NATIONAL JUSTICE PROGRAMME

The Issue

Achieving justice for a mass atrocity crime is a challenge, no matter where it occurs. Victims have the right to justice – ideally in their own country. States hold the primary responsibility to investigate and prosecute international crimes that fall under their jurisdiction. Justice Rapid Response fills a gap between a country’s decision to pursue justice for mass atrocity crimes and its technical capacity to do so.

Cocora Valley in Colombia. Credits: Adobe Stock.

Our Impact

Colombia’s Nariño Case: When Gender Expertise Sheds Light on Overlooked Crimes

In July 2023, the JEP issued a ground-breaking decision that charged 15 former FARC rebels with war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against LGBTQI+ people. In this decision, the JEP recognized that armed actors persecuted LGBTQI+ victims because of their perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. This is the first legal decision related to macro-case 2, which relates to the Territorial Situation of Tumaco, Ricaurte, and Barbacoas Municipalities (Nariño). In 2022, JRR deployed a SGBV Prosecutions Expert to work with the team in charge of this case on the development of this legal decision. All chapters developed with the JRR Prosecutions Expert were included in the decision, demonstrating the impact of relying on a gender-based and inclusive approach to justice in accountability efforts. Together with the Case 2 team, the JRR expert also analysed the specific damage caused to indigenous communities in addition to the individual, collective and territorial impact of these human right violations. It led the JEP to establish that the territory was a victim of the conflict in its own right, recognizing the damage caused to natural ecosystems and sacred sites.

Alleged War Crime of Pillage of a UNESCO Natural Reserve in Ukraine

In November 2024, the Ukrainian Office of the Prosecutor General Specialized Environmental Prosecutor’s Office (SEPO) issued its first ever notice of suspicion for a war crime. The SEPO issued the notice of suspicion against the de facto-Director of the Askania-Nova biosphere reserve, unlawfully appointed by the Russian occupying power, for the pillage of the reserve. 

According to the SEPO, since February 24, 2022, the reserve’s territory has been under occupation by Russian forces, and as of March 2023, it has been under de facto control by the occupying authorities. 

In July 2024, at the request of the SEPO, JRR deployed a Ukrainian speaking Open-Source Investigator to provide advice and technical support to the team’s prosecutors on the type of open-source information and evidence they can use for the Askania-Nova case and the ways to collect these with open-source tools. Ensuring that the SEPO had access to this expertise was critical in the context of an investigation in which the investigative authorities did not have access to the territory in question.

Ministry of Justice of The Gambia

Since 2018, JRR enjoys a partnership with the Gambian Ministry of Justice that has enabled us to support the current transitional justice initiatives. This partnership will continue to guide our efforts in the country as The Gambia enters the next phase of its transitional justice journey