Mapping justice, rulings and situations

Peter ten Hove
31 maart 2020

This month:

  1. The Universal Jurisdiction Annual Review
  2. War Crimes Verdicts Map
  3. Turkey’s PKK Conflict: a visual explainer

Last month early warning mechanisms have been discussed. These mechanisms aimed at warning for potential mass atrocities, increasingly use mapping tools. This month we address other mapping tools:

  • tracking results of universal jurisdiction cases;
  • tracking war crimes verdicts;
  • fatality claims in an ongoing situation.

Universal Jurisdiction Annual Review

Prosecuting core international crimes is said to be difficult, hard to achieve, expensive and time consuming. Then there are restraints in political will and in dedicated and qualified staff. Accountability and fighting impunity in decline?

No. Two months ago we concluded that justice is on the rise. The Eurojust Genocide Network stated that significant progress is made and de number of investigations and prosecutions have never been so high. Therefore, mappping and reporting on this progress is important.

Yesterday, Redress, Fidh, ECCHR and Trial International have published their sixth Universal Jurisdiction Annual Review (UJAR). This report deals with the global application of the principle of universal jurisdiction. The report is meant as an instrument and point of reference for practitioners. At the same time it provides an overview of the increasing results, effectiveness and international will to investigate and prosecute for core international crimes.

The report must empower and inspire all those who either seek justice or who are committed to end impunity.

This year, the report highlights the unprecedented willingness to prosecute, the exponential growth of the number of cases, the interplay with the fight against terrorism and the consequences thereof for the role of victims in the proceedings.

Cases mentioned in the UJAR, can also be studied through the Trial Watch Database by Trial International.

War Crimes Verdicts Map

Another useful tool to study cases and gain access to court rulings for core international crimes is provided by the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN). Late December 2019 they published their new War Crimes Verdicts Map. The site provides key figures and statistics on local rulings and rulings by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugolsavia on war crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia. It furthermore provides news, analysis and access to underlying resources.

Turkey’s PKK Conflict: a visual explainer

Through its Turkey’s PKK Conflict: a visual explainer, the International Crisis Group has worked to identify and visualize all fatality claims made in the PKK conflict in Turkey since 2011. The International Crisis Group shows that visualisation of data helps to shed a light on often intangible and complex situations, ready to be used by NGO’s, policy makers and others. Assets are:

  1. enable analysts understand the complexity;
  2. helps advocates;
  3. helps policymakers and others directly involved in mitigating the impact of conflict or resolving it.