The European Union’s (EU) strategy on victims’ rights (2020-2025), adopted by the European Commission, seeks to improve access to justice for all victims of crime. Following the adoption of the strategy, the Commission was tasked with assessing whether a revision of the EU Directive 2012/29/EU was necessary. This initiated the current process of the Directive’s revision, with several Amendment Proposals being published. REDRESS has made recommendations to the proposed amendments, in particular recommending that the Directive adopts the language of “core international crimes, including torture and enforced disappearance”: This additional brief provides further clarification with regard to the definition of “core international crimes” versus “crimes falling within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.” It aims to promote language that is inclusive of all victims of core international crimes, which is more in line with EU Member States’ obligations under international treaties and international customary law to investigate and prosecute torture and enforced disappearance.
