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	Armed conflict leaves devastation in its wake by Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect   Mar. 2023   Atrocity Alert is a weekly publication by the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect highlighting situations where populations are at risk of, or are enduring, mass atrocity crimes.   International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for atrocities in Ukraine   On Friday, 17 March, the Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued two arrest warrants for Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, President of Russia, and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of Russia, for their alleged responsibility for the war crimes of unlawful deportation and transfer of population from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia. The incidents identified by the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) include the deportation of hundreds of children taken from orphanages and care homes, then given up for adoption in Russia.   According to the OTP, these incidents demonstrate an intention to permanently remove these children from their own country. Karim Khan, Chief Prosecutor of the ICC, said that, “the law must provide shelter to the most vulnerable… we must put the experiences of children in conflict at the centre of our work.”   Last week’s historic arrest warrants came a day after the UN Human Rights Council-mandated Commission of Inquiry (CoI) on Ukraine reported on violations of international law committed by Russian authorities that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. Building upon its first report, the CoI documented further evidence of war crimes, including killings, torture, inhumane treatment, unlawful confinement, rape and unlawful transfers and deportations of children.   According to the CoI, the wave of attacks by Russian forces on Ukraine’s energy-related infrastructure since October, as well as the systematic use of torture in Russian-occupied areas, may amount to crimes against humanity. The CoI’s findings may be important for current and future accountability efforts.   While the arrest warrants are of important symbolic value to the victims and survivors of crimes committed in Ukraine, the practical implications of the warrants are likely limited. Russia has not recognized the ICC’s jurisdiction, and the Court has no powers to enforce its own arrest warrants.   However, all 123 countries that are States Parties to the Rome Statute are now under the legal obligation to arrest President Putin or Lvova-Belova if they were to travel to their country.   The overwhelming support from states for the ICC’s investigation into Ukraine, including through financial and human resources, underscores the international community’s strong commitment to bringing those responsible for the commission of atrocity crimes to justice.   In a statement on 15 March, the Coalition for the International Criminal Court, of which the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect is a member, said that the support for the Ukraine investigation is a stark reminder that “more is needed to effectively deliver justice for victims of Rome Statute crimes around the world” and provides an opportunity “to make a global commitment that independent and universal justice be the norm, wherever Rome Statute crimes are committed.”   United Nations news: http://news.un.org/en/story/2023/03/1134732 http://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/hrc/iicihr-ukraine/index   * The Russian Government rejects the charges.   UN expert says likely crimes against humanity committed by Iranian authorities   In his latest report presented to the UN Human Rights Council on 20 March, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, Javaid Rehman, concluded that the scale and gravity of violations committed by Iranian authorities in recent months pointed to the possible commission of the crimes against humanity of murder, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, torture, rape and sexual violence and persecution.   The Special Rapporteur emphasized in his briefing that “the most serious human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran over the past four decades” have been committed since the death of Jina Mahsa Amini on 16 September, who was arrested by the so-called “morality police” for allegedly violating Iran’s strict requirements on women’s dress.   Reports suggest that her death was due to alleged torture and ill-treatment. The Special Rapporteur stressed that Amini’s death was not an isolated event, but instead one incident in a long series of extreme violence committed against women and girls by Iranian authorities.   Iranian authorities have refused to conduct an impartial or transparent inquiry into the death of Amini. Mass peaceful protests have erupted since September, with the focus of the demonstrations expanding from accountability for Amini’s death to broader grievances, including demands for fundamental political and social change, as well as the protection and fulfillment of all human rights.   Iranian security forces have violently cracked down against the protesters. The Special Rapporteur’s report documented the use of unlawful lethal force against those demonstrating, including evidence of unarmed protesters struck by live ammunition or beaten to death. More than 520 people, including 71 children, have been killed, and hundreds of protesters severely injured.   The report emphasized that ethnic and religious minorities have been disproportionately affected by the recent wave of repression and killings. Iranian authorities have also carried out mass arbitrary arrests and detentions of protesters, with over 22,000 people arrested, as well as attempted to shut down all avenues of freedom of expression with internet disruptions and social media censorship.   In addition to these likely crimes against humanity, the Special Rapporteur reported on “exponentially increasing” human rights violations in the country. In 2022 Iranian authorities carried out the highest number of executions in the past five years. The death penalty was used disproportionately against persons belonging to ethnic and religious minorities.   The international community must support all efforts towards accountability with respect to possible international crimes committed by Iranian authorities since the start of the protests. Member states should ensure full support for the newly mandated Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran.   “Increasingly brutal” conflict threatens millions of children in the Central Sahel   On 17 March the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that spiraling conflict is putting the lives and futures of millions of children in the Central Sahel – Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger – at risk. Children across the region are facing rising violations that may constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity.   “The conflict may not have clear boundaries, there may not be headline-grabbing battles, but slowly and surely things have been getting worse for children, and millions of them are now caught up in the centre of this crisis,” said UNICEF spokesperson John James.   According to UNICEF, 2022 was likely the deadliest for children in the Central Sahel since the crisis began in northern Mali over a decade ago. Children have increasingly become victims of intensifying military clashes or directly targeted by armed Islamist groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State.   In Burkina Faso, three times more children were killed during the first nine months of 2022 than in the same period in 2021, according to UN-verified data, with most dying from gunshot wounds or due to improvised explosive devices or explosive remnants of war.   Armed Islamist groups are also recruiting children and forcing them to fight or work in support roles. In Niger, the UN documented over 200 grave violations against children between July and September 2022 in the tri-border area, most of them involving the forced recruitment and use of children. In Mali, there were more than 480 verified cases of recruitment and use of children during the first half of 2022 alone, a threefold increase compared to the same period in 2021.   Meanwhile, some armed Islamist groups are systematically using blockades against entire towns and sabotaging water networks as deliberate tactics to forcibly displace communities. UNICEF noted that these tactics are inflicting collective suffering and making survival increasingly difficult, as communities in these areas already face severe food and water scarcity.   The situation in Djibo, Burkina Faso, is particularly dire, as the town has been blockaded since February 2022 – effectively imprisoning the approximately 350,000 residents – and has endured a significant increase in attacks on water facilities.   All armed actors in the Central Sahel must abide by their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law, including ceasing their attacks on children and critical civilian infrastructure. Authorities should engage with the UN on concrete action plans to end grave violations against children. The governments across the Central Sahel, along with technical and financial partners, must expand access to vital social services and protection.   http://www.globalr2p.org/publications/atrocity-alert-no-339/   Mar. 2023   Crisis Group’s President Comfort Ero and Richard Gowan, UN Director offer their viewpoints on global politics in the Shadow of Ukraine:   http://www.crisisgroup.org/global-ukraine/global-south-and-ukraine-war-un http://www.crisisgroup.org/global-ukraine/global-politics-shadow-ukraine http://www.socialeurope.eu/winning-in-ukraine-losing-the-global-south   Mar. 2023   The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute marks the 20th anniversary of the Iraq war, releasing a collection of materials looking back over the months leading up to Operation Iraqi Freedom and developments over the two decades since. Shivan Fazil and Dr Alaa Tartir of the SIPRI Middle East and North Africa (MENA) programme offer their viewpoints on the political and security challenges for Iraq 20 years after the invasion:   http://www.sipri.org/news/2023/new-materials-mark-20th-anniversary-invasion-iraq http://www.sipri.org/commentary/topical-backgrounder/2023/iraq-2023-challenges-and-prospects-peace-and-human-security http://www.sipri.org/commentary/blog/2023/war-breadbasket-one-year http://www.sipri.org/media/press-release/2023/poorly-understood-environmental-trends-could-become-tomorrows-security-threats http://www.sipri.org/media/press-release/2022/world-stumbling-new-era-risk-concludes-sipri-report   Mar. 2023   Estimated U.S. cost of war in Iraq and Syria. (Brown University, agencies)   This paper examines the total costs of the war in Iraq and Syria, which are expected to exceed half a million human lives and $2.89 trillion. This budgetary figure includes costs to date, estimated at about $1.79 trillion, and the costs of veterans’ care through 2050.   Since the United States invaded Iraq in 2003, between 550,000-580,000 people have been killed in Iraq and Syria — the current locations of the United States’ Operation Inherent Resolve — and several times as many may have died due to indirect causes such as preventable diseases. More than 7 million people from Iraq and Syria are currently refugees, and nearly 8 million people are internally displaced in the two countries.   This report also estimates that 98 to 122 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents (MMTCO2e) were emitted from U.S. military operations between 2003 and 2021 in the war zone, calculated as 12 to 15 percent of the DOD’s total operational greenhouse gas emissions.   The U.S. war in Iraq began on March 19-20, 2003. Most allied and U.S. forces left Iraq in 2011, but the U.S. returned to significant military operations in Iraq and Syria in late 2014 in fighting that was undertaken to remove Islamic State from territory it had seized in those two countries. The war continues, with a nearly $400 million budget request from the Biden Administration this month to counter ISIS.   http://watson.brown.edu/costsofwar/papers/2023/IraqSyria20 http://ips-dc.org/20-years-ago-the-world-said-no-to-war/ http://ips-dc.org/report-state-of-insecurity-cost-militarization-since-9-11/ http://tomdispatch.com/the-american-war-from-hell-20-years-later/ Visit the related web page
	Middle East and North Africa: End Curbs on Women’s Mobility by Human Rights Watch   July 2023   Many Middle East and North African countries still prevent women from moving freely in their own country or traveling abroad without the permission of a male guardian, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.   The 119-page report, “Trapped: How Male Guardianship Policies Restrict Women’s Travel and Mobility in the Middle East and North Africa,” says that although women’s rights activists have succeeded in securing women’s increased freedoms in many countries in the region, old and new restrictions require women to seek permission from their male guardian – typically their father, brother, or husband – to move within their country, obtain a passport, or travel abroad. Human Rights Watch also found that in a number of countries, women cannot travel abroad with their children on an equal basis with men.   “From leaving the home to leaving the country, authorities in the Middle East and North Africa are imposing varying restrictions on women’s right to freedom of movement,” said Rothna Begum, senior women’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Women in the region are fighting against restrictions that authorities often claim are for their protection, but in reality, deprive women of their rights and enable men to control and abuse them at will.”   The report is based on a comparative analysis of dozens of laws, regulations, and policies, as well as information provided by lawyers, activists, and women in 20 countries in the Middle East and North Africa.   Male guardianship policies in the region, which also exist beyond the Middle East, have been influenced by a broader history of laws and traditions around the world, including European legal traditions, that gave or still give men control over women’s lives.   Fifteen countries in the region still apply personal status or family laws that require women to either “obey” their husbands, live with them, or seek their permission to leave the marital home, work, or travel. Courts can order women to return to their marital homes or lose their right to spousal maintenance.   In some countries, these rules are becoming more entrenched. In March 2022, Saudi Arabia issued its first written Personal Status Law, which codified the long-standing practice of requiring women to obey their husband “in a reasonable manner” or lose financial support from their husbands if they refuse to live in the marital home “without a legitimate excuse.”   Women can be arrested or detained or forced to return home if male guardians in Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia report that they are “absent” from their homes. In Saudi Arabia and Yemen, women are still not allowed to leave prison without a male guardian’s approval.   In countries experiencing conflict, some armed groups have imposed guardianship restrictions in areas under their control. In parts of Syria under the control of some armed groups, women are required to be accompanied by a mahram (husband or other close male relative). Houthi authorities who control parts of Yemen have increasingly required women to travel with a mahram or to provide their male guardian’s written approval. Such rules have forced many female Yemeni staff at nongovernmental organizations and United Nations agencies to leave their jobs, losing much-needed income for their families.   While women’s rights activists in the region have made some gains, they continue to fight against discriminatory mobility restrictions. In 2018, following decades of advocacy and activism, Saudi Arabia allowed women to drive, but other restrictions remain. Women in Iran continue their decades-long fight against the mandatory hijab, a central feature of the nationwide “women, life, freedom” protests that erupted after the death in custody of Mahsa (Jina) Amini in September 2022.   Some state universities, including in Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, require women to show they have male guardian permission before they can go on field trips or stay at or leave campus accommodations or grounds. In some countries, women may also face discrimination trying to rent apartments or stay in hotels if they are not married or do not have a male guardian’s permission.   In a positive advance, most governments in the region now allow women to obtain passports and travel abroad without requiring guardian permission. In August 2019, after much campaigning by Saudi women’s rights activists, Saudi authorities amended its rules to allow women over age 21, like men, to obtain passports and travel without guardian permission.   Iran, Qatar, and Yemen remain outliers. In Iran, married women must show their husband’s permission to obtain a passport, and to travel. In Qatar, interior ministry rules require unmarried Qatari women under age 25 to show permission from their male guardians to travel abroad; while Qatari men from age 18 do not. Yemen’s de facto policy requires Yemeni women to show their male guardian’s permission to obtain a passport.   Qatar also allows male guardians to apply to a court to impose travel bans against any of their female relatives, including their wives. Authorities in Iran, Gaza (Palestine), Saudi Arabia, and Yemen also allow male guardians to ban women’s travel abroad.   Some restrictions are relatively new. Hamas authorities in Gaza issued restrictions in February 2021 that means an unmarried woman, even if able to leave Gaza amid sweeping Israeli and Egyptian movement restrictions, can be prevented from traveling as soon as her male guardian applies for a court-ordered ban.   In August 2022, Houthi authorities in Yemen, who control large parts of the country, expanded restrictions so that women cannot travel or leave their areas within the country or travel abroad without a mahram.   In May 2023, Libya’s Internal Security Agency, a body linked to the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity, one of the two governments in Libya vying for legitimacy and control, began requiring Libyan women traveling without a male escort to complete a detailed form about the reasons for their travel and past travel.   Women can also face discriminatory restrictions on traveling abroad with their own children. Fourteen countries in the region do not allow women to obtain passports for their own children on an equal basis with men. Nine countries, officially or in practice, require women to obtain permission from the child’s father to travel abroad with their children, while men face no similar requirement.   “Even as women’s rights activists win some freedoms, the authorities seek to take others away, rolling back not just women’s rights, but harming children, families and society,” Begum said. “All authorities in the Middle East and North Africa should eliminate any and all discriminatory restrictions on women’s freedom of movement including all male guardianship rules.”   http://www.hrw.org/news/2023/07/18/middle-east-and-north-africa-end-curbs-womens-mobility Visit the related web page
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