War Crimes

Landmark judgment by Germany’s top criminal court on foreign officials' lack of immunity in war crimes trials. Analysis by renowned scholar, Professor Claus Kress.

It’s not the robust independent mechanism victims campaigned for, or the referral to the ICC that they deserve, but it is a potential path to justice.

Developing such a list of individuals would signal to survivors some measure of recognition of the atrocities they have suffered.

President Trump never pardoned Robert Bales, despite a strong push to do so. Any clemency for him would have resulted in manifest injustice to not just Bales’ victims, but to…

The government has failed in its international obligations to investigate and prosecute crimes, and has promoted alleged war criminals to high levels.

The Human Rights Council should build on the documentation and advocacy NGOs have done over the years to encourage accountability for gross violations.

Twelve years of failed justice must trigger an honest debate on the ability of these mechanisms to prevent violations and deal with historical atrocities.

The record shows that, if this is the only feasible route to accountability for now, countries will require additional support at the UN level to achieve accountability.

For more than a decade, in one atrocity case after another, justice is delayed, denied, or even reversed, as the government pursues impunity.

The credibility of the Human Rights Council and the UN system, given its “grave failure” in the past, depends on accountability for Sri Lanka’s atrocities.

The Biden administration should press the UN Human Rights Council for action and impose its own measures, including further sanctions.

She notes the Sri Lankan government has made clear that it has no intention of pursuing accountability for atrocities committed during the civil war.