TRIAL International

🚨Le #procès d’un leader d’une coalition de groupes armés pour crimes contre l’humanité s’ouvre en #RDC Le procès pour crimes contre l'humanité de #Donat Kwenga Omari, ancien militaire FARDC et chef d’une coalition de groupes armés Raia Mutomboki, s'est ouvert le 25 octobre 2024, devant le Tribunal militaire de garnison de Bukavu, à l’est de la République Démocratique du Congo (RDC). Le procès vise à établir le rôle joué par Donat dans les exactions commises par cette coalition et permettra à plus de 350 victimes de faire entendre leur voix et d’accéder à la justice. Donat est accusé, entre autres, de crimes de viol, esclavage sexuel, meurtre, torture, privation de liberté, pillage et destruction de propriété, commis dans les territoires de Shabunda et Kalehe, au Sud-Kivu, dans l'est de la République démocratique du Congo (RDC) entre 2016 et 2021. « Donat était la tête pensante de la coalition d’un certain nombre de milices RM actives dans la province, explique Daniele Perissi, responsable du Programme RDC de TRIAL International, nous espérons que ce procès permettra d’établir la vérité sur le rôle qu’il a joué dans la commission de crimes généralisés à l’encontre de plus de 350 victimes, incluant de nombreux mineurs. » 🔗 Pour plus d'informations, consultez notre communiqué de presse ici 👇 https://lnkd.in/dStsmbsR

💼 #Job - We are seeking a Consortium Coordinator to lead our new EU-funded project, “Addressing the Accountability Gap.” (80% fixed-term contract, based in #Geneva) If you have a strong background in project management, especially with institutional donors, we want to hear from you! 📅 Apply by: November 10, 2024 ➡️ Application through this link: https://wkf.ms/3U2Rsu0

We are happy to share that, thanks to our partnership with Transnational Giving Europe, donations from most European countries are now tax-deductible! Learn more about our work with Ingrid Beauquis, our Director of Fundraising and Communication, in her interview with #TGE. ➡️ https://lnkd.in/dZs-XXeS

🟧 Compensation claims for victims of #CRSV in Bosnia and Herzegovina TRIAL International Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina (#BiH) hosted the regional forum "Forum Development of the Institute of Compensation Claims - Perspectives and Challenges from Practice" this week, which had the aim of presenting the achieved success in this field of work for conflict-related sexual violence survivors (CRSV) in BiH. This was the key event of the three-year project, which emphasized the success in the field of application of the institute for the implementation of compensation claims for BiH’s #wartime sexual violence survivors. During three panels, the presenters discussed the chronological development and significance of these issues, the challenges and difficulties in solving them, and the importance of regional cooperation, and sharing experiences in the context of implementation of compensation claims. As the British ambassador to BiH, Julian Reilly, pointed out in his opening remarks, many victims of CRSV in BiH don’t have the access to rights and services almost three decades after the war. The effective implementation of the institute of compensation claims, as the ambassador noted, may not represent the only step, but it's the important one towards securing rights for survivors. We would like to thank the legal experts, members of international communities and associations of survivors for coming and actively participating in the forum. This activity is kindly supported by the UK Government. 📸 Jasmin Agovic

#UniversalJurisdiction 👋 Good morning, it's the week of 14 October, 2024, and 26 years ago this week, General Augusto #Pinochet was arrested in London, following an order from a Spanish judge for the grave violations committed during his dictatorship in #Chile. This arrest set a groundbreaking precedent, inspiring human rights defenders, countless victims and survivors, as well as legal professionals around the world, united in their mission to fight impunity for those responsible for international crimes. It was the arrest of Pinochet, and what followed, that personally drove me to establish TRIAL International. In recent years, the principle of Universal Jurisdiction, which was significantly advanced by the Pinochet case, has seen a notable resurgence. This has led to multiple investigations and trials, at times involving high-ranking individuals, and even, at long last, Western economic actors. Although Pinochet died without facing trial, the impact of the “Pinochet precedent” remains as strong as ever.

💡 Did you know ? Former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was arrested during a visit to London on 16 October 1998. His arrest, following a warrant issued by Spanish judge Baltasar Garzón, triggered a storm of reactions all over the world. This decision gave new prominence to already existing legal principles such as Universal Jurisdiction. But also, to the absence of #immunity for former heads of State accused of crimes such as torture or #CrimesAgainstHumanity. ⚖️ Since that day, the use of #UniversalJurisdiction gradually became more important. A good example is a recent case in Switzerland, which ended with the conviction of former Minister of Interior of The Gambia, Ousman Sonko, to 20 years in prison for crimes against humanity. TRIAL International has been active in the fight against impunity for international crimes for over 20 years. Last year, the organisation published the 🗺 Universal Jurisdiction Interactive Map (#UJIM), an online tool which provides a global overview of criminal cases brought before national courts on the basis of universal jurisdiction. Whether you are a specialist of #InternationalLaw or just curious, don’t hesitate to have a look at it 👉 https://lnkd.in/eFaHn8qV   📷 Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Chile (Wikimedia Commons)

📑 The newly elected Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation, and guarantees of non-recurrence at The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Bernard Duhaime, in his first report pointed out that "the influence of social networks, artificial intelligence and the transmission of disinformation makes the growing global challenge of #denialism and #revisionism of past human rights violations rights worse". Some of the worrying circumstances within the judiciary include, among others, the lack of progress in criminal prosecutions, as well as the refusal to prosecute or extradite persons charged with crimes against humanity. In terms of reparations, the biggest obstacles include the lack of compensation programs and compensation legislation, and the inability to provide compensation to the families of victims of enforced disappearances. According to the report, one of the significant steps for the implementation of transitional justice is the trans-disciplined usage of "a whole range of judicial and non-judicial measures", which includes relying on social, natural and applied sciences as well as the arts. Furthermore, the report's recommendations advise the application of a comprehensive bottom-up approach focused on victims and based on international legal principles, with a special emphasis on marginalized groups. 🔗 You can read the report at: https://bit.ly/4eEUHzI

🔎 We are honoured to have participated in the first #GenderEquality Forum in Berlin last week, which was hosted by the German Government. Together with other Western Balkans representatives, we had a chance to inform the Berlin process on gender #equality and women rights. One of the topics of the forum was reconciliation as an important precondition for joining the European union and the influence of the #feminist perspective on speeding up the process, in which the Head of the BiH program of the TRIAL International Office in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Selma Korjenic, participated as a panelist. During her presentation, Korjenić referred to the challenges in integrating gender-sensitive perspectives into reconciliation processes, emphasizing the important role of civil society, and especially #women, in initiating the dialogue on reconciliation and the positive steps taken so far. She also referred to the current common challenges of the region, including the rise of extreme ethno-nationalism, public denial of crimes, and the relativization of established court facts, as well as the widespread narrowing of the space for civil society action, through attempts at restrictive measures, especially towards human rights defenders. We would like to thank The Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation, for the invitation to join this important dialogue, as well as Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH) for organizing the event. 📷 The Kvinna Till Kvinna Foundation

📣 New "Handbook on #UniversalJurisdiction: Holding the Taliban Accountable for International Crimes" 📍 The Ham Diley Campaign will be launching the handbook on Thursday 19 September 2024 at 6:00pm AEST (10am Geneva time) at the Monash Law Chambers in Melbourne and on-line. The event will be focused on the importance of accountability for international crimes committed in #Afghanistan by the #Taliban since the mid 1990s. The Ham Diley Campaign, a civil society initiative focusing on accountability for international crimes at the hands of the Taliban in Afghanistan, started in 2021. Its co-founders Azadah Raz Mohammad and Karin M Frodé are also the co-editors of the handbook. In line with its mission, TRIAL International has encouraged this project and made a review of an early version of the draft. We would like to congratulate the Ham Diley Campaign and all those at Monash University for the handbook (which will be available in Persian, Pashto and English).

🚨 The trial of Michael Correa, alleged Gambian death squad member accused of torture, which was due to start on Monday 16 September 2024, was postponed. The trial will be rescheduled to a date in 2025. Read the update by Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA), the Alliance of victim-led organisations and TRIAL International 👉 https://lnkd.in/emqEHXpG