On 6 July 2026, the Vienna Regional Court sentenced Khaled Al-Halabi, a former brigadier general in the Syrian intelligence services, and Musab Abu Rukbah, a former lieutenant colonel and former head of investigations at the Raqqa criminal police, to eight years in prison for acts of torture, sexual coercion and grievous bodily harm committed against...
Every 30 August, the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances compels us to pause and face up to one of the cruellest forms of violence that exists: that of snatching a person away, erasing all trace of them and then denying any information about their whereabouts. This year, the date coincides with a...
Boundaries establish order. In personal relationships, they foster respect; in relations between states, they define sovereignty and prevent undue interference. Conversely, if boundaries are not established in good time, there is a risk of becoming trapped in abusive relationships which, once entrenched, prove very difficult to change. As the saying goes: ‘A tree that grows...
More than 130 civil society organisations from 56 countries, including FIBGAR, as a member of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC), have signed a joint statement calling on States Parties to the ICC to take collective action in response to recent withdrawals from the Rome Statute and growing attacks against the Court. In recent...
On 13 July 2026, the Munich Higher Regional Court (Oberlandesgericht) convicted an Iraqi couple, Twana H.S. and Asia R.A., of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggravated sexual abuse of minors against two Yazidi girls, as well as membership of Islamic State (IS). The court sentenced the man to life imprisonment and the woman...
Towards the end of the first decade of the 21st century, the European Union decreed that every 23 August should be set aside to commemorate the victims of totalitarian regimes. Less than ten years later, political trends in the region shifted towards a rise in the influence of right-wing nationalist parties in the European Parliament....
In May 2026, Griffith Law School and the Griffith Asia Institute, in collaboration with FIBGAR and the Asia Justice Coalition, organised the international workshop ‘Prosecuting Asia-Pacific International Crimes in Domestic Courts’ in Brisbane. The event brought together experts, academics, legal professionals, civil society organisations and human rights defenders to analyse the challenges and opportunities posed by...
Historically, Argentina has positioned itself as a pioneer, a model, and a guarantor of human rights worldwide. Over the past 40 years, it has been one of the few countries to ratify all international treaties protecting human rights, granting them constitutional status (OHCHR 2024) and, as highlighted by the Office of the UN High Commissioner...
Five years after the Taliban seized Kabul, Afghanistan continues to face one of the world’s most serious humanitarian and human rights crises. The country is in a situation characterised by extreme poverty, dependence on international aid, the deterioration of public institutions and the absence of effective safeguards for the exercise of fundamental freedoms. Millions of...
Nicaragua possesses a wealth of natural resources, notably gold and timber, but its strategic geographical position has also encouraged large-scale projects such as the Nicaragua Canal, with foreign backing – notably from major Chinese investors – and has served as a gateway or transit zone for migrants travelling between South and North America. But how...
