Publications

These comments to the ICCNGO Bi-annual Consultations concern the International Criminal Court’s Draft Guidelines governing the relations between the Court and Intermediaries. Intermediaries at the ICC are generally motivated as stakeholders in the justice process, and often put themselves them at personal and professional risk in the course of their obligations. With this in mind, our submission strives to facilitate fruitful, mutual understanding and sustainable working relationships. This paper builds on a previous comments made by the Victims’ Rights Working Group in February 2009, which provided a preliminary review of the role and relationship of intermediaries with the ICC, reflecting the types of work and challenges faced by them in their daily work.

These recommendations to the International Criminal Court - authored by the Victims Rights Working Group in collaboration with REDRESS - offer practical means by which the extensive ‘stocktaking’ undertaken at the ICC Review Conference in Kampala on the issue of 'Impact on Victims and Affected Communities' may be translated into concrete measures and policies at the ICC. Among others, we suggest the addition of specific, measurable and time- bound targets  into an updated version of the Court's Strategy in Relation to Victims. These recommendations follow a detailed paper presented to the Court in 2007, providing numerous examples of measurable strategic results with corresponding indicators and means of verification in the form of a log frame.

This submission to the Working Group - co-authored by the International Commission of Jurists, Amnesty International, REDRESS, and the International Federation for Human Rights - offers comments on the Draft Guidelines on Eradicating Impunity for Serious Human Rights Violations. Amongst others, these include recommendations for the further inclusion of the right to reparations, a stronger emphasis on the role of individual state parties outside of their territorial jurisdiction, and the inclusion of a more suitable definition of 'victim'. Notwithstanding the considerable progress made to date in the drafting of the Guidelines, the organisations hope that they can be further strengthened in the course of this meeting, to add the greatest possible value to the fight against impunity.

Amnesty International, the International Commission of Jurists and REDRESS jointly submit further recommendations for the inclusion of additional references to the Draft Reference-texts for the Guidelines of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on Eradicating Impunity for Serious Human Rights Violations.  

Following the announcement by Prime Minister David Cameron on 6 July of an inquiry into allegations of UK involvement in the mistreatment of detainees held abroad, the AIRE Centre, Amnesty International, British Irish RIGHTS WATCH, Cageprisoners, Justice, Liberty, REDRESS, Reprieve, and the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture have submitted constructive comments to ensure the success of the inquiry. A sufficiently empowered and transparent inquiry could discharge the UK's duty to effectively investigate allegations of knowledge and/or involvement by state actors in the torture, ill-treatment or rendition of individuals that have arisen in the last decade, and clarify how involvement in such crimes may be prevented in the future.

In Professor Manfred Nowak's 2005 visit report to Nepal, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture reported the systematic practice of torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment predominantly perpetrated by the security forces during the armed conflict with the Communist Party of Nepal. While the use of torture by both the security forces and the CPNM has abated since the end of the conflict in April 2006, torture remains habitual and widespread in a considerable part of the country. Torture in police custody is particularly worrisome, particularly in relation to juveniles and members of certain ethnic groups.

This report formed the basis of a September 2010 workshop organised by the Essex Transitional Justice Network and Redress, which brought  together a multidisciplinary group of experts to discuss the existing and evolving approaches to the rehabilitation of victims of gross human rights violations. Participants were encouraged to establish multidisciplinary dialogues, between representatives of various professional communities working on the issue of rehabilitation (such as psychiatrists, psychologists, academics and lawyers) domestically and internationally for government; governmental or intergovernmental organisations; courts and other justice processes and nongovernmental organisations and networks. These discussions served to identify further ground for development, in order to clarify the scope of rehabilitation under international law and ensure its delivery in practice.  

A new Israeli Bill entitled 'Associations (Amutot) Law (Amendment – Exceptions to the Registration and Activity of an Association), 2010' proposes to prohibit the registration or close down any existing non-governmental organisation, if "there are reasonable grounds to conclude that the association is providing information to foreign entities or is involved in legal proceedings abroad against senior Israeli government officials or IDF officers, for war crimes." In response to a recent right-wing publication accusing at least twelve Israeli human rights organisations of involvement in the indictment of Israeli officials for serious violations of international law, REDRESS, in collaboration with several other civil society organisations, have authored a public statement condemning the dangers posed by this Bill.