#GlobalJustice Weekly – UN calls for Sri Lanka civil war crimes court
UN urges Sri Lanka to create court for civil war crimes A United Nations report this week called on Sri Lanka to establish a special hybrid court to investigate alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity by government forces and the Tamil Tigers during and after the country’s brutal civil war that ended in 2009. Civil society backed the plan announced at the 30th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Sri Lankan authorities pledged to start talks on creating the court, which the UN recommended should cover the period 2002-11 and have a mix of national and international judges, prosecutors, lawyers and investigators. Have you signed our petition calling on Sri Lanka to join the ICC yet? South Africa told it cannot appeal al-Bashir ruling A South African court rejected a government bid to appeal a ruling that found authorities had erred in letting ICC fugitive Omar al-Bashir leave the country last June despite a court order barring him from doing so. Judges said that al-Bashir did not benefit from any state immunity. Meanwhile, South African President Jacob Zuma said that the Sudanese president was expected to attend a China-Africa summit in the country in December. The Indian government also wants to inviteal-Bashir to an India-Africa summit in New Delhi next month. ICC investigations preliminary examinations Democratic Republic of Congo: The ICC trial of Congolese militia leader Bosco Ntaganda resumed this week with the first prosecution witnesses appearing before the Court. Uganda: Are there lessons from the trial of Thomas Lubanga for victim participation in the case against Lord's Resistance Army commander Dominic Ongwen? ICC preliminary examinations Nigeria: Boko Haram is reported to have slaughtered nearly 400 civilians in northern Cameroon, while a heavy-handed response by security forces and inhumane prison conditions have led to dozens more deaths. Campaign for Global Justice Switzerland ratified Kampala Amendments of the Rome Statute, becoming the 25th state to ratify the amendments on war crimes and the 24th to ratify the amendments on the crime of aggression. What else is happening? As discussions on the ICC budget request for 2016 begin, the Court should work on a vision of what it would cost at its optimal working capacity argues Human Rights Watch’s Elizabeth Evenson. Achieving Goal 16 (ensuring equal access to justice for all) of the UN’s new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development could require a new kind of partnership between civil society and government. Finally, what impact can videos and photos taken from smartphones have in evidence collection for international crimes trials? Sign up for our weekly updates to get the latest GlobalJustice news.
