Legal Action Worldwide

LAW and Fortify Rights hold ASP20 side event on international justice for Myanmar
2021-12-07 08:00 - 17:00 (Europe/London)
On 7 December 2021, LAW and Fortify Rights facilitated a panel discussion as a side event to the 20thAssembly of State Parties of the International Criminal Court. The discussion was chaired by Chris Gunness (Director, Myanmar Accountability Project) and included opening remarks from Hasina Begum (Rohingya representative from the camps in Cox’s Bazar) and Professor Payam Akhavan (International Court of Justice Counsel to The Gambia, Specialist Advisor on Genocide to the International Criminal Court Prosecutor). The panel comprised: Wai Wai Nu (Founder and Executive Director of Women Peace Network), Chris Sidoti (Member of the Special Advisory Council for Myanmar. Former member of the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar), Matt Smith (Chief Executive Officer, Fortify Rights), and Antonia Mulvey (Executive Director, Legal Action Worldwide).

The discussion covered multiple important issues, including the urgent need the National Unity Government (NUG) of Myanmar to lodge instruments of accession to the Rome Statute with the UN Secretary General, and the importance of the solidarity between the peoples of Myanmar, including the Rohingya. Panellists called upon the International Criminal Court (ICC) to urgently demonstrate its effectiveness and relevance as a justice mechanism, by acknowledging and responding to Article 12(3) Rome Statute declaration made by the NUG of Myanmar in July 2021, recognising the ICC’s jurisdiction. They expressed frustration that, five months on, the NUG was yet to receive a response.

A two page summary of the event and ‘to-do’ list will be circulated shortly. A recording of the event, can be viewed on Fortify Rights’ Facebook page here

Panel Discussion on the Arbitrary Detention of Children in Syria
2021-12-01 08:00 - 17:00
On 1 December 2021, Legal Action Worldwide (LAW) and the European Union co-hosted a webinar on ‘Arbitrary Detention of Children in Syria’. The purpose of the webinar was to give a platform to those who have directly suffered from this egregious human rights violation. The panel brought together survivors, international justice actors and civil society representatives to explore strategies for addressing the needs and supporting child detainees, their families and their communities in the pursuit of justice.
The webinar was attended by 58 actors working on the Syria crisis, comprising representatives from the international donor community, international justice and humanitarian sector, and Syrian civil society. Panelists Omar Alshogre, former detainee and Director for Detainee Affairs at the Syrian Emergency Task Force, Mahmoud Meemar, Coalition of the Families of Persons Kidnapped by ISIS-Da’esh, Hanny Megally, member of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, Sonia Khush, Syria Response Director for Save the Children, and Michelle Jarvis, the Deputy Head of the International Independent and Impartial Mechanism for Syria,
LAW’s Executive Director Antonia Mulvey chaired the webinar, with panelists exploring the profound impact of arbitrary arrest, detention and torture of children in formal and informal detention centers across Syria. The panelists also discussed the importance of investigating and documenting evidence from former child detainees to support justice and accountability efforts. Lara Scarpitta, Political Advisor to the Delegation of the European Union to the UN and other International Organizations in Geneva added closing remarks emphasizing the need to release child detainees, amplify voices of survivors and urging the international community to find durable solutions.
Recommendations generated from the discussion include:

Authorities within Syria must live up to human rights standards by recognizing that children should never be detained for the actions of their parents or detained out of fear of their future role within society. Children should only be detained as a last resort and, even then, for the least amount of time possible.
The international community must press for the release of children who have been arbitrarily detained and find ways to increase pressure to access detention facilities with independent monitors.
The international community must step up support for survivors and their families and invest in children and their well-being to avoid a ‘lost generation’.
For children kidnapped by ISIS, there is a need to declassify documents and responsibly exhume mass graves. Prosecutorial authorities must investigate ISIS fighters and find ways to make legal processes more transparent and responsive to the needs of families.
Originating countries must repatriate female nationals and their children from camps in Northeast Syria.
For all actors working on the Syria crisis, amplify the voice of survivors and develop robust methodologies to fill gaps in documentation of crimes and violations against children.

LAW & EFI Co-host International Conference “Supporting a Survivor-led Justice Movement in Syria” in Paris
2021-10-26 08:00 - 17:00
On 26 and 27 October 2021, Legal Action Worldwide (LAW) and EuroMed Feminist Initiative (EFI) co-hosted the international conference “Supporting a Survivor-led Justice Movement in Syria” in Paris, France. The hybrid conference was part of a series of discussions between Syrian survivors, activists, civil society and representatives from other conflict-affected regions. The aim of the conference was to enable participants to share experiences and explore strategies for building a survivor- and women-led justice movement.
The 58 participants engaged in a cross-regional exchange with leaders and human rights defenders from Syria, Bangladesh, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Palestine. Discussions highlighted the importance of gender-sensitive and gender-inclusive approaches to peacebuilding processes with meaningful participation of survivors and victims. Participants also stressed the need for empowering victims to become survivors and enabling Syrian civil society to lead efforts towards justice, accountability, and sustainable peace.
In the words of one Syrian activist, “It is not easy for us to talk about our pain. Because the injury is still in our hearts. We were in Geneva and talking about people who were forcibly disappeared. The burden of finding my father, sisters and relatives is on my shoulder. And this is a big burden, but we keep going because we believe in justice.”

LAW hosts screening of documentary and live photo exhibition on the disappeared during the Lebanese Civil War
2021-10-12 08:00 - 17:00
On the 12 and 13 of October 2021, Legal Action Worldwide hosted the screening of ‘Mu’ ajjal’ – a new documentary featuring the moving stories of women whose family members disappeared during the Lebanese Civil War and never returned. This was accompanied by a live photo exhibition.
The documentary and photo exhibition are part of the “Dealing with the Past’ project which is funded by UN Women in partnership with Justice Without Frontiers and the Committee of the Families of the Kidnapped and Missing. The project seeks to empower female sexual and gender-based violence survivors, and relatives of family members who “disappeared” during the 1975-90 Lebanese Civil War.
The documentary and photo exhibition aimed to raise public awareness of forced disappearances during the Civil War and to encourage greater action to bring justice for those who disappeared and their families.

https://www.legalactionworldwide.org/wp-content/uploads/Exhibition-Video.mp4
To view the documentary and for more information on the project, click here.
