Five Takeaways from the IBA War Crimes Committee Conference 2023: Pursuing Justice in a World on Fire
Danilo at the IBA War Crimes Conference
On March 18th, 2023, the International Bar Association (IBA) War Crimes Committee Conference took place in The Hague, the international city of peace and justice. The conference theme was: Pursuing Justice in a World on Fire. The IBA is the global voice of the legal profession, and the War Crimes Committee is in charge of promoting Justice worldwide and upholding the principle of accountability.
Attending the conference as a delegate from the University of Oxford was an incredible opportunity to learn about existing and new developments in International Criminal Law (ICL), and to interact with cutting-edge research and the world's legal experts, such as the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor, Mr Karim Asad Ahmad Khan KC, who gave the closing remarks. The program was highly insightful and covered a diverse range of issues, giving visibility to different forgotten communities and situations worldwide, and establishing what the international community can and must do.
Slavery and the Slave Trade must be codified as Crime Against Humanity.
Patricia Viseur-Sellers, Special Advisor for Slavery Crimes to the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC, shed light on how the omission of the Slave Trade goes from the Leiber Code to the Rome Statute. More specifically, the latter contains no provision for slavery and the slave trade. "Was it intentional? Was it legal negligence? Have we committed this omission?" stated Viseur-Sellers. Furthermore, it is essential not to confuse it with trafficking.
Innovations in International Criminal Accountability are necessary for contemporary challenges.
Examples of these innovations include the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism for Syria (IIIM), the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM), and the different national efforts by civil society for case-building in Ukraine. These innovations meet the demands of current issues in ICL. Additionally, they have showcased and demonstrated key lessons, such as putting civil society and communities at the forefront of the conversation on what problems and cases must be prioritized and looked at in ICL.
Patricia Viseur-Sellers, Special Advisor for Slavery Crimes to the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC, giving the opening remarks as the keynote speaker
3. The International Community must support Women at the frontline of Justice in Afghanistan and Iran through actions and not just words.
Women in both countries have led protests demanding women's rights against the Taliban regime once they took over and the Iranian government after the death of Mahsa Amini. Unfortunately, impunity remains for crimes such as murder, sexual violence, and aggression, as well as the denial of fundamental rights. Azadah Raz Mohammad, the founder of the Ham Diley Campaign, stated that although there have been recent positive developments in the situation in Afghanistan, "they are not enough. Urgent and serious attention by the International Community is needed."
4. A Progressive Convention on Crimes Against Humanity is coming and should be adopted.
In 2019, the International Law Commission adopted a draft text on Crimes Against Humanity, which will be discussed in the Sixth Committee during the seventy-seventh and seventy-eight sessions in April 2023. At the conference, the world's experts on Crimes Against Humanity came together to discuss how sexual and gender-based violence should be given priority in this convention, how the rights of forgotten and vulnerable communities must be present, and how the occurrence of international conferences on these matters should also take place in the Global South to ensure that everyone has a seat on the table.
5. It is time to turn to those Blindspots in International Criminal Justice.
While innovations have been created to tackle situations in ICL, some communities, such as children, remain ignored, and some situations remain forgotten, such as those in Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, and Nigeria. The international community must come together to see how the world is on fire, and turn this fire into an avenue that strengthens the pursuit of Justice worldwide. As ICC Prosecutor, Mr Karim Asad Ahmad Khan KC stated: "As individuals dedicated to the Rule of Law, [and] as servants of Justice, we have a role to play to move the dial." As a result, the time to act is now to prevent further atrocities and ensure that victims are heard and repaired.
As a former Legal Intern at the IBA in 2021, this was my first IBA in-person event. Throughout my time at the IBA, I pioneered legal reports on Crimes Against Humanity against the Uyghur population, and conducted research on the rule of law and legal technical assistance that contributed to two chapters of the book: The Rule of Law in the 21st Century: A Worldwide Perspective, Second Edition. Therefore, attending the conference was a fantastic opportunity to discuss these issues in person and connect with people who are also passionate about making a difference in the field of ICL and international justice.
Furthermore, my MSc dissertation focuses on the aftermath of preliminary examinations by the International Criminal Court, specifically on the factors that affect the capacity of domestic courts to conduct trials once a preliminary examination has been closed. Thus, attending the conference was very enriching because it provided me with new perspectives and tools to consider when writing my dissertation in terms of ICL processes and domestic courts' capacity to conduct trials, as well as contextual and innovative information to take into account when writing the policy implication and recommendations section.
The Benninghoff, The Hague, The Netherlands
