Forum for International Criminal Justice Newsletter: October 2015
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Forum for International Criminal Justice Newsletter: October 2015 Welcome to the IAP’s Forum for International Criminal Justice (FICJ) October 2015 Newsletter which focuses on the prosecution of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, including a roundup of video highlights, announcements, commentaries and the major news developments from the past month. Please note that the items included in this publication do not automatically carry any endorsement from the IAP. Domestic legal news covered in this Newsletter includes: France investigates Syria's Assad for crimes against humanity; a German court convicts Rwandan rebel leaders for DRC war crimes in landmark trial; a Swedish citizen has been charged with genocide in Rwanda; Serbia charges 8 persons over Srebrenica genocide; and a former Peruvian Dictator has been charged with crimes against humanity. *Please have a look at the FICJ forum page on the IAP website and feel free to contribute: the Forum provides individual prosecutors with a password protected space to post news, announcements, etc. and to pose questions to fellow prosecutors from around the world. Your contributions will also be posted in this monthly newsletter. Passwords are provided to IAP members – if you do not have a password, check your membership status by contacting the IAP Office Manager, Evie Sardeman: [email protected]. Danya Chaikel – FICJ Coordinator | email: [email protected] Video Highlights Click here to watch a short video on Click here to watch a statement of the news that France has opened Join thethe world’s FICJ community: WWW.IAPICC -Prosecutor,ASSOCIATION.ORG/FICJ Fatou Bensouda/HOME on the first criminal inquiry into crimes against surrender of Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi, 1 humanity committed by Syrian President Followaccused us ofon the twitter: war crime @iaprosecutors of destroying Bashar al-Assad. Timbuktu monuments in Mali. Announcement IAP launches Prosecuting Conflict-Related Sexual Violence (PSV) Network We, at the ICTY and the IAP, are pleased to announce the launch of the Prosecuting Conflict- Related Sexual Violence (PSV) Network, which took place on 16 September 2015 at the IAP Annual Conference in Zurich. The Network is a new forum for prosecutors working on, or interested in, accountability for conflict-related sexual violence crimes. It is designed to facilitate sharing expertise and ideas towards the collective improvement of approaches to prosecuting these crimes. Michelle Jarvis, PSV Network Coordinator and Principal Legal Counsel, OTP, ICTY, announces PSV launch at IAP’s The idea for the PSV Network arose out of legacy Annual Conference in Zurich on 16 September 2016 work recently completed in the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY). Looking back over 20 years of experience with prosecuting sexual violence crimes at the ICTY, we saw real value in creating a forum to connect prosecutors all over the world now grappling with similar challenges. In theory, prosecuting conflict-related sexual violence should not be more difficult than prosecuting any other atrocities committed during conflict. In practice, we know that pervasive misconceptions about sexual violence and other barriers to bringing evidence forward continue to thwart successful outcomes. Our vision for the PSV Network is a practical forum that will help prosecutors around the world to maximize accountability for conflict-related sexual violence crimes. While a range of other initiatives on conflict-related sexual violence exist, the PSV Network is the first crafted specifically with busy prosecutors in mind. We know from experience the intensity of the day-to-day demands on prosecutors working on conflict-related atrocities. Consequently, the emphasis will be on a forum for problem-solving and developing legal tools that will facilitate the work of prosecutors. We have begun building the PSV website with this purpose in mind and we will continue developing it in the coming weeks and months. To mark the launch of the PSV Network, guest blogger Daniela Kravetz explores efforts to establish accountability for conflict-related sexual violence crimes in Colombia. Daniela is a former ICTY OTP prosecutor who now works as an international criminal justice and gender practitioner. She is currently a consultant for UN Women in Colombia supporting domestic efforts to prosecute conflict- Join the FICJ community: WWW.IAP-ASSOCIATION.ORG/FICJ/HOME 2 Follow us on twitter: @iaprosecutors related sexual violence. Daniela’s blog highlights the connections between work being done at the national and international levels as well as the remaining obstacles to more successful outcomes for sexual violence prosecutions in Colombia. We are grateful to the IAP for hosting the Network within the IAP framework and we look forward to seeing what we can achieve together. Michelle Jarvis PSV Network Coordinator & Principal Legal Counsel, Office of the Prosecutor, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia Read more on the IAP’s PSV Network website 9th annual Law Dialogs: Signing of the Chautauqua Declaration Prosecutors at the Annual International Humanitarian Law Dialogs at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua NY International Prosecutors, Ambassadors, diplomats, and legal scholars from around the globe came together in the name of humanity on 31 August and 1 September at Chautauqua Institution, a renowned arts and cultural community located in upstate New York, near Jamestown. The International Humanitarian Law Dialogs, hosted by the Robert H. Jackson Center, Jamestown, NY, is a historic gathering of renowned international Prosecutors from The International Criminal Court, The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, The Special Court for Sierra Leone, Special Tribunal for Lebanon and The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, together with leading professionals in the field of International Humanitarian Law. Join the FICJ community: WWW.IAP-ASSOCIATION.ORG/FICJ/HOME 3 Follow us on twitter: @iaprosecutors Chautauqua Declaration In the spirit of humanity and peace the assembled current and former international prosecutors and their representatives here at the Chautauqua Institution… Recognizing the continuing need for justice and the rule of law as the foundation to international peace and security, and cognizant of the legacy of all those who preceded us at Nuremberg and elsewhere: Commemorate the late Sergei Magnitsky as the seventh recipient of the Joshua Heintz Award for Humanitarian Achievement for his important and impressive service to humanity; Note the seventieth anniversary of the opening of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg; Note the imminent completion of the judicial mandate of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and commend its contribution to the development of international criminal law, and to promoting peace, reconciliation, and accountability for crimes in Rwanda; Note that concerns expressed in past declarations remain to be addressed, namely: The failures of states and international organizations to fulfill their obligations; The upsurge in violence against civilians, the general lack of accountability for these crimes, and failures to enforce international humanitarian law; The continued prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence and crimes against children, and the lack of accountability for many of these crimes; On occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the genocide at Srebrenica, deplore the targeting of groups based on ethnicity, nationality, race, and religion; Condemn the increased destruction by armed groups of cultural and religious objects, which are the common heritage of humanity, and emphasizing the need for accountability for these serious international crimes; Recognize the importance of the residual mechanisms to carry out the continuing legal obligations of the international tribunals and courts as they close or approach closure; Remind the states of their obligation to ensure the effective functioning of the international judicial institutions they have created; And now do solemnly declare and call upon all members of the international community to keep the spirit of the Nuremberg Principles alive by: Ensuring universal accountability and equal application of international criminal law to all; Join the FICJ community: WWW.IAP-ASSOCIATION.ORG/FICJ/HOME 4 Follow us on twitter: @iaprosecutors Ending impunity for the gravest crimes by refusing to countenance amnesty or immunity; Ensuring accountability for all crimes, especially sexual and gender-based violence and crimes against children; Ensuring that domestic institutions have the necessary legal framework, capacity, and will to discharge their primary responsibility to investigate and prosecute international crimes; Discharging their international and treaty obligations to cooperate with the international criminal courts, tribunals, and residual mechanisms and in particular to locate, arrest, and to surrender all fugitives accused of international crimes; Providing sufficient resources for all international courts, tribunals, and residual mechanisms to achieve their respective mandates, including the ability to meet their obligation to protect and support witnesses and those made vulnerable by their cooperation, and to ensure justice is done and seen to be done. Signed in Mutual Witness: James K. Stewart (for) Fatou Bensouda, International