In the last week, UpRights participated in three seminars on current issues in the field of International Criminal Law (ICL) to students of University of Bologna (Italy) and ITAM University of Mexico City (Mexico).

On 24 March, UpRights co-founder Alessandro Pizzuti, and legal researcher Luigi Prosperi met with students of the “International and European Criminal Law” course of the Department of Legal Studies of the University of Bologna to discuss challenges and outcomes of potential International Criminal Court investigations into crimes allegedly committed against migrants in Libya. They actively worked with students to identify challenges related to the jurisdictional requirements arising from the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1970 which triggered the jurisdiction of the Court and concerning the qualification of the abuses committed against migrants as war crimes and/or crimes against humanity.

On 25 March, Luigi Prosperi discussed with the students of the “International and European Criminal Law” course of the Department of Legal Studies of the University of Bologna the recent decision of the International Criminal Court in the situation in Palestine. He analyzed the context, the reasoning, and the conclusions of the decision as well as the dissent, and the impact the decision may have on the investigation and prosecution of crimes allegedly committed by Palestinian and Israeli nationals during the 2014 Gaza War, in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and in the context of the 2018 demonstrations on the border fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel.

On 19 March, Luigi Prosperi spoke with students as part of the “Seminario sobre Derecho Internacional Penal” organized by ITAM University of Mexico City (Mexico). He introduced the concept of crimes against humanity, as defined in the Statutes of international criminal tribunals – including the Nuremberg and Tokyo Tribunals, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and the International Criminal Court – and in the Draft articles on Prevention and Punishment of Crimes Against Humanity adopted by the International Law Commission in 2019. Discussion focused on the contextual elements of crimes against humanity and current practice of the International Criminal Court concerning the “organizational policy” requirement.

We would like to warmly thank Professors Gabriela Rodríguez and Guilherme Vasconcelos of ITAM University and Professor Emanuela Fronza of the University of Bologna for the invitation, and we look forward to further opportunities to discuss important issues of international criminal law and UpRights’ ongoing projects with students and scholars.