SANA’A, Yemen — Amnesty International has reported that British made cluster bombs were used by Saudi coalition forces in the current conflict in Yemen. The British government has denied that they are supplying Saudi Arabia with cluster munition and are seeking reassurances with the Saudi government that cluster munitions are not being used.
Cluster Munitions Found in Northern Yemen (Photo Courtesy of Amnesty International)
Field research by Amnesty in Sa’da, Hajjah, and Sana’a governorates led to the discovery of a partially exploded British manufactured BL-755 cluster bomb. According to Amnesty, the bomb had malfunctioned and scattered numerous unexploded “bomblets.” The cluster bomb was found near a farm in al-Khadhra village in the Hajjah governorate, close to the Saudi Arabian and Yemeni border.
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond stated that there was no evidence that Saudi Arabia had used cluster munitions in the current conflict. Hammond, while responding to British Parliament, said that is illegal to supply cluster munitions under British law. The munition that was found was decades old and that Britain no longer supplied or manufactured the BL-755 cluster bombs. Hammond said that the cluster munition found was probably used in one of the the past conflicts in the region.
The Foreign Secretary stated that there will be an investigation into the report by Amnesty. The Saudi Arabian government in response said that cluster munitions are not being used nor have they been used in the conflict. The British government has said it will seek “fresh assurances” from Saudi Arabia that cluster munitions are not being used.
Saudi Arabia and its allies began a military campaign in Yemen in March 2015. The goal was to prevent Iran-allied Houthi rebels and forces loyal to the former Yemeni president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, from seizing control of the country. The civil war in Yemen has also seen attacks from groups loyal to Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
The BL-755 cluster bomb was original manufactured in the 1970s by Bedfordshire company Hunting Engineering Ltd. The bomb contains 147 bomblets that are designed to scatter on impact and explode. They are intended to be dropped out of British Tornado fighter jets to pierce tank armor.
Cluster munitions were banned under the Convention on Cluster Munitions signed in 2008 and effective in 2010. Over 100 countries have signed the convention including the United Kingdom, but not Saudi Arabia. Oliver Sprague, Amnesty International UK’s Arms Control Director, called cluster munitions one of the “nastiest weapons” used in warfare. The concern with cluster munitions is that not all of the bomblets explode on impact. Amnesty documented instances in Yemen where unexploded cluster munitions blew up after being picked up by children.
Mr. David M. Crane
Professor of Practice
Syracuse University College of Law
(Former Chief Prosecutor, United Nations Special Court for Sierra Leone) [full text of statement] [truth in testimony form]
ICTJ Partners Victims, Civil Society and Officials on Transitional Justice in Great Lakes RegionCivil society leaders, members of victims’ groups and state officials throughout the Great Lakes region will convene in Kampala, Uganda next week at a conference hosted by ICTJ. Attendees will share their experiences working for redress in their communities and discuss what strategies have proven effective at the local level.
AFRICAIn Ethiopia, African officials gathered for a two-day conference aimed at discussing and reflecting upon truth commissions and peace processes. In Burundi, crisis talks were postponed in order to allow for further consultations with stakeholders. Reports have found that torture and illegal detention are on the rise in Burundi, and the ICC will begin investigating potential war crimes in the country. In Kenya, three opposition supporters were shot dead in protests demanding reforms to the country’s electoral authority. In Rwanda, the remains of hundreds of genocide victims were buried in Ruhango. The country’s leaders have called on the new UN prosecutor to urge countries hosting genocide suspects to allow them to face justice. In South Sudan, opposition leader Riek Machar was sworn in as vice president, signaling a major breakthrough toward peace for the nation. The UN has expressed concern over human rights abuses in Mozambique, a country that continues to face violent clashes between national security forces and the rebel group Renamo. In The Democratic Republic of Congo, former warlord Germaine Katanga is back on trial, accused of committing crimes against humanity. In Cote d’Ivoire, Lawrence Gbagbo’s trial resumed this month, with the former Ivorian President facing charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. His wife, who is accused of playing a role in the post-election crisis of 2011, is set to go on trial at the end of the month.
AMERICASIn Colombia, peace talks have continued, with one of FARC’s most feared commanders joining the process. The negotiating parties agreed to release FARC child soldiers, while the government vowed to grant victim status to those under 15 years of age and provide a pardon for those between 16 and 18. AGuatemala congressman has been found to have ties to a death squad responsible for murders, torture, and disappearances during the country’s civil war. In Peru, former dictator Alberto Fujimori’s final appeal was rejected, meaning Fujimori will serve his sentence of 25 years for ordering massacres in the Barrios Altos neighborhood of Lima. In Mexico, the inquiry into 43 missing students ended, despite the UN rights office urging the Mexican government to follow its recommendations for the case. A panel of international experts looking into the case said the Mexican government hampered its efforts. In Argentina, former head of the air force Brigadier Omar Graffigna went on trial for his alleged role in the forcible disappearances of over 30,000 people during the country’s military rule from 1976 to 1983.
ASIAIn Nepal, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission began registering complaints from victims and their families. However, the government has failed to enact laws that would allow for the effective functioning of the TRC and the Commission of Investigation on Enforced Disappeared Persons, another transitional justice body. In Indonesia, a two-day symposium was held to discuss the anti-communist atrocities that occurred in the country decades ago. The atrocities will finally be investigated, with activists calling for full recognition from the government, as well as protection for the sites and witnesses of the 1965-66 killings. In Sri Lanka, torture remains ‘in frequent use,’ according to UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, degrading and inhumane treatment. Tamil diaspora groups in the U.S. have demanded the arrest of Gotabaya Rajapaska, former Lankan defense secretary, for the large scale killing of Tamils. In Bangladesh, a probe has begun against Osman Farooq over his alleged role in war crimes in the Liberation War, and two Razakar suspects of Kishoreganj have been indicted on war crimes charges.
EUROPEA court in Kosovocleared General Milovan Bojovic of war crimes charges due to lack of evidence. Azra Basic, a woman living in Kentucky, was recently extradited to Bosnia to face charges of murder and torture, war crimes which she allegedly committed over twenty years ago during Bosnia’s civil war.Spain has authorized exhumations from the Valley of the Fallen, a large mausoleum that contains the remains of those who died during the country’s civil war, so that family members may give their relatives proper funerals. Serbia has promised to intensify its war prosecutions, releasing a 415-page action plan to address unprosecuted war crimes and enact judicial reforms.
MENAIn Tunisia, the “Transitional Justice is also for Women” network, in coordination with ICTJ, submittedthe first collective file to the Tunisian Truth and Dignity Commission. The file was compiled by 10 women associations and detailed discrimination committed against veiled women under “circular 108,” which prohibited their access to work and education. The Islamist Ennahda party declared in its 10th congress that it will separate its religious activities from political ones, saying in a statement that there is “no longer justification for political Islam” in the country post Arab spring. The Tunisian Torture Prevention Organization said that it received 250 complaints of torture in 2015 and is convinced that torture practices persist in Tunisian prisons and during interrogations. Peace talks in Syriastalled when opposition negotiators decided to withhold their participation in the process due to unwillingness on behalf of President Assad’s officials to discuss a transitional government in Damascus. In Egypt 152 people who took part in a street protest last month were sentenced to prison, in a sharp escalation of a campaign by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to suppress political dissent in the country.Yemen’s peace process faced challenges when delegates representing Houthi rebels refused to attend peace talks late last month. Libya’s new unity government has started moving into ministry buildings, but the volatile security situation in the area remains a concern.
From Principles to Practice: Challenges of Implementing Reparations for Massive Violations in ColombiaThis report examines Colombia’s Victims and Land Restitution Law (2011), which provides comprehensive reparations to conflict victims and restitution to victims of forced displacement who rely on land for their livelihoods – and assesses the challenges of implementing the law under current conditions, which include widespread poverty and ongoing violence.
The Obama administration, having declared two months ago that the Islamic State is committing genocide, is now grappling with how to actually prosecute the terrorist network’s fighters for the crime.
Early-stage discussions about international tribunals and other means of justice are taking place in the White House and the State Department, people familiar with the talks told POLITICO. Any genocide prosecution, however, could be years away, a task made all the more complicated by the unusual nature of the Islamic State and the high bar for evidence.
Story Continued Below
The administration’s top priority remains defeating the jihadists on the battlefield in Iraq and Syria, an approach that has been more about killing than capturing the enemy.
The discussions on prosecutions come as President Barack Obama and his aides, who spent months deciding whether to even use the word “genocide,” face growing pressure to prove that invoking the label has serious consequences, even if it doesn’t lead to an increase in America’s military commitment.
On Thursday, a House subcommittee is holding a hearing titled “The ISIS Genocide Declaration: What Next?” Some lawmakers also are pushing legislation making it easier to arm and protect Christians, Yazidis and other groups threatened by the Islamic State, which also is known as ISIS, ISIL or Da’esh.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce is among those urging the administration to work with the international community to set up tribunals to try the jihadist fighters for genocide and other war crimes.
“It’s critical that we actually defeat the terrorists and bring those responsible for these atrocities to justice,” said Royce, a Republican from California. “The president’s lack of a plan is inexcusable.”
Secretary of State John Kerry declared on March 17 that the Islamic State is committing genocide against Yazidis, Christians and Shiite Muslims, a rare step for the U.S., which has historically tried to avoid the label. But Kerry added that his declaration did not amount to the conviction of any individuals.
“The full facts must be brought to light by an independent investigation and through formal legal determination made by a competent court or tribunal,” he said. “The United States will strongly support efforts to collect, document, preserve, and analyze the evidence of atrocities, and we will do all we can to see that the perpetrators are held accountable.”
Shaun Coughlin, a foreign affairs officer in the State Department’s Office of Global Criminal Justice, would not confirm nor deny if the administration is examining ways to prosecute the jihadists for genocide. Instead he said the administration supports efforts to hold accountable those behind “heinous acts.”
“There are venues at national and international levels in which accountability could be pursued, including the International Criminal Court in appropriate circumstances,” Coughlin said.
Prosecuting members of the Islamic State for a crime like genocide, a term that carries unusual weight in the international legal lexicon, will involve dealing with a web of complicated issues.
For one thing, the Islamic State is not recognized as a bona fide state and its members are thus considered “non-state actors.” The group also has attracted fighters from all over the world, meaning individual nations may have different points of view on how their citizens should be treated.
The terrorist network also has an administrative hierarchy, which could prompt questions about which fighters should be held responsible for acts planned by their superiors. And many of the local residents of Iraq and Syria whom the group has enlisted may have had no choice in the matter.
As the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State prepares for battles in urban centers such as Mosul, Iraq, and Raqqa, Syria, the administration is reportedly grappling with the more basic question of where to imprison a potentially large number of detainees.
Turning over detainees to the Iraqi government is an option the U.S. already has used because Baghdad is an ally. But it’s not that simple in Syria, where the U.S. has backed rebel factions seeking to oust President Bashar Assad. (Whether Assad, who is backed by Russia, will ever be held responsible for his regime’s crimes is another issue the U.S. and its allies are pondering.)
Beyond detaining them, trying to prove that members of the Islamic State committed genocide could require a special legal architecture and extensive evidence, some analysts said.
U.S. law defines genocide as killing or other specified acts committed with a “specific intent to destroy, in whole or in substantial part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.” It’s a different, higher bar than the more general “crimes against humanity,” “war crimes” or other allegations, even if the punishments ultimately are similar.
“Genocide is a very difficult crime to prove. It’s a specific intent crime. You almost have to have a smoking gun to do it,” said David Michael Crane, the founding chief prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, a war crimes tribunal that dealt with the fallout from the African country’s 1990s civil war.
Crane indicted former Liberian President Charles Taylor for his role in the Sierra Leone conflict; the African leader was eventually convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity, and is serving a 50-year prison sentence — one of the most high-profile such cases.
Overall the international community has a mixed record of holding to account perpetrators of genocide and related crimes. Sudanese President Omar Bashir, for instance, has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for genocide in the Darfur region, but he has refused to appear and has traveled abroad freely despite an outstanding warrant for his arrest. On the other hand, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda convicted dozens of people for their roles in the 1994 genocide. Those convicted typically get long prison terms.
Crane has talked to members of the Obama administration about ways to bring Islamic State members to justice over allegations including genocide. He said he expects little to get done anytime soon, in part because it’s an election year.
“We can do this, we have the experience, the jurisprudence. The challenge is the political will to do it,” Crane said.
Steve Oshana, an Assyrian Christian activist who also has dealt with administration officials on how to hold the Islamic State accountable, said his sense is that they’d rather set up a new tribunalwith global allies than use the International Criminal Court, which is exceedingly slow.
“Certainly there’s no talk about the U.S. setting up its own tribunal,” Oshana added. “What they don’t want to do is to create more fodder for ISIS propaganda. It would have to be an international deal.”
U.S. lawmakers appear on board with that idea. Just days before Kerry’s declaration, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a resolution urging the creation of a war crimes tribunal that could bring justice to anyone suspected of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria.
Coughlin, the State Department official, said the U.S. Transitional Justice Global Initiative is helping civil society members in Iraq develop protocols and gather evidence to hold human rights violators accountable. At least 29 Iraqi civil society activists have collected some 600 narratives from victims and witnesses of atrocities, Coughlin said.
Some observers worry that such programs aren’t moving fast enough. They fear that evidence that can prove genocide — whether it’s documentation or mass graves — will be lost or destroyed as the fighting continues.
They also point to concerns that certain ethnic and religious minorities will remain vulnerable to violence from other armed groups even after the Islamic State is defeated, especially if the array of grievances that gave rise to the terror network are not addressed.
“Fighting ISIS is not the same as having a comprehensive strategy to prevent genocide, mass atrocities and war crimes. It’s an essential aspect, but there’s more to it,” said a congressional aide familiar with the administration’s talks.
New photographs show damage to Abu Bakr al-Sidiq Mosque in Dumeir, Rif Dimashq Governorate (ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 16-0045 UPDATE).
Aerial bombardment and clashes between armed groups damaged eight mosques in Aleppo, Aleppo Governorate (ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 16-0060).
An alleged SARG airstrike reportedly damaged the Iman Mosque in Deir ez-Zor, Deir ez-Zor Governorate (ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 16-0061).
Alleged SARG airstrikes damage the Idlib Museum, Al-Jawari Mosque, and Omari Mosque in Idlib, Idlib Governorate (ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 16-0062).
Alleged SARG airstrikes damaged Al-Ma’aara Museum in Ma’arat al-Numan, Idlib Governorate (ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 16-0063). The Day After Heritage Protection Initiative has produced two reports on the damage and subsequent cleanup of the museum.
Alleged SARG airstrike damaged Sheikh Shuayab Mosque in Binnish, Idlib Governorate (ASOR CHI Incident Report SHI 16-0064).
New satellite imagery confirms that ISIL militants have leveled several gates of Nineveh in Mosul, Ninawa Governorate (ASOR CHI Incident Report IHI 16-0010 UPDATE).
New satellite imagery shows ongoing damage to the site of Nineveh, including the ongoing looting and destruction of the Southwest Palace of Sennacherib in Mosul, Ninawa Governorate (ASOR CHI Incident Report IHI 16-0013).
* This report is based on research conducted by the “Syria Preservation Initiative: Planning for Safeguarding Heritage Sites in Syria.” Weekly reports reflect reporting from a variety of sources and may contain unverified material. As such, they should be treated as preliminary and subject to change.
