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2. A Way Forward for Justice and Accountability in Ethiopia
- Author:
- Stephen Rapp, Andrea Gittleman, and Danica Damplo
- Publication Date:
- 11-2023
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Abstract:
- This paper proposes a way forward for those who support justice and accountability for mass atrocities in Ethiopia. These options are posed in a rapidly changing policy environment: in the past year Ethiopia was invited to join the BRICS group of nations; countries are seeking to normalize relations with the Ethiopian government after the conflict in Tigray; and brutal conflicts in Sudan and elsewhere have focused international attention away from the situation in Ethiopia. The proposals below list available options which should be seriously considered by policymakers who want to properly address crimes of the past and develop strategies that mitigate ongoing mass atrocity risks to civilians in Ethiopia.
- Topic:
- Accountability, Justice, Atrocities, Crimes Against Humanity, and Armed Conflict
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Ethiopia
3. Belarus’s Weaponization of Migration Should Make Us Reevaluate the Extent of Crimes Against Humanity and Human Rights
- Author:
- Peter Pinto
- Publication Date:
- 12-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Council on International Policy (CIP)
- Abstract:
- Facing temperatures below freezing and bitter winter conditions, thousands of Middle Eastern and African migrants currently remain trapped between the tumultuous borders of Belarus and its EU neighbors. Many humanitarian groups have warned of imminent danger to the migrants if this humanitarian crisis, which has seen nearly 30,000 migrants attempt to illegally cross the Polish border since August, is not quickly resolved. Despite genuine reasons for their journey, the migrants have become unsuspecting pawns in an ever-growing political chess game between Belarus and its EU neighbors. More specifically, Belarus and its President Aleksander Lukashenko are being accused of facilitating and weaponizing such migration in an attempt to punish their geopolitical rivals in the EU. The accusations are relatively well-founded considering the litany of different immigration policies adopted by Belarusian authorities in recent months, including granting visas to migrants upon arrival and escorting migrants to the Polish border. Furthermore, many view this targeted influx of migrants as political retaliation for EU sanctions against Belarus for election fraud and repression of civil rights. Perhaps in hopes of destabilizing his enemies or deterring future sanctions, President Lukashenko is using migrants and their pursuit for safety as weapons in his geopolitical war against the West. Despite his already lackluster record in humanitarian governance, this blatant indifference for migrant safety represents an escalation in his disregard for human rights. If we are to deter other authoritarian leaders from employing such inhumane tactics in the future, then we must recognize the weaponization of migration streams as a crime against humanity and a violation of human rights.
- Topic:
- Military Strategy, Crimes Against Humanity, Humanitarian Crisis, and Migrants
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Belarus
4. Gone Without a Trace: Syria's Detained, Abducted, and Forcibly Disappeared
- Author:
- Hanny Megally and Elena Naughton
- Publication Date:
- 05-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Center on International Cooperation (CIC)
- Abstract:
- Tens of thousands of people have been unlawfully detained by the Syrian government and other parties to the conflict in Syria. In most cases, their fate—and if they are alive, their whereabouts—remains unknown. Many families have been waiting for word of their spouses, children, and other relatives since mass protests first began in 2011. This situation is adversely affecting not only Syrians inside the country—including over 6.5 million who are internally displaced—but also many of the 5.6 million refugees who are likewise desperately seeking answers about family members from abroad. This joint report from the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and the Center on International Cooperation (CIC) recommends a set of urgent steps that should be taken to assist families in obtaining information about the whereabouts of their loved ones, gaining access to them, and achieving their prompt release. Authored by CIC's Hanny Megally and ICTJ's Elena Naughton, the report details the scope of the detention crisis and argues that answers and coordinated action are needed now. Time is of the essence, as the COVID-19 pandemic appears to be accelerating in Syria, putting those detained in overcrowded and unsanitary prisons at further risk. Any meaningful progress toward a political agreement in Syria will be dependent on more than a negotiated ceasefire or reduction in violence and urgent access to humanitarian assistance. There will be little or no possibility of lasting peace without addressing critical issues, like the question of the missing, detained, abducted, and forcibly disappeared.
- Topic:
- Prisons/Penal Systems, Syrian War, Crimes Against Humanity, Humanitarian Crisis, and State Abuse
- Political Geography:
- Middle East and Syria