As the 55th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council approaches, Human Rights Activists (HRA) in Iran is publishing the redacted version of a submission filed in December to the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran (FFMI).

Drafted with the legal support of UpRights, the 60-page submission argues that the facts provided to the FFMI by HRA and two trusted partner organizations should lead the FFMI to conclude that crimes against humanity, and in particular persecution on political and gender grounds, have taken place in the Islamic Republic of Iran since at least 16 September 2022.

The redacted version of the submission is presented in five comprehensive parts, first outlining a methodological approach to collecting and verifying information. Then, it contextualises the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests in the wider discriminatory legal framework against women, girls and LGBTQI+ individuals, detailing the facts surrounding the protests, before providing a legal analysis focusing on the crime against humanity of persecution on gender and political grounds. Finally, it presents the FFMI and UN Member States with recommendations in this respect.

To read more on HRA’s work on shedding light on the situation of human rights in Iran ahead of the FFMI’s report – set to be delivered on March 18th  – see here

UN FFMI submission

On February 2nd, 2024, UpRights and StraLi released the report Navigating Troubled Waters: Italy’s Human Rights Dilemma in the Mediterranean .

Shedding light on the human rights violations arising from the implementation of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by Italy and Libya, this report builds upon our Article 15 Communication to the International Criminal Court, which called for an investigation into the international crimes committed by Libyan armed groups against migrants following their interception at sea and return  to  Libya.

The Memorandum of Understanding: A Closer Look

As we approach the 7th anniversary of the MoU, the report delves into its negative human rights implications, calling for a critical examination of Italy’s cooperation practices with Libya and emphasizing the drastic need for a reformulation of such framework.

Tacitly renewed last in February 2023, the MoU has increased the capacity of Libya to intercept migrants and refugees. Nonetheless, the absence of human rights provisions in the framework of the agreement drastically impacted the basic human rights of vulnerable persons, with migrants intercepted at sea facing mistreatment, including arbitrary arrest, torture, inhuman treatment, and sexual violence.

Italy’s International Responsibilities

Our report argues that such violations inevitably render Italy’s position, and consequently the MoU itself, untenable, and situate Italy in violation of its human rights obligations through a policy of externalization.

Indeed, the conduct of Libyan authorities exposes Italy to international responsibility for the violation of several international conventions, including the United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and possibly the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

The material support provided by Italy may even implicate individual criminal responsibility for Italian agents assisting the Libyan authorities, potentially qualifying as war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Call to Action: Reframing Italy’s Cooperation Strategy

As such, the report calls for a reconsideration of Italy’s cooperation strategy with Libya, proposing two options to ensure compliance with international law obligations:

1. Amendment of the MoU: A human rights clause should be introduced, specifying that respect for human rights and international humanitarian law is essential. This clause should establish an independent body to monitor compliance, a list of mitigating measures for human rights violations, and a legal framework for effective access to justice.

2. Termination or Suspension of the MoU: If amendments consistent with human rights principles cannot be introduced, the report suggests the possibility of terminating or suspending the MoU. Violations by the Libyan authorities may justify such actions under Article 60 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, providing leverage for negotiations on amendments in line with Italy’s human rights obligations.

Moving towards human rights

In light of the harsh realities faced by migrants in the Mediterranean, the report urges Italy to amend its policies to ensure compliance with international human rights standards. The report aims to encourage a constructive dialogue and tangible actions to ensure the protection of migrants’ rights and uphold Italy’s commitment to its international obligations.

Waves of the sea reflecting the focus area of the report

On 11 December 2023, Human Rights Activists (HRA) in Iran and UpRights filed a submission before the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran (FFMI). The submission contends that crimes against humanity, and in particular persecution on political and gender grounds, have taken place in the Islamic Republic of Iran since at least 16 September 2022.

Analysing information collected and verified by HRA and two partner organizations, the submission demonstrates that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the crackdown by the Iranian authorities on the peaceful protests that followed the death of Mahsa Zhina Amini, and other violations related to the protests since September 2022, constitute a widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population. Against the background of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests, the submission highlights specific examples of the violence employed by the Iranian government including instances of arbitrary arrest and detention, sexual violence, and murder. It demonstrates that those examples qualify as underlying acts of crimes against humanity and severe deprivations of fundamental rights.

The submission outlines how agents of the Iranian government intended to discriminate against women and girls especially on the basis of gender, with these groups singled out for persecutory treatment including physical and psychological abuse, the use of derogatory language and acts of sexual violence including rape. The submission recognises in this respect that individuals have also been targeted on political grounds. It stresses, however, the intersectional nature of the violations to which women, girls and LGBTQI+ individuals have been specifically subjected by the Iranian authorities for their perceived non-compliance with established gender norms and discriminatory laws and policies.

The submission concludes with recommendations by HRA to the FFMI and the international community to establish accountability for the violations outlined in the submission.

UpRights thanks HRA for the opportunity to contribute to this important issue and in particular analysis of the crime against humanity of persecution on gender grounds. While the entirety of the submission has not been made public at this time, an executive summary of the facts is available here.

On Thursday, November 30th, 2023, UpRights’ Co-Director, Valérie Gabard, joined the Database Center for North Korean Human Rights (NKDB) for the release of their latest report ‘Behind Closed Doors: Mapping the System of Command in the Ministry of State Security & Social Security’. This collaborative effort aims to unravel the intricate web of human rights violations in North Korea, underscoring how the discourse on the North Korean human rights issues has progressively shifted from exposing the gravity of North Korean human rights violations to finding ways to hold perpetrators accountable.

Photo Credits: NKDB

The Report’s Focus: Responsibility and Accountability

Through the employment of its database comprising over 140,000 cases of human rights violations, NKDB was able to produce a report that delves into the organizational structure and systems of command within the North Korean Ministries of State Security and Social Security. The primary goal of the report is to shed light on the systematic and widespread human rights violations occurring within North Korea, emphasizing the need to identify the responsible individuals and organizations, as well as all those actors turning blind eye to the systematic and widespread violations happening in the country.

Photo Credits: NKDB

Valérie’s Insights: Exploring Superior Responsibility

In her contribution Valérie underlined how the type of work done by NKDB could assist in pursuing accountability because of its information-seeking character, indeed, according to the UpRights’ Co-Director, a better understanding the structure and organization of the Ministries could assist judges and prosecutors understand their power structures.

Drawing from her experience from working within the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, Valérie emphasized the challenges of prosecuting individuals and specifically discussed the concept of ‘superior responsibility’ in the context of international law. While ‘superior responsibility’ is a well-established concept in international criminal law, its application becomes more nuanced in the Korean context, where no individuals have been prosecuted yet. For this exact reason, the report aims to go beyond merely identifying individuals and organizations but also to demonstrate effective control, a crucial aspect in establishing ‘superior responsibility.’

Photo Credits: NKDB

UpRights’ Contribution: Training and Collaboration

Between December 2022 and June 2023, UpRights has been providing investigative and legal advise in the context of collecting evidence and witness reports to better understand the structure and chain of command of the North Korean’s Regime. Furthermore, in January 2023, UpRights also provided the NKDB with trainings workshops aimed at strengthening their legal capacity in documentation and accountability-seeking efforts for crimes committed in North Korea

Looking back at last week’s event, UpRights expresses its pride in the long-term partnership with NKDB and extends gratitude to the entire team for their collaboration in this significant conference. The collective effort aims to bring justice to the victims of human rights violations in North Korea and holds the promise of a brighter future for those affected.

UpRights prepared an independent expert report assessing the Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) process of the Mozambique Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) Project operated by TotalEnergies. This report, commissioned by Justiça Ambiental!, Friends of the Earth Europe, Friends of the Earth, Milieudefensie was published today.

While clear signs indicate that TotalEnergies is considering officially restarting the development of the LNG project it operates in the Northern Province of Cabo Delgado in Mozambique, the independent review conducted by UpRights highlights gaps and omissions in the HRDD assessment conducted in 2020 and in the subsequent Action Plan. The report also points to the significant disconnect between the project’s public commitment in its human rights policy to respect human rights and its actual implementation in the Project’s operations and the human right situation on the ground. While some of the limitations encountered in conducting the process may be related to the COVID-19 pandemic, it does not obliviate the shortcomings identified in the report.

The main area of concern relates to the disregard in the HRDD process of the armed conflict in Mozambique. The HRDD assessment conducted in 2020 and the following Action Plan of TotalEnergies fail to properly prioritize and consider the armed conflict and to conduct heightened HRDD with a conflict-sensitive approach. No justification can be found for such a disregard given that the LNG project has been operating in a conflict-affected area since 2017 and that TotalEnergies became the operator of the project in September 2019. As a result, the human rights due diligence process fails to:

Accurately assess the potential human rights impact of the Project on the security situation of the communities vis-à-vis the insurgents and the Mozambique security forces.

Consider international humanitarian and international criminal law as relevant legal frameworks despite their undeniable relevance to the context of the Project’s operation.

Assess the real risk of being considered complicit in international humanitarian law violations or war crimes allegedly committed by the Mozambican armed forces.

Comprehensively address the issue of gender and conflict as part of any heightened human rights due diligence.

This review was conducted on the basis of documents made publicly available by TotalEnergies. The public scrutiny of the implementation of HRDD by the LNG Project was limited by the unavailability of several important documents as well as the inadequate level of detail and lack of explanation of certain key considerations in the documents available.

Read the Assessment of TotalEnergies’ Mozambique LNG Project Human Rights Due Diligence

UpRights welcomes the publication of the report “The Taliban’s war on women: The crime against humanity of gender persecution in Afghanistan”. The report, jointly published by Amnesty International and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), with legal and analytical support from UpRights, details how human rights violations against women and girls under Taliban rule in Afghanistan may amount to crimes against humanity and, in particular, gender persecution.

Following the Taliban’s takeover in August 2021, the human rights of women and girls in Afghanistan have been progressively curtailed, despite initial assurances by the Taliban to uphold their rights. Gradually, the Taliban have implemented a series of policies to oppress and exclude women and girls from society with any meaningful form of public participation now prohibited.

The report details how actions taken by the Taliban’s de facto authorities have actively restricted the human rights of women and girls. These are in direct contravention of rights guaranteed under international human rights treaties to which Afghanistan is a party. Restrictions include: preventing women from moving freely and dressing as they choose; bans on education beyond primary school; exclusion from a wide range of professions, including from working with NGOs and the UN office in Afghanistan, and refusal to grant political appointments or public positions. The de facto Taliban authorities have also suppressed any instance of resistance against these policies through the use of intimidation, persecution, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, torture, and other forms of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.

The joint report highlights how the policies adopted by the Taliban severely curtail the human rights of women and girls, including the rights to education and work, and to the freedom of movement, expression, association, and peaceful assembly, as well as the rights to equality and non-discrimination. The new joint report provides an extensive legal assessment suggesting that such human rights violations to which women and girls are subjected can amount to international crimes under international law and in particular to the crime against humanity of gender persecution according to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Through a detailed legal analysis, to which UpRights provided analytical support, the report also underlines how the incidents of arbitrary arrest and detention, torture and other ill-treatment committed against women and girls accused of so-called “moral offenses” or for their participation in peaceful protests or other exercise of their human rights may further amount to the crimes against humanity of imprisonment, enforced disappearance and torture under Article 7(1) of the Rome Statute

The report covers the period from August 2021 to January 2023 and builds on Amnesty International’s previous investigative report “Death in Slow Motion: Women and Girls Under Taliban Rule”. The important analysis contained in the report would not have been possible without the cooperation between Amnesty International and the ICJ.

UpRights is pleased to share a new position paper entitled “Towards a Better Migrant Protection Framework Along the Central Mediterranean Route: Human rights implications and necessary revisions of the Memorandum of Understanding Between Italy and Libya”.

Read the full Position Paper.

The paper considers the human rights implications of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Italy and Libya on 2 February 2017 in which Italy committed to support and strengthen Libyan authorities’ ability to perform rescue missions and intercept migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea.

The position paper highlights that the implementation of the MoU by Italy is in violation of its obligations under international human rights law. The paper recommends that Italy amend the MoU to ensure that cooperation with Libya is consistent with its international obligations. Should such amendments be impossible, Italy must suspend or terminate the MoU to ensure it is in compliance with relevant international obligations.

As detailed in the paper, the MoU has empowered Libyan authorities, particularly the Libyan Coast Guard, at the expense of migrants’ human rights. Migrants recovered at sea by the Libyan Coast Guard have been and continue to be subjected to serious forms of mistreatment by the Libyan Coast Guard and the armed groups in charge of the detention centres where migrants are later transferred after disembarking in Libya. They are subjected to various forms of ill-treatment, including arbitrary arrest, torture, inhuman treatment and sexual violence. In addition, Libyan authorities have been directly implicated in the business of trafficking of migrants.

Despite awareness of the abuses faced by migrants rescued at sea by the Libyan authorities, the Italian authorities have not undertaken any measures to prevent the commission of further human rights violations. On the contrary, the MoU was tacitly renewed in February 2020. In addition, on 15 July 2021, the low chamber of the Italian Parliament (Camera dei Deputati) authorised once again the financing of the Libyan Coast Guard pursuant to the MoU. This decision will be effective once ratified by the high chamber of the Parliament (Senato).

The paper considers the potential Italian liability emanating from the MoU in light of the conduct of Libyan authorities including potential violations of the United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and possibly the European Convention on Human Rights. Indeed, the Italian Government’s material support for the Libyan authorities, without due regard for the human rights of those whom their actions affect, attracts its responsibility under these instruments.

This paper recommends that Italy’s cooperation with Libya must be reframed consistently with its human rights obligations and in light of the recommendations formulated on numerous occasions by different international organisations including the Committee Against Torture and the Council of Europe.

In particular, Italy should amend the current MoU to include a human rights clause specifying that the respect of human rights, and possibly of international humanitarian law, is an essential element of the respective treaty. The provision must allow the parties to suspend or terminate the treaty in case of persistent violations of the clause and should, at a minimum, incorporate:

1. The establishment of an independent body or organ in charge of monitoring and evaluating of human rights and international humanitarian law compliance by the parties in the execution of the MoU;

2. A list of mitigating measures which parties may seek in the event of human rights violations to address such violations and ensure non-repetition;

3. The implementation of a legal framework to facilitate effective access to justice for those who suffered human rights violations connected to the support provided by Italy on the basis of the MoU.

Should amendments consistent with these principles be unable to be introduced in the MoU, the paper concludes that the only viable alternative which can ensure Italy is not held responsible for the human rights violations committed by the Libyan authorities would be to terminate or suspend the MoU.