On 19 November, the Higher Regional Court of Koblenz initiated a new trial concerning crimes committed under the Assad regime in Syria, which, for the first time, will examine the famine and siege of Yarmouk, a former Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus. The case concerns four alleged members of the Syrian militia “Free Palestine Movement” (FPM)...
The trial of former Congolese warlord Roger Lumbala Tshitenga began on 12 November and continued until 15 December 2025 before the Paris Assize Court in France. This prosecution, conducted under the principle of universal jurisdiction, represents a historic step towards justice for survivors of mass atrocities committed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). On...
Latin America is a region that has long carried unresolved historical wounds. With regard to its recent history, the twentieth century was marked by military coups, armed conflict, enforced disappearances and multiple violations of human rights. In particular, during this period repression reached an extreme level of cruelty under the dictatorships that emerged in the...
On November 4, a commemorative event was held at the Congress of Deputies to mark the tenth anniversary of the Madrid–Buenos Aires Principles. The meeting brought together jurists, academics, institutional representatives, civil society organisations, and human rights experts to reflect on the progress and challenges in applying the principle of universal jurisdiction, as well as...
In May 2024, the French justice system marked a milestone in the fight against international impunity by sentencing three senior Syrian regime officials to life imprisonment in absentia for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The case, centred on the disappearance and murder of French-Syrian citizens Patrick and Mazen Dabbagh, represents one of the most...
The Danish Parliament approved a legislative reform on December 17, 2024; this historic action introduced a new chapter on international crimes into the country’s Penal Code. This amendment, which came into effect on January 1, 2025, explicitly criminalizes war crimes, torture, and crimes against humanity, consolidating Denmark’s commitment to the principle of universal jurisdiction. The reform...
Recently, the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances published a highly significant study on universal criminal jurisdiction in cases of enforced disappearance. The report examines the normative foundations, practical and political challenges in its application, as well as the situation in various countries, including Spain. The debate on universal jurisdiction in cases of...
In 2011, the brutal repression of peaceful demonstrations by the Syrian regime marked the beginning of an armed conflict that has left a deep scar on contemporary history. Two years later, in 2013, the situation escalated when the UN Mission to Investigate the Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria confirmed the use of sarin gas...
On June 6, 2024, the German Parliament approved a landmark legislative reform: the Law for the Development of International Criminal Law, which came into force in August of the same year. This measure represents a decisive step forward in strengthening universal jurisdiction in Germany and effectively protecting the rights of victims of international crimes. The reform...
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) is an international grassroots solidarity movement that brings together campaigns and initiatives from various countries with a common goal: to break the illegal Israeli blockade on Gaza. This commitment took shape once again last June with the departure of the ship Madleen, which set sail from the port of Catania,...
