In this post, the author discusses how the German parliament passed a law reforming international criminal law to enhance prosecution of international crimes, close gaps in liability, strengthen victims’ rights, and improve court judgments’ global impact. The law updates provisions on sexual violence, enforced disappearances, functional immunity, war crimes, and trial documentation procedures.

Since the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan after the US troop withdrawal in 2021, the situation for women has dramatically worsened, with severe restrictions on their rights and freedoms, including education, work, healthcare, and mobility. This article explores avenues for holding the Taliban accountable for their actions, focusing on legal frameworks such as the Rome Statute and the Ljubljana Convention. It discusses the concept of “gender apartheid” and its potential inclusion in international conventions to address the systematic persecution of women. However, it raises concerns about the effectiveness of this approach compared to utilizing existing legal mechanisms like gender persecution. The article also suggests leveraging the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants against Taliban leaders, both to pursue accountability and prevent international recognition of their regime.

In October 2023, the focus of the United Nations Security Council in New York was on “Women, Peace and Security.” Commemorating the October 2000 passage of the Security Council’s landmark Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS), this occasion was a stock-taking moment for member states, the U.N. Secretary-General, and civil society as they debated how the international community could most effectively uphold its commitment to women’s participation, protection, and prevention, relief and recovery efforts in peace and security. 

It was also an opportunity to reinforce the call for inclusion of all women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, intersex and queer people of all genders in peace and security efforts. In the midst of a devastating year for women and LGBTIQ+ people in conflict settings, a ray of hope came from Colombia, where a transitional justice tribunal unveiled an indictment in July that charged 15 former rebels with war crimes and crimes against humanity committed against LGBTQ people during Colombia’s decades-long internal armed conflict, thus recognizing conflict-driven violence against LGBTQ people as gender persecution. 

Rainbow Railroad released an annual report entitled “Understanding the State of Global LGBTQI+ Persecution” which compiles its data from several countries and situations across the globe. It details several reasons for persecution, and why refugees seek to flee based on each country.

Just Security Online Forum on Gender Persecution Policy Series

This post discusses how the ICC Office of the Prosecutor’s Policy on the Crime of Gender Persecution, in concert with existing international law, enhances the Office’s ability to investigate and prosecute gender-based rights violations, where the Court has jurisdiction.

Just Security Online Forum on Gender Persecution Policy Series

This post discusses how groups targeted with persecution are defined under element two of the Rome Statute. The essay draws on examples from the Policy on the Crime of Gender Persecution and the charges in the ICC Al Hassan Case.

This blog pos chronicles a historic roundtable at the International Criminal Court in May 2023 that brought together 20 feminist and LGBTIQ human rights activists with ICC prosecutor Karim A. A. Khan and other senior members of his office, in pursuit of new avenues to justice. Outright International and its partner organizations from Afghanistan, Ukraine, Colombia, and Bangladesh were among those who attended the convening.

The Human Rights and Gender Justice Clinic of the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law, MADRE, and the Organization of Women’s Freedom in Iraq (OWFI) jointly filed this communication pursuant to Article 15 of the Rome Statute where they urged the Office of the Prosecutor (“OTP”) of the International Criminal Court (“ICC”) to launch an investigation into gender-based crimes committed by foreign fighters in the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham/Greater Syria (“ISIS,” also known as “ISIL,” “Daesh,” or “IS”) against civilians in Iraq. 

In recent years, scholars and activists have been asking queer questions about transitional justice. Queer perspectives advocate for the recognition of anti-queer violence within transitional justice; the inclusion of LGBTQIA+ people in transitional justice processes; and the development of queer decolonial critiques of transitional justice. Informed by this research agenda, this article develops a queer perspective on the global governance of transitional justice.

20 NW. J. HUM. RTS 1 (2021)

This article explores the concept of the crime of gender persecution under the Rome Statute, It breaks down the concept of gender persecution in three sections: (1) Understanding gender persecution as a crime; (2) Analyzing gender persecution in conflict situations; and (3) Recognizing gender persecution survivors’ rights to participation in peace processes. The article concludes with practical recommendations for the international community and local communities to increase recognition, prevention and redress for gender persecution and promote a survivor-centered approach for peace and transitional justice processes.