We, the undersigned organizations and individuals, represent civil society organizations, nongovernmental organizations, victim/survivor associations, and academic institutions from around the world. We have technical expertise on the prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity, including their adjudication before national and international courts and tribunals. Many of us have also directly experienced or witnessed the commission of crimes against humanity. We welcome the opening of the Preparatory Committee for the Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Crimes against Humanity, a vital step towards closing a long-standing accountability gap in international law.

The Draft Addendum makes welcome contributions to recognizing a fuller scope of conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence (GBV), acknowledging that “conflict-related gender violence is no longer confined to acts purely sexual in nature” and includes many forms, including physical, moral, psychological and transgenerational forms of violence.

We the undersigned 115 reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations are dedicated to the protection and realization of human rights for all people, and we are deeply concerned about the United States Government’s decision to withdraw from the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, an unprecedented step that signals a worrying retreat from our human rights obligations and the global mechanisms of accountability.

We, the undersigned Afghan and international civil society organisations, write to you, once again, to share our grave concerns regarding the deepening human rights and humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. We also reiterate the urgent need for the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) to establish an independent international accountability mechanism for Afghanistan (hereafter accountability mechanism) to support accountability for gross and systematic human rights violations and abuses and crimes under international law, including those that were committed in the past and those that continue to be committed across Afghanistan.

In September 2024, UN Women and Global Justice Center issued a report detailing challenges and offering legal guidance to improve the documentation of reproductive violence in crisis and conflict by UN international investigations. These investigations play a key role in guiding international responses, so omitting documentation of reproductive violence can have devastating ripple effects. This Q&A draws from the report to provide information on what reproductive violence is, why its documentation in conflict and crisis situations matters, and how this documentation can be done more effectively.

Our coalition recently developed a joint submission to the UN Human Rights Council before the USA’s upcoming 4th Universal Periodic Review. This submission focused on the significant deterioration of sexual and reproductive rights and justice across the country since the elimination of a federal right to abortion and amid a broader undermining of rights in the USA.