German court convicts rebel leaders for crimes in eastern DRC

On 28 September, a court in Stuttgart, Germany, sentenced Ignace Murwanashyaka, head of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), and his deputy Straton Musoni for war crimes committed between January 2008 and their arrest in November 2009 in eastern DRC. The two were convicted of crimes under the German Code of Crimes Against International Law, which implemented the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in German law. This was the first case to be tried under this legislation and took four years to complete. Murwanashyaka was sentenced to 13 years imprisonment and Musoni was given an eight-year sentence.

Further details can be found here in German and here in English.

/ Sally

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OHCHR Report on Sri Lanka released

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights released a report today on its investigation into breaches of human rights and international humanitarian law committed in the internal armed conflict in Sri Lanka.

The investigation identified patterns of grave violations between 2002 and 2011 strongly indicating war crimes and crimes against humanity having being committed by both sides of the armed conflict. The report recommends that a hybrid special court, integrating international judges, prosecutors, lawyers, and investigators, be established. Among the most serious crimes documented in the report are unlawful killings, sexual and gender-based violence, enforced disappearances, torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, recruitment of children and their use in hostilities, as well as abduction and forced recruitment of adults, attacks on civilians and civilian objects, denial of humanitarian assistance and violations during the detention of internally displaced people (IDPs) in closed camps.

The report is available online here. The OHCHR press release is available here.

/ Sally

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New report from the Commission of Inquiry on Syria

On 3 September 2015 International Independent Commission of Inquiry on the Syria Arab Republic released their latest report. This particular report looks at the distinct impacts of the war on groups and communities of civilians inside Syria. It also provides an updated view of the military dynamics of the conflict.

The report is available online here. Previous reports and background information are available here.

/ Sally

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Upcoming Guest Lecture: Dr Rain Liivoja

The International Law Centre at the Swedish Defence University are very pleased to welcome Dr Rain Liivoja from the University of Melbourne to share his work in this exciting field which is also the subject of research at the centre.

Dr Rain Liivoja

Bioenhanced Soldiers and the Prohibition of Unnecessary Suffering

 

9 September 2015, 1500hrs

Rm 206A&B, Swedish Defence University, Drottning Kristinas väg 37

The 2012 movie The Bourne Legacy featured intelligence operatives who had been genetically engineered and pharmacologically tweaked for superior mental and physical performance. This is not as far-fetched as one might think: artificial enhancement, maintenance or restoration of human cognitive and physical performance is something actively pursued by advanced armed forces. This presentation seeks to examine bioenhancement in relation to the well-established rule of the law of armed conflict prohibiting the use of means and methods of warfare of a nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering. If enhancement techniques produce more durable, pain- and fatigue-resistant soldiers, does that have an impact on what amounts to unnecessary suffering? Could enhanced soldiers be attacked using means and methods of warfare that would be prohibited otherwise? Would this lead to a different legal standard for weapons used against ordinary and enhanced soldiers?

 

Rain Liivoja is a Senior Lecturer and Society in Science – Branco Weiss Fellow at Melbourne Law School, where he co-directs the Programme on the Regulation of Emerging Military Technology (PREMT). Rain is also an Affiliated Research Fellow of the Erik Castrén Institute of International Law and Human Rights, University of Helsinki. His research focuses on the regulatory challenges associated with military applications of biosciences. Rain is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Society for Military Law and the Law of War, chair of the International Peace and Security Interest Group of the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law, and a member of the Australian Red Cross International Humanitarian Law Committee (Victorian Division). Rain holds a doctorate in public international law from the University of Helsinki.

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Jann Kleffner and Ola Engdahl at the Sanremo Institute's 38th Annual Round Table

Jann Kleffner and Ola Engdahl will both be participating in panels at the International Institute of Humanitarian Law's annual round table on current issues in international humanitarian law. This year the conference will be streamlined live, accessible here. The programme for the conference is available here.

The theme for this year's conference is "The Distinction between International and Non-International Armed Conflict: Challenges for IHL?" Ola will speak on peace support operations in a panel discussing whether current forms of armed conflict challenge categorisation on Thursday 3 September at 1400. Jann will be speaking on a panel discussing the convergence in the law governing international armed conflicts and non-international armed conflicts at 1630 on Friday 4 September, as well as a panel discussing humanitarian assistance at 0845 on Saturday 5 September.

/ Sally

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Post summer update

The Folkrättscentrum is back after the summer vacation! This is our first post after the break, which coincides with the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. Whilst we've been away, here's a few things that happened that might be of interest:

• The Security Council passed a resolution establishing for one year a Joint Investigative Mechanism of the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which would identify “to the greatest extent feasible” individuals, entities, groups or Governments perpetrating, organizing, sponsoring or otherwise involved in the use of chemicals as weapons in Syria.
• In related news, UNESCO’sDirector-General Irina Bokova condemned the destruction of the temple of Palmyra is a war crime. The Security Council was also briefed on the use of sexual violence in the conflicts in Iraq and Syria (background to which can be found here).
• The Swedish government have published a new strategy on terrorism. 
• A peace accord has been signed in South Sudan. There have been reports that violence continues after the ceasefire, however.
• The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights published a report on impunity and accountability in Darfur for 2014 based on information received from the African Union-UN Hybrid Operation in Darfur 
• Controversies and fresh allegations continue regarding accusations of sexual abuse by members of the UN peace mission in the Central African Republic. The Security Council had earlier in the month released a press statement on the sexual exploitation and abuse in CAR.
• Serbia and Kosovo signed agreements furthering the normalisation of relations on energy, telecoms,establishment of the Association/Community of Serb majority municipalities and the Freedom of Movement/Mitrovica Bridge. 

/ Sally

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The twentieth anniversary of Srebrenica

Saturday 10 July marks the twentieth anniversary of Srebrenica genocide. Memorial events will take place in remembrance of the victims, including a service to bury 136 newly-identified victims.

This week the UN Security Council considered a resolution marking the anniversary and honouring the victims. This resolution was vetoed by the Russian Federation, a permanent member of the Security Council.

Jan Eliasson. UN  File Photo/Kim Haughton

Jan Eliasson addressed the Council during its deliberations, summarising developments since the genocide in addressing international crimes and difficulties still faced by the UN today. The High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, also briefed the Council via video teleconference from Geneva. A press release can be found here.

In 2007 the International Court of Justice handed down judgement in a case brought by Bosnia & Herzegovina against Serbia and Montenegro concerning alleged violations of the Genocide Convention 1948. The ICJ held that acts of killing and causing serious bodily harm or mental harm to the group of the Muslims of Bosnia and Herzegovina constituted acts of genocide. There have been numerous cases before the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia determining criminal responsibility for individuals involved in the events also, as well as proceedings before domestic courts in the Netherlands relating to the actions of Dutch peacekeepers. Background on the events and many of the international cases can be found here. An update on the most recent ruling by the Dutch courts can be found here.

The International Law Centre will be on a break for summer now, but will be back in August with more updates.

/ Sally

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