Publications

The International Law Commission (ILC) is preparing a draft Convention on Crimes against Humanity. The 15 Draft Articles and the Commentaries to the Draft Articles were adopted by the ILC in July 2017. The ILC has invited governments, international organisations, and civil society groups to provide comments and observations on the draft by the end of 2018. REDRESS prepared written comments on the question of victims’ rights for a consultation held at Matrix Chambers in London on Friday 9 March 2018. In the comments, REDRESS suggests that the final text of any new Crimes against Humanity Convention is consistent with standards that already apply to victims of crimes under international law, including victims of crimes against humanity, and do not compromise existing rights and protections. The comments highlight the main issues that would benefit from additional consideration by the ILC.

Sexual violence – particularly against women and girls – is a feature of everyday life in Myanmar, with sexual violence committed in the context of long-running armed conflicts and attacks against civilian populations being a particularly brutal aspect of this violence. However, investigations and accountability of those responsible is almost non-existent and survivors often face insurmountable barriers to justice. REDRESS and the Institute for International Criminal Investigations (IICI) have produced a guide to assist practitioners gather evidence of conflict and atrocity-related sexual violence in Myanmar, available in both English and Burmese.  It complements the second edition of the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict, which was published in March 2017 by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). The Supplement is intended for practitioners who work in and on Myanmar.  It looks at the specific context for such violence in Myanmar, the forms it commonly takes and impacts it may have, available legal avenues for justice at the domestic and international levels, specific evidential and procedural requirements and practical issues that may arise when documenting sexual violence crimes in the country. The Supplement is intended to be a living document, to be updated as best practice evolves and in light of the feedback received by users. All users are free to update, correct and adapt the Supplement as they wish.  

Sexual violence in Sri Lanka, as elsewhere, is a complex and pervasive problem set in a context of deeply entrenched impunity. This has been reflected in horrific fashion through widespread sexual violence against both women and men committed by state actors, including during periods of conflict. Investigations and accountability of those responsible are almost non-existent and survivors often face insurmountable barriers to justice. REDRESS and the Institute for International Criminal Investigations (IICI) have produced a guide to assist practitioners gather evidence of conflict and atrocity-related sexual violence in Sri Lanka, available in English, Sinhalese and Tamil. It complements the second edition of the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict which was published in March 2017 by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). The Supplement is intended for practitioners who work in and on Sri Lanka. It looks at the specific context for such violence in Sri Lanka, the forms it commonly takes and impacts it may have, available legal avenues for justice at the domestic and international levels, specific evidential and procedural requirements and practical issues that may arise when documenting sexual violence crimes in the country. The Supplement is intended to be a living document, to be updated as best practice evolves and in light of the feedback received by users. All users are free to update, correct and adapt the Supplement as they wish. IICI has also arranged a Tamil translation of the International Protocol (second edition), also linked here. The Sinhalese version of the International Protocol (second edition) should also be published in due course on the website of the FCO.  

Sexual violence is a prominent and well-publicised aspect of the ethnic cleansing committed in Northern Iraq by Da’esh since 2014, including the creation of a complex system of slavery that includes rape, forced marriage and sexual violence.  However, as elsewhere, conflict and atrocity-related sexual violence is not a new phenomenon in Iraq. The Institute for International Criminal Investigations (IICI) has launched a guide to assist practitioners gather evidence of these forms of violence in Iraq, helping to overcome some of the key barriers to tackling impunity for these crimes. The new Iraq Supplement to the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict: Guidance for Practitioners in Iraq is available in English, Arabic and Kurdish. It complements the second edition of the International Protocol on the Documentation and Investigation of Sexual Violence in Conflict, which was published in March 2017 by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). The International Protocol is designed to help strengthen the evidence base for bringing perpetrators of sexual violence in conflict to justice. The Supplement is specifically intended for practitioners who work in and on Iraq. It is intended to be a living document, to be updated as best practice evolves and in light of the feedback received by users. All users are free to update, correct and adapt the Supplement as they wish. IICI is also developing training materials accompanying the International Protocol’s second edition, which will be available only in English and will be published soon on IICI’s website. REDRESS and IICI are grateful for the support to the project of the FCO.

In their annual report Make way for justice #4, REDRESS and its partners TRIAL International, FIDH, ECCHR, and FIBGAR illustrate the international momentum towards accountability through 58 cases, involving 126 suspects.

The report, 'Beyond Discretion: The Protection of British Nationals Abroad,' reviews the experiences of several UK nationals with regards to the provision of consular assistance and diplomatic protection. In the UK, both consular assistance and diplomatic protection are not enshrined in UK law but are regulated instead as a matter of policy and thus are actions that are taken at the discretion of the UK government. The report calls for the introduction of a right to consular assistance to be part of UK law and an obligation for the UK government to exercise diplomatic protection where UK nationals, including dual nationals, have suffered or face a risk of serious human rights violations while abroad, when requested.

The report, ‘Criminalisation of Women in Sudan: A Need for Fundamental Reform’, shows how public order laws, designed to protect morality, continue to disproportionately target women, who can face long spells in jail and flogging for infractions such as wearing ‘trousers’. Focusing on Khartoum state, the reports describes the experiences of some of the women most affected by the application of these laws, including alcohol brewers and sellers, human rights defenders, female students and migrant women. The report was written by the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) and REDRESS.

The report analyses the steps that have been taken by specialist bodies, organs and agencies of the UN as well as other international organisations engaged in peacekeeping to address victims’ rights and needs following allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse in countries including the Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Haiti. It calls for fundamental changes to the way in which these cases are handled, and foremost to recognise the victims as right-holders and not simply as vulnerable cases meriting charity or benevolence.