Universal jurisdiction in action: FIBGAR takes part in a seminar on the prosecution of international crimes in the Asia-Pacific region
On 19–20 May 2026, the international workshop “Prosecuting Asia-Pacific International Crimes in Domestic Courts” will be held in Brisbane (Australia), organised primarily by Griffith Law School and the Griffith Asia Institute, in collaboration with the Asia Justice Coalition and the Baltasar Garzón International Foundation (FIBGAR). The workshop will provide a space for reflection and academic dialogue focused on the contemporary challenges of universal jurisdiction and the prosecution of international crimes. The event will bring together specialists, academics, and representatives of international organisations and civil society from the Asia-Pacific region to discuss international justice, transnational cooperation and the fight against impunity.
Accountability for conduct that may constitute crimes against humanity, genocide or war crimes remains exceptional at the global level. In many cases, access to international and regional courts is limited, whilst national proceedings based on universal or extraterritorial jurisdiction face significant legal, political and practical obstacles. However, these mechanisms remain one of the few available avenues for advancing justice and combating impunity.
In this context, the use of universal jurisdiction has seen significant progress in various regions of Europe and Latin America, whilst initiatives aimed at promoting investigations and proceedings related to international crimes are beginning to emerge in the Asia-Pacific region.
At this event, FIBGAR’s participation will bring to the debate the experience it has accumulated regarding universal jurisdiction and the strengthening of international accountability mechanisms. The Foundation’s participation forms part of the work it is currently promoting regarding updates on the interpretations and application of universal jurisdiction, as well as the promotion of a renewed, practical and interregional vision of this principle in the face of contemporary challenges to international justice.
The workshop will address issues related to the legal and political obstacles facing the application of universal jurisdiction, the challenges of international cooperation, the role of victims and civil society, as well as the possibilities for coordination between different mechanisms of justice and accountability. Throughout the various sessions, there will also be discussions on regional experiences in the Asia-Pacific region relating to Myanmar, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Nepal and Palestine, amongst other contexts.
Furthermore, the meeting will mark a new stage in the process led by FIBGAR to update the Madrid–Buenos Aires Principles on Universal Jurisdiction, drafted between 2014 and 2015 following a series of international meetings organised by the Foundation in various regions of the world.
Within this framework, the Brisbane workshop will allow for the incorporation of perspectives and experiences from the Asia-Pacific region, helping to enrich the comparative debate and foster a more inclusive and global perspective on the contemporary application of universal jurisdiction.
FIBGAR’s participation in this forum builds on the work recently carried out in New York during the event “Gender Justice and Universal Jurisdiction”, held as a side event to CSW70, as well as the regional seminar “Universal Jurisdiction: Critical Perspectives from Latin America”, organised in Buenos Aires. Both meetings helped to consolidate spaces for interregional dialogue on international justice, gender, cooperation and the fight against impunity, providing essential inputs for strengthening the principle of universal jurisdiction from a plural and multidisciplinary perspective.
Through this experience, FIBGAR continues to promote spaces for exchange and reflection aimed at strengthening universal jurisdiction as a fundamental tool for combating impunity in the face of serious human rights violations and international crimes. In a global context marked by growing challenges to accountability, the Foundation reaffirms the importance of promoting effective mechanisms for international justice, cooperation and the protection of victims’ rights.
