Publications

This letter expresses REDRESS' concern about the possible transfer out of prison of former Sudanese President, Omar Al-Bashir, and other former regime members, in light of the COVID-19 health emergency. While REDRESS strongly supports measures to protect detained individuals’ rights to health and personal integrity, Covid-19 must not be a pretext for the unjustified release of those facing charges for serious international crimes. REDRESS calls upon all decision-making authorities in Sudan, especially the office of the Attorney-General, to ensure respect for the rights of victims to justice and reparation, while upholding the rights of detainees to health and safe conditions of detention.

This Q&A summarises a joint policy submission released by FIDH, REDRESS and ECCHR calling on States to prioritise victims’ rights in negotiations for a new multilateral treaty on international cooperation in the domestic prosecution of serious international crimes, including genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Since 2011, a group of States has advocated for a new multilateral treaty to enhance cooperation between States in investigations and prosecutions of serious international crimes. This Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) Initiative is currently supported by over 70 countries.

In this joint policy submission, FIDH, REDRESS and ECCHR call on States to prioritise victims’ rights in negotiations for a new multilateral treaty on international cooperation in the domestic prosecution of serious international crimes, including genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Since 2011, a group of States has advocated for a new multilateral treaty to enhance cooperation between States in investigations and prosecutions of serious international crimes. This Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) Initiative is currently supported by over 70 countries.

REDRESS has submitted this evidence to the UK Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee relating to Iran's practice of unlawfully detaining dual and foreign nationals. The Foreign Affairs Committee is currently carrying out an inquiry into the UK’s relationship with Iran. The inquiry will explore the nature of the engagement between the UK and Iran and how successful it has been in achieving the UK’s foreign-policy objectives.  

On 12th March 2020, the Inter American Court of Human Rights gave its judgment in which it found Peru responsible for torture and sexual violence against an LGBTI person by Peruvian police officers in 2008. It is the first time in its history that the Court, the ultimate authority on human rights in the Americas, has considered a case of discriminatory torture. REDRESS has prepared this Briefing Note in order to provide a summary of the case decision.

An earlier version of this Briefing Note was prepared prior to the availability of the full judgment in English, and this amended version was produced in July 2020 to reflect more precisely the contents of the English judgment.

In the light of reports of a possible outbreak of coronavirus in Tihar Prison, and fears that Jagtar Singh Johal may contract the virus, this briefing outlines India’s legal obligations to provide Jagtar with appropriate and timely medical treatment. Under international law, India is required to provide medical treatment to Jagtar by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which India is a party, and by the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.

Universal Jurisdiction Annual Review 2020: Terrorism and International Crimes: Prosecuting atrocities for what they are (UJAR) salutes the rise of universal jurisdiction cases worldwide. It also highlights an alarming legal trend: the prosecution of mass atrocities as terrorism, and not international crimes. The Universal Jurisdiction Annual Review is TRIAL International’s main legal publication. It has been researched and written by Valérie Paulet, in collaboration with REDRESS, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH). It benefited from the generous support of the City of Geneva, the Oak Foundation and the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy.

In this Briefing Note REDRESS highlights that the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill risks creating impunity for serious offences including torture, and thus will result in the UK being in breach of its international treaty obligations. Victims of human rights violations committed by UK armed forces abroad may also lose their ability to obtain justice.