On July 12, 2023, UpRights Co-Director Valérie Gabard led the 11h lecture of the Summer School on International Criminal Justice organised by the University of Amsterdam. The Summer School examines the juridical and empirical sides of mass atrocities, striving to give its attendees a better understanding of the nature of international crimes, of their perpetrators and of the role of the international community in pursuing international justice.

UpRights provided students with a lecture on the role of civil society to fill the accountability gap for international crimes. Notably, while international tribunals played an undeniable role in holding perpetrators accountable, international actors like civil society and victim representatives have progressively attempted to mend the limitations of the current international legal order.

To illustrate the creative ways in which civil society organizations at the national and international level are trying to assist to fill this accountability gap, Valérie Gabard discussed the important role of civil society organizations in documenting international crimes and preserving evidence, highlighting in particular the best practices to ensure the efficacy of the documentation and the importance of employing creative legal thinking to assist victims in their quest for justice.

On 13 October 2021, UpRights Co-Founder Alessandro Pizzuti participated in a panel discussion at the University of Amsterdam concerning crimes committed against migrants in Libya. The event, organized by the Amsterdam Center for Criminal Justice at the University of Amsterdam as part of the “Global Justice Sessions” series, included a screening of “Libya: No Escape from Hell” by director Sara Creta. The documentary illustrated ongoing mistreatment of migrants in detention centers across Libya.

As part of the panelist discussion, Alessandro outlined the applicability of international criminal law to the abuses committed against migrants. While crimes against migrants are typically viewed as human rights violations, international criminal law must also be considered as a relevant framework to pursue prosecutions and ensure accountability. In light of the link with the armed conflict ongoing in Libya, the abuses committed against migrants in detention centres may be qualified as war crimes and fall within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

Co-panelists included Ramadan Alamami (former prosecutor in Libya and current CEO of “Adala for all”), Mark Micallef (Director of the “North Africa and Sahel Observatory” of Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime) and documentary filmmaker Sara Creta.