Readers' choice
WHY THE ICC ACQUITTED LAURENT GBAGBO AND CHARLES BLÉ GOUDÉ
The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has just appealed the acquittal of Laurent Gbagbo and Charles Blé Goudé. Seven months after the oral decision to acquit former President of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire and his Minister of Youth, the Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court issued a written reasoning on 16 July of this scathing decision for the prosecution. Here are the main points made by the judges. READ MORE
MANZOOR PASHTEEN: FOR A TRUTH COMMISSION IN PAKISTAN
Manzoor Pashteen, 25 years old, is leading a growingly powerful movement in Pakistan that claims justice for the Pashtuns, a population which counts tens of thousands of victims of terrorism and its repression since 9/11. To acknowledge and redress these crimes without increasing the risk of renewed divisions in the country, Pashteen and his movement plead for the urgent creation of a truth commission. READ MORE
ESSA FAAL: “WE DON’T WANT THE TRUTH COMMISSION TO BE SEEN AS A TOOTHLESS BULLDOG”
Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission resumes its public hearings on January 20. For one year, the public face of the TRRC has been its legal counsel Essa Faal. He talks about the Commission’s achievements, its weaknesses, the controversy over ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, and the factors which may explain why Gambia’s truth commission has been effective. READ MORE
TUNISIA AND THE REPRESSION OF LEFT-WING YOUTH
In the 1960s and 1970s, young Tunisian students joined the extreme left to oppose the absolute power of President Bourguiba. They were called "Perspectivists". They suffered the worst abuses. Nearly 50 years later, a specialized chamber in Tunis is hearing the crimes committed against them. READ MORE
GAMBIA: WHEN JAMMEH WAS TURNING CROCODILE
Ebou Jarju, a steward, and Ensa Keita, a gravel and sand provider, are civilians who once got to work for former president Yahya Jammeh, directly or close enough. And they were not the only ones to have paid a heavy price for it, they told the Gambia’s Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission. READ MORE
THE MASSAQUOI AFFAIR: SPECIAL REPORT ON THE JUDAS OF SIERRA LEONE (PART 1)
Gibril Massaquoi, who was the top informer for the prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, was arrested in Finland on March 10. Twelve years after getting asylum and protection measures, the former Sierra Leonean rebel commander and spokesman is now being prosecuted for crimes allegedly committed in neighbouring Liberia. A judicial thriller with an international impact. In the first part of this exclusive report, we look at how Massaquoi’s past caught up with him. READ MORE
FRENCH COMMISSION SHEDS FIRST LIGHT ON SEXUAL ABUSE IN THE CHURCH
A creative kind of non-state truth commission, charged with establishing the facts on sexual abuses committed in the church in France since 1950, has been collecting testimonies for more than a year and is working on how to respond to victims. Its president says he was astonished and upset by the extent and seriousness of the testimonies received. READ MORE
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CLIMATE CHANGE: HOW TO MAKE CORPORATIONS RESPONSIBLE?
This week, the 25th Conference of Parties, or “COP25”, begins in Madrid. Until December 13th, the 196 State Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will be discussing the challenges of climate change mitigation and adaptation. Their priority: find ways to reverse a greenhouse emissions curve that continues to rise. It is high time that companies and their executives took their responsibilities, or that the law was adapted to today’s challenges, argues international lawyer Maud Sarliève. READ MORE
DRC: IS THERE GENOCIDE IN ITURI?
Michelle Bachelet, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, is expected on Thursday in the eastern Congolese province of Ituri. On January 10, the UN published a report saying there was a possible genocide being perpetrated against the Hema ethnic group there. But many people in Ituri do not agree. READ MORE
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: THE NORWEGIAN TRUTH COMMISSION'S TIMID FIRST STEPS
Truth commissions for indigenous peoples are growing, not copying but inspired by each other. After Canada and Greenland, and as Finland decides to do the same, Norway is dealing with its heavy past and trying to reconcile with its minorities who were victims of forced assimilation policies. READ MORE
POLITICAL TUSSLE OVER TRUTH AND MEMORY IN COLOMBIA
Truth is purportedly the first casualty of war. It is also the object of constant wrangling in Colombia’s transition. While many Colombians are looking towards the Truth Commission to shed light on 52 years of conflict, President Iván Duque has been promoting other spaces in which sectors critical of the peace agreement have been flocking to. READ MORE
THEY FELT TOO SAFE: HOW TWO SYRIAN AGENTS ENDED UP ON TRIAL IN GERMANY
After a week of hearings in Koblenz (Germany), the first historic trial to deal with state torture in Syria provided insight on how two refugees – a former chief at the General Intelligence Directorate in Damascus and a distant subordinate, now in the box – have themselves contributed to their identification and arrest. READ MORE
FÉLICIEN KABUGA, 23 YEARS ON THE RUN... AND WHAT’S NEXT?
Félicien Kabuga, the great paymaster of the Rwandan regime in the early 1990s, accused of genocide, was arrested on 16 May in France. For 23 years, he had escaped international justice. His surprise arrest raises many questions. Including that of a "reopening" of the UN Tribunal for Rwanda. READ MORE
THE UNPROTECTED LIFE OF A RWANDA TRIBUNAL "PROTECTED WITNESS"
In Rwanda, there are a thousand "protected witnesses" from the former International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. Among them, the feeling of abandonment often dominates. This is the case of Mother KRA, who lives isolated in a miserable hovel where she no longer sees anyone and is surprised that she has agreed to meet us. "Why did I testify?" she wonders. READ MORE
SPECIAL TRIBUNAL FOR LEBANON: BILLION DOLLAR TRIAL
115 years of investigations, 970 million dollars at a minimum, no prisoner, and still no verdict. The first terrorism judgment before the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, announced for mid-May, has been postponed to an unknown date. Officially because of the pandemics. But it appears as another setback for this international court, which has its functioning and credibility already questioned. Was it all worth it? READ MORE
