalition for the International Criminal Court. I stressed that genuine collaboration requires leadership, mutual respect, constructive criticism & better communication to build trust & improve relationships. We also launched our new report🔗https://lnkd.in/etZg66pP Some highlights: 📌 Dr Olivia Herman, lead author of the report, stressed: "The ICC must strengthen its links with CSOs on the ground to better understand & respond to their needs. Adequate resources must be allocated to support this work. In this critical period, maintaining a strong connection between the ICC & CSOs is essential." 📌 #ICC Registrar Osvaldo Zavala Giler highlighted the varying dynamics of CSO cooperation across countries: "In some countries, we can operate freely; in others, it’s more difficult or impossible. Real challenges arise when we cannot go on the ground. I’m particularly thinking of #Sudan - how will we navigate this next year? How will we collaborate with CSOs? And how will we deliver reparations?" 📌 Deputy Prosecutor Mame Mandiaye Niang emphasised: "At the OTP, we will carefully consider these recommendations. While we may not always agree with our partners, we must acknowledge & respect each other’s commitments. Let’s align our shared objectives & continue to develop this trust." 📌 Arie Mora, Ukrainian Legal Advisory Group (ULAG) spoke about challenges and progress in Ukraine: "We’ve been able to discuss certain challenges with the ICC Registry, and afterward, organised workshops with CSOs to develop more concrete proposals. Communication is key & we need to collaborate in a more structured & consistent manner." 📌 Basel Sourani, Palestinian Centre for Human Rights called for urgent reforms: "In situations like Gaza, where genocide is occurring, there should be an ‘emergency’ system. The ICC must actively condemn violations & threats faced by CSOs and expedite its processes." 📌 A CSO representative from #Libya highlighted the country’s unique context & recent establishment of CSOs in the country: "Many CSOs were only created in Libya in 2011. The joint work between the ICC & CSOs has been crucial in helping victims feel heard, encouraging them to testify. This has reduced the fear that some people had of international institutions." 📌 To conclude, Virginie Amato, Coalition for the International Criminal Court highlighted the unique relationship between CSOs & the #ICC, emphasising their shared goal of protecting victims & delivering justice: "#FIDH & #CICC will continue to ensure that platforms for engagement are inclusive & remain safeguarded under the Rome Statute."

On 3 December, the Asia Justice Coalition, International Commission of Jurists, and Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA) co-organised a panel discussion on the sidelines of the 23rd International Criminal Court Assembly of States Parties on the 'Asian Women's Leadership in International Justice & Accountability'. We are thankful to our panelists: aPriya Gopalan, Hafsar Tameesuddin, Samiha Sahel Muma, Yee Htun, Kate Vigneswaran, Priya Pillai, PhD, and Alejandra Vicente. As the first-ever all-POC women-led side event of its kind, the session provided a platform to share lived experiences and called upon all stakeholders to end systemic discrimination, ensure equitable and diverse (gender and geographic) representation in international legal spaces, and practice increased solidarity. Led by Asia Justice Coalition's Senior Project Manager, Sangeetha Yogendran, the Women Leaders in International Justice and Accountability (#WIJA) aims at developing women’s leadership in international law by building expertise and facilitating constructive dialogue around critical issues of international justice and accountability in three focus jurisdictions in Asia: Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and India. To know more, check here: https://lnkd.in/dQDXGM8U

On International Human Rights Day, join the Coalition for the International Criminal Court in celebrating inspiring human rights defenders leading the fight against impunity. In the face of repeated attempts to undermine the International Criminal Court’s independence and the integrity of the Rome Statute system, 𝐜𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬. This often comes at a great personal risk, as worldwide HRDs and CSOs face multiple threats and reprisals for their work to support victims and for cooperating with the International Criminal Court (ICC). Nevertheless, CSOs and HRDs remain steadfast championing access to justice.     These inspiring human rights defenders lead efforts to guarantee that all victims have access to justice and redress in every situation, wherever they are. Civil society’s unwavering commitment compels States, the ICC and other international bodies, to prioritise the fight against impunity. Their dedication ensures that victims’ rights are not just upheld but prioritised.     Human rights defenders and civil society organisations are the driving force that made the International Criminal Court and the Rome Statute a reality. Their tireless efforts have laid the foundation for global justice, and their continued dedication keeps the fight for justice alive. Without them, the pursuit of global justice would falter. Meet the inspiring defenders and join us in honouring their courage: https://lnkd.in/eU-mT3KH    #Stand4HRDs