Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—December 12, 2016 [NEW YORK] — Tomorrow the European Parliament will award its annual Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to Nadia Murad and Lamya Haji Bashar. The two Yazidi women were captured by ISIS in their home area of Sinjar, Iraq, in 2014. They escaped after several months of enslavement and now live in Germany. Nadia Murad and Lamya Haji Bashar said: “We are grateful and honoured to receive the Sakharov Prize, but the EU can and must do more. The EU must call this what it is: a genocide of our people.” “The EU must call for its prosecution and international accountability for ISIS, for example before the International Criminal Court, Tribunal, or a special court.” “We ask that the EU and all those concerned with the fate of Syria and Iraq establish a safe zone to protect the Yazidis, Christians and other vulnerable minorities in Sinjar and the Nineveh Plain.” “If the world can’t protect the Yazidis in our homeland, we ask Europe to give us a safe new home.” The United States recognised the ongoing genocide of the Yazidi by ISIS in March this year, and the United Nations in June. The EU has not yet formally acknowledged this genocide; the European Parliament is the only EU institution to have done so in February 2016, asking EU member states to take action. 104 Members of the European Parliament wrote to the High Representative of the EU, Federica Mogherini, to recognise the genocide targeting women and girls, and call for its prosecution. The letter’s co-authors, Lars Adaktusson (Sweden, EPP), Beatriz Becerra (Spain, ALDE), Sylvie Guillaume (France, S&D), Heidi Hautala (Finland, Greens/EFA), Virginie Rozière (France, S&D), and Marietje Schaake and Sophie in ‘t Veld (Netherlands, ALDE) added: “Together with 98 other colleagues, we ask the EU High Representative and Member States to officially recognise and call for the prosecution of this ongoing genocide.” “The European Parliament recognised this genocide and called for a safe return zone in February. We hope Nadia and Lamya will receive more attention with this prize.” Nadia Murad is UN Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Human Trafficking Survivors, and laureate of the Council of Europe Václav Havel Human Rights Prize 2016. She addressed the UN Security Council in December 2015, asking world leaders to stop ISIS. For more information contact: Stephanie Olszewski (New York), Global Justice Center, solszewski@globaljusticecenter.net +1.212.725.6530 ext. 211 Bruno Selun (Brussels), Kumquat Consult, bruno.selun@kumquat.eu +32 474 97 60 97

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—June 27, 2016 [Windhoek, Namibia] – The African Caribbean Pacific (ACP)- European Union (EU) Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) adopted a resolution on rape and sexual violence against women and children in armed conflict that recognized rape as an element crime of genocide when commmitted with the intent to destroy the targeted group. The resolution further called for abortion to be treated as necessary medical care for girls and women impregnated by rape in war under international humanitarian law. The resolution also further affirmed that the Geneva Conventions and its additional protocols applies in times of conflict and supersedes national or local law. It called on all states to prevent rape and sexual violence in conflict and ensure that victims recieve adequate medical care including access to sexual and reproductive healthcare in line with the Geneva Conventions. It called on states to prosecute perpetrators and on the UN to provide its members with training guidelines on the particular needs of children. The resolution asked states involved in post-conflict humanitarian activities to collect data on rape and sexual violence in conflict. "This strongly worded resolution demonstrates the political will that exists to address these serious issues" said Akila Radhakrishnan, Global Justice Center, Legal Director. The resolution was adopted by Members of the European Parliament together with MPs from the 78 ACP states For more information contact: Stephanie Olszewski (New York), solszewski@globaljusticecenter.net, +1.212.725.6530 ext. 211

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - February 24, 2016 [NEW YORK, NY]– Today, the EU adopted its 2016 budget containing the first ever anti-Helms Amendment. The US Helms amendment currently imposes an abortion ban on all US foreign aid, including support for girls and women raped in armed conflict. The 2016 EU Budget requires that all humanitarian entities funded by the EU provide assistance “in accordance with international humanitarian law”, without “discrimination or adverse distinction.” And, in a reference to the US Helms amendment, the budget mandates EU funds “not be subject to restrictions imposed by other partner donors.” In September 2015, following the lead of the UK, the EU for the first time acknowledged that female war rape victims must be provided abortions as part of their right to nondiscriminatory medical care under the Geneva Conventions, irrespective of the restrictive abortion laws that exist in most conflict countries. Sophie in 't Veld (Member of European Parliament The Netherlands, ALDE/ D66), who proposed this Budget language, stated that: “The EU is taking steps to ensure that EU humanitarian aid funds are not tainted by other donor countries, like the abortion ban on US funds…to force a girl enslaved by ISIS, kidnapped by Boko Haram or raped in the DRC to bear a child of her rapist and as a result is expelled from the community and condemned to poverty, is inhumane treatment. Sexual violence is a devastating weapon in the war-torn areas, these women and girls are war wounded and should be treated equally.” Janet Benshoof, President of the Global Justice Center, which is leading the campaign to ensure female war rape victims are provided abortions as a matter of their right to nondiscriminatory medical care under the Geneva Conventions, stated: “Only the EU is powerful enough to stop the Helms amendment being the instrument of death and suffering for female war rape victims that it is today.” According to Benshoof, the EU policies require changes in the practices of nearly all the major humanitarian entities currently providing medical care for war victims including the ICRC, UNFPA, UNICEF, Save the Children, the International Rescue Committee, among others. The EU Parliament was even more explicit in its 15 December 2015 Report for the upcoming UN World Humanitarian Summit. The EU parliament: “Urges that the provision of humanitarian aid follows international humanitarian law, and that EU humanitarian aid not be subject to restrictions imposed by other partner donors; …and that women and girls have access to the full range of sexual and reproductive health services, including safe abortions, in humanitarian crises, rather than perpetuating what amounts to inhumane treatment, as required by international humanitarian law and as foreseen in the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols.” With the endemic use of rape as a weapon of war in conflicts across the globe, this dramatic policy shift demonstrates a sea change toward ensuring that all girls and women raped in war are provided comprehensive medical care. For more information contact: Janet Benshoof (New York) jbenshoof@globaljusticecenter.net +1.917.601.6220 Stephanie Olszewski (New York), solszewski@globaljusticecenter.net +1.212.725.6530 ext. 211 Download PDF

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - February 5, 2016 [STRASBOURG, FRANCE] – In an historic resolution, the European Parliament yesterday recognized ISIS’ ongoing atrocities against religious minorities as genocide. The resolution is the first time the Parliament called on parties, including EU Member States, to fulfill their duties under the UN Genocide Convention during an ongoing conflict. “The Genocide Convention requires all states to do everything possible to suppress an ongoing genocide. That is why states have been reluctant to even use the word genocide,” said Global Justice Center President, Janet Benshoof. “This resolution is a huge first step to getting the international community to stop wringing their hands over ISIS’ genocidal crimes and take action to prosecute perpetrators and obtain justice for victims.” The resolution condemned ISIS’ crimes as war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide and condemned their attempts to exterminate any religious and ethnic minorities from areas under its control. The adoption followed a debate on January 20th on religious minorities targeted by ISIS in which the EU’s Foreign Affairs Chief, Frederica Mogherini, also recognized ISIS’ killing of Muslims and called on the EU and the Middle East to work together to guarantee justice and accountability. The strongly worded resolution called on the UN Security Council to recognize the genocide and called for a referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC). In December 2015, the Global Justice Center sent a letter to the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC urging them to investigate the genocide against the Yazidis and to specifically examine crimes committed against women and girls including abductions, rape, sexual slavery, and forced marriage as genocidal crimes. “Women and children have equally strong protections under the Genocide Convention that are often forgotten,” says Benshoof. “By not invoking and acting under these obligations, the international community denies women and girls their rights and protections under international law. Thousands of Yazidi women and girls are still currently being held captive by ISIS. This resolution must serve as a trigger for Member States to act on their moral and legal obligation to rescue them.” For more information contact: Stephanie Olszewski, solszewski@globaljusticecenter.net Stephanie Johanssen, sjohanssen@globaljusticecenter.net, 212.725.6530 ext. 209 Download PDF

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - December 18, 2015 [NEW YORK, NY] – The EU just approved its 2016 budget containing the first ever anti-Helms Amendment. The US Helms amendment imposes abortion restrictions on all US foreign aid, which the Obama Administration implements as a total ban on abortion including medical services for girls and women raped in war. Janet Benshoof, President of the Global Justice Center states, “This budget language shows the EU is serious about ensuring that the humanitarian entities they fund follow the Geneva Conventions, not the US abortion ban.” The EU in September 2015, following the UK, acknowledged that female war rape victims’ rights to medical care under the Geneva Conventions include abortion, irrespective of any restrictive abortion laws in war zones. Following this, the newly approved budget requires that EU humanitarian aid be provided “in accordance with international humanitarian law,” and without “discrimination or adverse distinction.” And, in a reference to the US Helms amendment, the budget mandates EU funds “not be subject to restrictions imposed by other partner donors.” “Sexual violence is a devastating weapon in the war-torn areas, these women and girls are war wounded and should be treated equally,” said Sophie in 't Veld (Member of European Parliament The Netherlands, ALDE/ D66), during a speech on this budget language. “The EU is taking steps to ensure that EU humanitarian aid funds are not tainted by other donor countries—to force a girl enslaved by ISIS, kidnapped by Boko Haram or raped in the DRC to bear a child of her rapist, who may be, as a result, expelled from the community and condemned to poverty, is inhumane treatment.” According to Benshoof, the EU policies require changes in the practices of nearly all the major humanitarian entities currently providing medical care for war victims including UN agencies. The European Parliament was even more explicit in its December 15, 2015 Report for the upcoming World Humanitarian Summit, urging “that women and girls have access to the full range of sexual and reproductive health services, including safe abortions, in humanitarian crises, rather than perpetuating what amounts to inhumane treatment, as required by international humanitarian law and as foreseen in the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols.” “With the endemic use of rape as a weapon of war in conflicts across the globe, this dramatic policy shift demonstrates a sea change toward ensuring that all girls and women raped in war are provided comprehensive medical care,” says Benshoof. The budget language on humanitarian aid can be found here on page 144. For more information contact: Stephanie Olszewski (New York), solszewski@globaljusticecenter.net +1.212.725.6530 ext. 211 Download PDF

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – June 11, 2015 [NEW YORK, NY] - In a resolution adopted this week, the European Parliament called for access to abortion for women and girls victims of war rape. As pressure mounts on the White House to move on the Helms Amendment, the European Parliament joined voices targeting US abortion restrictions by adopting an equalities report titled “The EU Strategy for Equality between Women and Men Post 2015”. The report is the Parliament’s input for a gender equality strategy for 2016-2020. In Resolution 72, EU parliamentarians underlined that humanitarian aid from Europe “should not be subject to restrictions imposed by other partner donors regarding necessary medical treatment, including access to safe abortion”. This language is in reference to the the Helms Amendment, a decades old US policy that restricts any US funds from being given to any organization that offers abortion services, that is still in place today. “This just further demonstrates how out of touch the US is with our allies.” says Janet Benshoof, president of the Global Justice Center. This is the fifth resolution the European Parliament adopted on the matter in three years and the second time in 2015 that European allies have called on the US to address Helms. During the review of the US’s human rights record in May, five countries challenged the US to justify its continued implementation of the abortion restrictions. The report also called on the international community to do more to prevent rape used as a weapon of war, increase protection of victims and ensure access to medical and psychological support for woman and girls abused in armed conflicts. “As terrorists increasingly use sexual violence as a tactic of war and as pressure mounts at home and abroad, the Obama administration’s failure to act on these issues is becoming increasingly glaring,” says Benshoof. “Obama must choose now if his legacy will include turning a blind eye to the plight of women and girls raped in war.” For more information contact: Akila Radhakrishnan, Legal Director, akila@globaljusticecenter.net, 212.725.6530, ext. 203 or Sarah Vaughan, Director of Development and Communications, svaughan@globaljusticecenter.net, 212.725.6530 ext. 204. Download PDF

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - March 2, 2012 [NEW YORK, NY] - The Global Justice Center's August 12th campaign is gaining momentum. The Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament have written a letter to Obama to issue an Executive order to lift all current U.S abortion restrictions that prohibit girls and women raped in armed conflict from terminating their pregnancy. The letter urges the US to abide by common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions and also comes out in support of Norway's recommendations during the 2010 UPR that US "remov[e] blanket abortion restrictions on humanitarian aid covering medical care given women and girls who are raped and impregnated in situations of armed conflict." Excerpt: We write to you as concerned Vice-Presidents of the European Parliament, who share a common view that ensuring the rights of persons "wounded and sick" in armed conflict under the Geneva Conventions is critical to our international legal order. We echo the concerns of those signatories to the amicus brief filed by the UK and European parliamentarians in the Hamdan v. Rumsfeld case, urging the US Supreme Court to apply common Article 3 to review the US military commissions and indeed are some of the same signatories. We applaud the United States' commitment to advancing global implementation of the laws of war, a key example being your Executive Order revoking the "torture memos" to ensure that the US is in compliance with its obligations under the Geneva Conventions and the Convention Against Torture (CAT). Download PDF

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - May 27, 2008 [NEW YORK, NY] – The United Kingdom should follow the recommendation of the Parliament of the European Union and use thepresidency of the UN Security Council to press for justice and accountability for the people of Burma by referring Senior General Than Shwe and his military regime to the International Criminal Court. The denial of humanitarian aid to the victims of Cyclone Nargis should serve as a wake-up call to the international community to the brutality and indifference of a military regime that for four decades has systematically used torture, gang rape of ethnic women, slavery, murder, mass imprisonment, and child soldiers to consolidate its power. In its Resolution of 22 May 2008 on the tragic situation in Burma, the Parliament of the European Union recognized that those responsible for the crimes committed in Burma should be brought before the International Criminal Court. The UK, a leader in the global effort to end impunity for international humanitarian violations, should heed the EU Resolution and use this opportunity to address these crimes and establish rule of law in Burma. “The European Parliament,… (Article 5) Reiterates that the sovereignty of a nation cannot be allowed to override the human rights of its people as enshrined in the UN principle of 'responsibility to protect'; calls on the Government of the United Kingdom, which holds the May Presidency of the UN Security Council, to take urgent action to put the situation in Burma on the agenda of the Security Council … (Article 11) Takes the view that, if the Burmese authorities continue to prevent aid from reaching those in danger, they should be held accountable for crimes against humanity before the ICC; calls on the EU Member States to press for a UN Security Council resolution referring the case to the Prosecutor of the ICC for investigation and prosecution;…” The actions of the military regime go far beyond a repudiation of democracy; they are criminal violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, including crimes against humanity and war crimes. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the monitor of international humanitarian law, issued a rare public statement on 29 June 2007 verifying criminal violations of the Geneva Conventions by the regime that were personally observed by ICRC delegates, and added that the crimes were likely to be ongoing. The commitment of the UK to ensuring accountability for the most serious crimes was demonstrated by its support of Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security. In her statement to the Security Council, Karen Pierce, Deputy UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations, stated, “[i]n Burma, Mr. Pinheiro, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights, has reported on the systematic sexual violence used by the military, police and border guards as part of the Government’s anti-insurgency tactics. The Council has a duty to listen to, but also to act upon, such reports.” The evidence of crimes is overwhelming; the UK’s commitment to holding perpetrators responsible is well established. The United Kingdom should use the Presidency of the Security Council to lead the effort to end impunity for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Burma by referring the situation in Burma to the International Criminal Court. Andrea Friedman, Esq. Global Justice Center Tel: 212-725-6530 x203 www.globaljusticecenter.net afriedman@globaljusticecenter.net U Aung Htoo, Esq. Burma Lawyers’ Council Cell: 66 (0) 81 533 0605 Website: www.blc-burma.org blcsan@ksc.th.com

Check out a report by Andrea Friedman, Vice-President of GJC, in which she discusses the EU resolution that urges the UK to use its position in the Security Council to refer Burma to the ICC for the injustices committed by the military regime. Download here