HIGHLIGHTS OF RESULTS HIGHLIGHTS OF RESULTS Highlights of pillar results Accountability (A) INDEPENDENT INTERNATIONAL FACT-FINDING MISSION ON MYANMAR: ACCOUNTING FOR THE GRAVEST INTERNATIONAL CRIMES PILLAR RESULTS / SHIFTS / SDGs RESULTS / SPOTLIGHTS A1 Since the beginning of 2018, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo UN Human Rights has registered 175 convictions for serious human rights violations. UN Human Rights met with judicial authorities on a regular basis to follow up on certain cases. This resulted in the arrest, indictment, prosecution and conviction of some of the perpetrators of these violations. UN Human Rights also supported the implementation of the national strategy of prosecution of international crimes, as well as the Action Plan against Sexual Violence of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, including through advocacy with and training of army commanders on the prevention of conflict-related sexual violence. Laws, policies and practices increasingly address, prevent and reduce human rights violations in the context of law enforcement and justice systems. Spotlights: Youth Disabilities Women On 23 October, following recommendations issued by UN Human Rights, the Government of Chad submitted a draft law to the Parliament on the functioning of the National Human Rights Commission. The law, which was approved and promulgated, integrated some of the international commitments provided in various international human rights treaties that have been ratified by the country. The selection of commissioners, which was planned for 2018, has been postponed until 2019. Following the past few years of UN Human Rights capacity-building efforts in Serbia on the application of international human rights law in domestic court proceedings, the first national curriculum for the application of international human rights law was developed and tested at the State Judicial Academy, also with support from UN Human Rights. Additionally, an online database to support the direct application of international human rights law was developed and tested. As part of the initiative, ten targeted trainings were organized in 2018 on international human rights standards, and nearly 100 judges from all-level courts were trained. The trainings targeted the expert group of judges created to expand knowledge and practices on international human rights standards. A2 Strengthened national mechanisms provide redress to victims and accountability for human rights violations, including for economic and social rights. 42 UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2018 Shifts: The Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar has concluded that the security forces in that country, specifically the Myanmar military (the Tatmadaw) have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity against several ethnic and religious minorities in the Rakhine, Kachin and Shan States. the denial of citizenship. Disturbingly, the report concludes that despite using less inflammatory language, the rhetoric of the Myanmar authorities themselves has mirrored and promoted hateful and divisive narratives. This has fostered a climate in which virulent hate speech thrives. “The gross human rights violations and abuses committed in the Kachin, Rakhine and Shan states are shocking for their horrifying nature and ubiquity,” states the report. “Many of these violations undoubtedly amount to the gravest crimes under international law. [The violations] stem from deep fractures in society and structural problems that have been apparent and unaddressed for decades. They are shocking for the level of denial, normalcy and impunity that is attached to them.” The Mission documented mass killings; widespread gang rape and other forms of sexual violence; grave violations against children and, the deliberate and systematic destruction of entire villages, among other serious violations. These findings are part of the report to the Human Rights Council that was submitted by the Mission’s Chair, Marzuki Darusman of Indonesia, and experts Radhika Coomaraswamy of Sri Lanka and Christopher Sidoti of Australia. The Special Rapporteur on internally displaced persons (IDPs) provided technical assistance and advocacy for the adoption of national laws that are compliant with the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Kampala Convention). During her official visit to Niger, in March, the Special Rapporteur recommended the adoption of a national law for the assistance and protection of IDPs. Subsequently, in December, Niger became the first country in Africa to adopt a national law for the protection and assistance of IDPs, thereby translating the provisions of the Kampala Convention into domestic law. The Human Rights Council tasked the Mission with establishing the facts and circumstances of alleged recent human rights violations and abuses by military and security forces in Myanmar. The Mission focused on the situation in the Rakhine, Kachin and Shan States since 2011. In the Gambia, following the December 2017 adoption of the Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission Act by the National Assembly, the Commission was formally established. UN Human Rights has helped to strengthen the technical and institutional capacities of the Commission, which has already undertaken a number of hearings for victims of human rights violations. The report discusses the systematic marginalization and “othering” of the Rohingya through State policies and practices that have been implemented over decades. From birth to death, the Rohingya are in a continuing situation of severe, systemic and institutionalized oppression. The cornerstone and symbol of this system is their complete lack of legal status, including Global Constituency Prevention Civic Space Shifts: Climate change Corruption “The scale, brutality and systematic nature of rape and sexual violence indicates that they are part of a deliberate strategy to intimidate, terrorize or punish a civilian population,” said Coomaraswamy of the Mission. “They are used as a tactic of war.” The report defines sexual violence as one of four “hallmarks of Tatmadaw operations,” along with the targeting of civilians, exclusionary rhetoric and impunity. The Mission based its findings on a variety of sources, including 875 in-depth interviews with victims and eyewitnesses, satellite imagery analysis and a range of authenticated documents, photos and videos. The team received no cooperation from the Myanmar Government nor was it allowed to enter the country. In establishing the facts, the Mission hopes to contribute to the realization of the right to the truth of victims and the people of Myanmar as a whole. “Without the truth, Myanmar will not be able to ensure a prosperous and stable future for its people, all its people,” said Marzuki Darusman. “The military as an institution has never been held accountable,” added Christopher Inequalities New technologies Members of the Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar during a field visit to Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh in 2018. © OHCHR Sidoti. “The provisions of Myanmar law, the structure of the legal system and the judiciary’s lack of independence and legal competence, make it impossible for the domestic legal system to deliver justice for victims of human rights violations by the military.” The report concludes that the impetus for accountability must therefore come from the international community. The report recommends decisive action by the international community, including that the UN Security Council refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court or create an ad hoc international criminal tribunal in order to adopt targeted individual sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes against those who appear most responsible and an arms embargo on Myanmar. It also proposes the establishment of a UN Trust Fund to support victims. “[This Mission] was undertaken with a view to recommend an accountability mechanism to be put in place, subsequent to our report,” said Darusman. “We hope that this will be immediate…and that the UN will then carry on where we left off. We hope the truth will finally come out.” People on the move UN HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT 2018 43