At FIBGAR, we are pleased to present the event report of the Congress on International Criminal Justice: Advances and Challenges in the Fight against Impunity, held on 26 February in Barcelona, in collaboration with the Barcelona Bar Association (ICAB) and with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Congress was consolidated as a space for legal analysis and strategic reflection on the contemporary challenges of International Criminal Law, bringing together judges, academics, legal professionals, and representatives of civil society committed to the defence of human rights and accountability. In this context, the report systematises the main debates, contributions, and lines of discussion that ran throughout the day, offering an articulated overview of the current advances and tensions in the fight against impunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Throughout the document, key issues are addressed, such as the role and challenges of the International Criminal Court, advances in the prosecution of international crimes, the centrality of victims\u2019 rights, and the strengthening of universal jurisdiction as an essential tool of global justice. In addition, it highlights the need to incorporate a gender perspective transversally into international criminal justice, emphasising both normative advances and the persistent difficulties in its practical implementation. In this regard, the report also gathers reflections on innovative justice experiences promoted by civil society, such as the Permanent Peoples\u2019 Tribunal on the Women of Afghanistan, which has contributed to making visible the situation of structural discrimination and to reinforcing the role of victims in the construction of memory, truth, and justice. These initiatives reflect the urgency of continuing to develop international law in order to respond to conduct and contexts that are not yet fully addressed, including the recognition of gender apartheid as an international crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taken together, the document articulates a central idea: impunity is not an inevitable phenomenon, but rather a challenge that requires solid legal responses and a sustained commitment on the part of the international community. In this framework, cooperation between jurisdictions, judicial independence, and the active participation of civil society are consolidated as fundamental pillars for strengthening the effectiveness of the international criminal justice system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, this event report is projected as a working tool aimed at fostering dialogue, consolidating cooperation networks, and contributing to the development of concrete proposals in response to current challenges. It also seeks to serve as a starting point for future initiatives of reflection, training, and advocacy, in an international context that demands coordinated, innovative, and sustained responses over time. In coherence with the objectives of the Congress, the document reaffirms that international criminal justice constitutes not only an essential legal instrument, but also an unavoidable ethical responsibility towards victims and the international community as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n