Impunity remains the greatest barrier to justice and reparation for victims and survivors of human rights violations and core international crimes. Too often, only a few perpetrators are brought to justice. Therefore, empowering victims and survivors to combat impunity through both formal and informal transitional justice processes is essential. In June 2024, nine civil society organizations and two associate partners united to launch the “Global Initiative Against Impunity for International Crimes and Serious Human Rights Violations: Making Justice Work”.

In recent decades, the tireless efforts of survivors, civil society organizations, activists and lawyers have made significant strides in addressing the growing impunity for violations of international human rights, humanitarian and criminal law. Despite this progress, many challenges persist. 

The GIAI seeks to enhance the participation of victims and civil society organizations in creating inclusive accountability processes in order to close the accountability gap for serious human rights violations. Ensuring access to justice for those who have been denied their rights is at the center of our work as a consortium. Each participating organization brings not only a breadth of expertise in promoting justice and accountability for serious human rights violations and the core international crimes – but, most importantly, an extensive network of like-minded individuals and civil society organizations (CSOs) across the globe.

ECCHR’s work as part of the GIAI centers around three pillars: providing legal and holistic support to survivors of serious human rights violations; conducting advocacy missions to key EU states and international bodies; and promoting knowledge-sharing among civil society organizations. In 2024, ECCHR:

•  Provided legal support to several survivors from different countries, which enabled them to participate in trials and have their testimonies heard by prosecutorial authorities;
• Organised a series of strategic exchanges with five CSOs to collaborate on accountability for crimes committed in a specific country context;
• Produced the ‘Universal Jurisdiction in Practice’ video series, which provides viewers with a basis on what universal jurisdiction (UJ) is and what you can achieve with it; and
• Engaged in dialogue with national and EU authorities on adopting and implementing UJ legislation, advising decision-makers on how to improve survivors’ access to justice.

In 2025, the initiative will place special emphasis on 28 countries across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. 

The GIAI seeks to implement an approach to challenging impunity and promoting accountability that is survivor-centered, trauma-informed and gender-transformative. In order to achieve that, the GIAI focuses, on the one hand, on democratizing rights-holders’ access to knowledge about accountability mechanisms and enhancing their participation in formal and informal justice processes, and on the other hand, on improving their access to decision-makers at different levels. 

The consortium is composed of nine organizations: Civil Rights Defenders, the Coalition for the International Criminal Court, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, Impunity Watch, the International Federation for Human Rights, Parliamentarians for Global Action, REDRESS, TRIAL International, and Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice. They are supported by two associate partners: the Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities, and the International Commission of Jurists. The four-year Initiative is co-funded by the European Union.

ECCHR combats double standards and impunity for international crimes across various international and national legal forums, including the International Criminal Court. Beyond international bodies, ECCHR has effectively applied the principle of universal jurisdiction in several European countries to investigate crimes and prosecute perpetrators. Supporting over 100 Syrian torture survivors and their relatives in filing criminal complaints in Germany, Austria, Sweden and Norway, a landmark victory was achieved. In January 2022, the pioneering trial on Syrian state torture concluded at the Higher Regional Court of Koblenz, where high-ranking ex-intelligence officer Anwar Raslan was sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity.