[imc-presse] PRESS RELEASE: Impunity for war crimes by UK forces in Iraq - International Criminal Court urged to investigate

Tue Sep 5 10:10:52 CEST 2017

ECCHR - European Center for constitutional and human rights

PRESS RELEASE

Impunity for war crimes by UK forces in Iraq: International Criminal Court
urged to investigate

As the UK shuts down domestic investigations into abuse, it's time for an
investigation in The Hague    

Berlin, 5 September 2017 In its latest
<https://www.ecchr.eu/en/our_work/international-crimes-and-accountability/un
ited-kingdom.html> communication to the International Criminal Court (ICC),
the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (
<https://www.ecchr.eu/en/home.html> ECCHR) reaffirms the need for the Office
of the Prosecutor to move beyond a preliminary examination and seek the
opening of an investigation into war crimes related to the abuse of
detainees in Iraq by UK forces from 2003 to 2008. ECCHR is in particular
calling on the ICC to examine the responsibility of senior military and
political leaders for the abuse.

"The UK has done all it can to bury and undermine the serious allegations,
ignoring evidence uncovered by its own domestic inquiries," said ECCHR
General Secretary Wolfgang Kaleck. "It falls now to the ICC to show that war
crimes will be investigated, including when committed by powerful states".

The latest submission sets out the legal threshold under the Rome Statute
for the opening of an investigation, concluding that the available evidence
more than establishes the "reasonable basis to believe" standard required
for the opening of a full investigation. 

The UK Ministry of Defence has increasingly sought to avoid any scrutiny of
allegations concerning abuse in Iraq, culminating in
<https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ihat-to-close-at-the-end-of-june> its
decision to shut down the Iraq Historic Allegations Team in June 2017 before
that body could complete its investigations into allegations of abuse of
Iraqis by UK forces. ECCHR submitted a letter to the Office of the
Prosecutor in June 2017 detailing the UK Government's recent attempts to
interfere with domestic investigations into abuse and to wrongly dismiss all
allegations related to the British army in Iraq as "vexatious" and
"spurious". The letter set out how this is part of a broader effort by the
Government to shield its armed forces from litigation in cases of serious
human rights abuses.  

The
<https://www.icc-cpi.int/Pages/item.aspx?name=otp-statement-iraq-13-05-2014>
ICC Prosecutor opened a preliminary examination of the situation in May 2014
following a
<https://www.ecchr.eu/en/our_work/international-crimes-and-accountability/un
ited-kingdom.html?file=tl_files/Dokumente/Universelle%20Justiz/UKICC-Communi
cation-2014-01-10_public.pdf> communication from ECCHR and Public Interest
Lawyers in January 2014. That submission details how techniques including
physical assault, hooding, electric shocks, stress positions, deprivation of
food, water and sleep, and sexual humiliation were used against detainees.
The submission presents 85 sample cases along with extensive corroborative
evidence including from independent inquiries in the UK and the
International Committee of the Red Cross. 

For interviews contact: 

ECCHR

Anabel Bermejo

Mail:  <mailto:bermejo at ecchr.eu> bermejo at ecchr.eu 

Phone: +49 (0)172 5870087

For background information see:

*
<https://www.ecchr.eu/en/our_work/international-crimes-and-accountability/un
ited-kingdom.html> ECCHR follow-up communication to Office of the Prosecutor
on the status of preliminary examination on Iraq/United Kingdom, September
2017 

*
<https://www.ecchr.eu/en/our_work/international-crimes-and-accountability/un
ited-kingdom.html> ECCHR letter to Office of the Prosecutor on UK
government's interference with domestic proceedings, June 2017 

*
<https://www.ecchr.eu/en/our_work/international-crimes-and-accountability/un
ited-kingdom.html?file=tl_files/Dokumente/Universelle%20Justiz/UKICC-Communi
cation-2014-01-10_public.pdf> ECCHR/PIL Communication on the Responsibility
of Officials of the United Kingdom for War Crimes Involving Systematic
Detainee Abuse in Iraq from 2003-2008, 10 January 2014

More on the Communication
<http://www.ecchr.eu/en/our_work/international-crimes-and-accountability/uni
ted-kingdom.html> here 

*
<https://www.icc-cpi.int/legalAidConsultations?name=otp-statement-iraq-13-05
-2014> ICC Prosecutor announces opening of a preliminary examination of the
situation in Iraq, 13 May 2014         

*
<https://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/otp/OTP-Policy_Paper_Preliminary_Examinatio
ns_2013-ENG.pdf> ICC OTP Policy Paper on Preliminary Examinations, November
2013 

*	 <https://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/otp/161114-otp-rep-PE_ENG.pdf> OTP
2016 Report on Preliminary Examination Activities

*	 <https://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/otp/OTP-PE-rep-2015-Eng.pdf> OTP
2015 Report on Preliminary Examination Activities 

*	 <https://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/otp/OTP-Pre-Exam-2014.pdf> OTP
2014 Report on Preliminary Examination Activities  

Please excuse double posting.

+---------------------------------------------------------------------

Anabel Bermejo 

Media & Communications

European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights e.V. (ECCHR)

Zossener Str. 55-58, Aufgang D

D-10961 BERLIN

Phone: + 49 (0)30 - 69819797

Mobil: + 49 (0) 172 - 587 00 87

Fax: + 49 (0)30 - 40 04 85 92

E-Mail:  <mailto:bermejo at ecchr.eu> bermejo at ECCHR.eu

Skype: anabel.bermejo1

Twitter: @ECCHRBerlin
<https://twitter.com/ECCHRBerlin?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctw
gr%5Eauthor> 

Website - Facebook
<http://de-de.facebook.com/pages/Ecchr-European-Center-for-Constitutional-an
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