The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) invites you to a discussion following the publication of the Report of the OSCE Moscow Mechanism’s mission of experts ‘Report on Violations of International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Committed in Ukraine since 24 February 2022’.
Professor Marco Sassòli, a member of the OSCE mission, will present the report’s findings concerning violations of international humanitarian law (IHL), international human rights law (IHRL) and crimes under international law committed following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Panellists will then discuss the way forward for further investigation and accountability for the crimes committed during the conflict.
The panel of speakers will include:
Professor Marco Sassòli, Professor of International Law at the University of Geneva, member of the OSCE Moscow Mechanism Mission, ICJ Commissioner
Professor Andrew Clapham, Professor of International Law at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, ICJ Honorary Member
Mariana Katzarova, Founder and Chair, RAW in WAR (Reach All Women in War); International human rights investigator
Moderated by: Róisín Pillay, Europe and Central Asia Director, International Commission of Jurists
The meeting will be held online on 16 May at 16:00 CET. Presentations will be in English. Brief presentations will be followed by a Q&A session. Please register here for the event.
Background
On 24 February 2022 the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine in breach of Article 2(4) of the UN Charter which prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of a State. To establish facts and circumstances of violations of IHRL, IHL, possible cases of war crimes and crimes against humanity, with a view to presenting the information to relevant accountability mechanisms, on 3 March 2022, the Moscow Mechanism of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) was invoked by Ukraine supported by 45 participating States. Consequently, a Mission of three experts was appointed on 14 March 2022. On 12 April, the findings of the mission were published.
Marco Sassòli is professor of international law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Geneva. He is commissioner of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and pro bono special advisor on IHL of the prosecutor of the international Criminal Court. Marco Sassòli has worked from 1985-1997 for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) at the headquarters, and in the field, inter alia as head of the ICRC delegations in Jordan and Syria and as protection coordinator for the former Yugoslavia. Marco Sassòli has published widely on international humanitarian law (most recently: International Humanitarian Law: Rules, Controversies, and Solutions to Problems Arising in Warfare, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, 2019), human rights law, international criminal law, the sources of international law, and the responsibility of states and non-state actors.
Andrew Clapham is Professor of International Law at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, which he joined in 1997. He has been a member of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan since October 2017. He is an Honorary Member of the International Commission of Jurists. In 2003 he was an Adviser on International Humanitarian Law to Sergio Vieira de Mello, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Iraq. He is the author of various books including Brierly’s Law of Nations: An Introduction to the Role of Law in International Relations (7th edition) and co-editor with Paola Gaeta and Marco Sassòli of The 1949 Geneva Conventions: A Commentary (2015). His latest book is entitled War (2021).
Mariana Katzarova is a human rights investigator, advocate and international expert on combating human trafficking and violence against women. She led the mandate of the UN OHCHR Examination of the human rights situation in Belarus from September 2021 to March 2022, as its Coordinator. In 2014-2016, she led the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission’s team in the armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine as head of regional office for Donetsk, Luhansk, Dnipro and Zaporizhya. As Adviser on human trafficking to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, developed the “Commentary on the Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking” (2010). She led Amnesty International’s work in the Chechnya conflict. At RAW, she set up the Anna Politkovskaya Award for women human rights defenders, working in war and conflict.
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