ASIAN WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP IN INTERNATIONAL JUSTICE & ACCOUNTABILITY

 

On 3 December, the Asia Justice Coalition, International Commission of Jurists, and Center for Justice and Accountability co-organised a panel discussion on the sidelines of the 23rd International Criminal Court Assembly of States Parties on the 'Asian Women's Leadership in International Justice & Accountability'. As the first-ever all-POC women-led side event of its kind, the session provided a platform to share lived experiences and called upon all stakeholders to end systemic discrimination, ensure equitable and diverse (gender and geographic) representation in international legal spaces, and practice increased solidarity. The panel included Priya Gopalan, Hafsar Tameesuddin, Samiha Sahel Muma, Yee Htun, Kate Vigneswaran, Priya Pillai, and Alejandra Vicente.

 

GENDER JUSTICE & CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY CONVENTION

 

On 6 December, Asia Justice Coalition, Global Justice Center, FIDH - International Federation for Human Rights, The Promise Institute for Human Rights at UCLA School of Law, Physicians for Human Rights, the Crimes Against Humanity Initiative, TRIAL International, Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice, and Atlantic Council co-sponsored an ICC ASP side event on 'Gender Justice and the Crimes Against Humanity Treaty'. The event witnessed interventions focused on creating a Crimes Against Humanity treaty that truly addresses sexual and gender-based crimes, including reproductive violence, gender apartheid, forced marriage, slave trade, and survivor-centered justice.

CSO WORKSHOP ON CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY CONVENTION

 

On 5 December, the Asia Justice Coalition co-sponsored a civil society workshop on the Crimes Against Humanity Convention. AJC’s Legal Advocacy and Communications Manager, Aakash Chandran, participated in the panel discussion and highlighted the need and importance of Asian voices in the deliberations and processes in the run-up to the CAH Diplomatic Conference. Read AJC’s work on the CAH Convention here.

 

AJC PUBLISHED A PRIMER ON ‘GENDER & INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW’

 

On 19 December, the Coalition secretariat published a primer on ‘gender and international criminal law'. The primer offers a concise explanation of the following: 1) why 'gender' is relevant in international criminal law; 2) how existing international criminal law explicitly addresses ‘gender-based crimes’; 3) whether existing international crimes include forced marriage; 4) whether existing international crimes include human trafficking for sexual exploitation; and 5) what 'gender apartheid' is

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AJC TOOLKIT ON JUSTICE AVENUES NOW AVAILABLE IN 9 LANGUAGES

 

On 11 December, the Asia Justice Coalition released its 'Toolkit on Justice Avenues' in 9 languages: Burmese, Bengali, Hindi, Korean, Malay, Sinhala, Tamil, & Indonesian. The toolkit provides a look at available avenues for CSO engagement within the international legal sphere. It includes easy-to-read overviews of United Nations Fact-Finding Missions, and International Investigative Mechanisms, the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, and the use of Universal Jurisdiction.

GAAMAC WEBINAR ON MYANMAR CRISIS

 

On 2 December, AJC’s partner Global Action Against Mass Atrocity Crimes (GAAMAC) held an online discussion on the Myanmar crisis. The webinar covered the impact on vulnerable populations, the implications of planned elections amid armed resistance, and how neighboring countries respond to the crisis. Asia Justice Coalition member Patrick Phongsathorn (Fortify Rights) and WIJA Board Member Debbie Stothard participated in the panel.

 

LAW: LAUNCH OF THE GENDER JUSTICE PRACTITIONER HUB (GJPHub)

 

On 4 December, the Legal Action Worldwide Legal Action and its partners launched the Gender Justice Practitioner Hub. LAW’s Executive Director, Antonia Mulvey, who chaired proceedings, outlined the extensive, collaborative research that underpins the foundation of the GJP Hub. The other speakers included Michelle Jarvis, Patricia Sellers, Priya Gopalan, Alexandra Sandoval Mantilla, and Sarah Kihika.

 

ICJ: ‘TOWARDS GENDER INCLUSIVE JUSTICE & ACCOUNTABILITY FOR SERIOUS CRIMES COMMITTED IN MYANMAR’

 

On 9 December, the International Commission of Jurists held a webinar launching its report, "Towards Gender Inclusive Justice and Accountability for Serious Crimes under International Law Committed in Myanmar", which highlighted the critical need for gender-responsive justice mechanisms in Myanmar and the importance of integrating gender competence into international accountability mechanisms.

 

FORTIFY RIGHTS: ‘END IMPUNITY FOR TORTURE, PROVIDE JUSTICE FOR MYANMAR NATIONAL KILLED BY THAI SOLDIERS’

 

On 11 December, ahead of the national dialogue event in the Thai parliament with U.N. officials to discuss torture prevention, Fortify Rights called upon Thailand to end impunity for torture by ensuring the effective implementation of its own anti-torture law. In November, Fortify Rights reported how Thai soldiers beat Myanmar national Aung Ko Ko to death at the Thailand-Myanmar border.

GCR2P: ‘COMMEMORATING THE VICTIMS OF GENOCIDE’

 

On 11 December, the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect released a statement to mark the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime, as well as the 76^th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. According to Savita Pawnday (Executive Director, GCR2P), “History shows that failure to act in the face of atrocities allows the unimaginable to become reality. We are at a critical threshold, witnessing a deliberate undermining of the collective commitment to fulfill the promise of ‘never again.’ If these commemorations are meant to honor the victims of past atrocities, we have an obligation to respect their memory by taking appropriate action when confronted by risks today.”

 

FORTIFY RIGHTS: A TALK WITH TUN KHIN

 

On 11 December, AJC member Tun Khin (President, Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK) was in conversation with Puttanee Kangkun (Director, The Fort) in Bangkok, Thailand, as a part of its ‘Meet the Changemakers’ program.

 

HRW: ‘ASEAN NEEDS TO RETHINK ITS MYANMAR STRATEGY’

 

On 19 December, AJC member Human Rights Watch called upon Malaysia, as the upcoming chair of ASEAN in 2025, to “reroute ASEAN’s approach in line with the tougher rhetoric it has previously espoused, supporting both punitive and diplomatic measures from a coalition of concerned governments.”  According to HRW, “To address the Myanmar crisis, ASEAN members, China, India, and others joining the dialogues should be looking to ramp up pressure on the military to end its abuses, not hosting a junta official…True leverage will require developing tangible, timebound consequences for the junta’s violations of the Five-Point Consensus as well as international humanitarian and human rights law, in consultation with other governments, such as those with sanctions regimes”.

 

BROUK: ‘ROHINGYAS CALL FOR JUSTICE, EQUALITY, PEACEFUL COEXISTENCE AND INCLUSIVE GOVERNANCE IN ARAKAN’

 

On 23 December, AJC member Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK joined other Rohingya civil society organisations and called upon the “Arakan Army and its political wing, the United League of Arakan, to uphold and respect the rights of the Rohingya and all ethnic and religious minorities in Arakan State”. According to the statement, “During decades of military rule, the people of Arakan State, including the Rohingya, have yearned for freedom. With the Arakan Army now in control of the territory, it bears the responsibility to fulfill that aspiration.”

‘UN EXPERTS URGE ‘COURSE CORRECTION’ AS CIVILIAN DEATHS EXCEED 6,000’

 

On 2 December, UN experts, including the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, called for a “course correction” in the international response to the escalating crisis in Myanmar as the civilian death toll eclipsed 6,000. According to experts, “You cannot hold an election when you deposed a democratically elected government in an unconstitutional coup, and continue to arbitrarily arrest, detain, disappear, torture and execute opposition leaders, nor when it is illegal for journalists to report the truth. We urge UN Member States to call this exercise what it is, a fraud”.

 

INTERVENTIONS IN THE GAMBIA V. MYANMAR ICJ PROCEEDING

 

In December, Slovenia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ireland, and Belgium each filed a separate declaration of intervention pursuant to Article 63 of the Statute in the case of The Gambia v. Myanmar before the International Court of Justice.

‘SEIZE MOMENTUM FOR JUSTICE CREATED BY APPLICATION FOR ICC ARREST WARRANT AGAINST MYANMAR JUNTA LEADER’

 

On 16 December, the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Tom Andrews, welcomed the application of arrest warrants filed by the Office of the Prosecutor in the Bangladesh/Myanmar situation. According to him, “There is not a moment to lose to move the wheels of justice forward. I am encouraged by the Prosecutor’s commitment to requesting further warrants and that this will be done as soon as possible. It is critical that governments lend their full support to enforcing them.”

 

ICC LAUNCHED NEW POLICY ON SLAVERY CRIMES

 

On 2 December, the International Criminal Court Office of the Prosecutor launched a new Policy on Slavery Crimes. This new Policy sets out the scope of slavery crimes under the Rome Statute. It will guide the Office to properly investigate and prosecute the full character of enslavement and sexual slavery as crimes against humanity, and sexual slavery as war crimes, while acknowledging that slavery crimes can take myriad forms. In 2024, the Asia Justice Coalition submitted an input to the Special Adviser for Slavery Crimes, Professor Patricia V. Sellers.