The UN and its 193 Member States can bring a case within the Court’s jurisdiction and some of its decisions are shaping the planet’s common destiny.
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UN Photo
The Peace Palace in The Hague, the headquarters of the International Court of Justice as pictured in 1955.
According to the Afghanistan Opium Survey 2023, released by the agency on Sunday, the supply of opium declined by an estimated 95 per cent, falling from 6,200 tons in 2022 to 333 tons in 2023, corresponding to a fall in the area under cultivation, from 233,000 hectares to just 10,800 hectares over the same period.
The near-total contraction of the opiate economy is expected to have far-reaching consequences, UNODC said, highlighting the urgent need for alternative development support for rural communities to build an opium-free future for the Afghan people.
“This presents a real opportunity to build towards long-term results against the illicit opium market and the damage it causes both locally and globally,” said Ghada Waly, UNODC Executive Director.
“At the same time, there are important consequences and risks that need to be addressed for an outcome that is ultimately positive and sustainable, especially for the people of Afghanistan,” she added.
Humanitarian consequences
The survey noted the sharp reduction has had immediate humanitarian consequences for many vulnerable rural communities who relied on income from cultivating opium.
Farmers’ income from selling the opium harvested in 2023 to traders fell by more than 92 per cent from an estimated $1,360 million for the 2022 harvest to $110 million in 2023, the survey added.
“Today, Afghanistan’s people need urgent humanitarian assistance to meet their most immediate needs, to absorb the shock of lost income and to save lives,” Ms. Waly said, noting that over the coming months, the country will require strong investment in sustainable livelihoods, to provide farmers with opportunities away from opium.
Treatment options limited
UNODC also emphasized that though there are high levels of opiate use within Afghanistan, evidence-based treatment options remain limited.
It called for evidence-based treatment to be integrated in public health measures and assistance, including to prevent people with opiate use disorders turning to potentially even more harmful substances.
Beyond Afghanistan
Beyond Afghanistan, less heroin may lead to reduced trafficking and use, or it could spur the emergence of harmful alternatives, such as fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, UNODC warned.
Data on seizures indicate that traders are selling off their opium inventories from past record harvests to weather the shortfall in 2023, while heroin processing has decreased.
However, trafficking in other drugs, namely methamphetamine, has surged in the region.
Briefing the Security Council, Abdoulaye Bathily noted the thousands of lives lost by the dam bursts which destroyed whole neighbourhoods after Storm Daniel slammed the region on 10 September.
The Special Representative told ambassadors that despite the sense of national unity and compassion shown by ordinary Libyans, the disaster had revealed “severe governance deficits” across the divided nation, with its two rival administrations: the internationally recognized Government in Tripoli and the Benghazi-based parliament in the east.
Eyewitness to ‘apocalyptic scene’
“I saw first-hand the magnitude of the disaster and heard from families about their losses, including individuals who lost all their loved ones”, said Mr. Bathily. “I saw an apocalyptic scene where large portions of the city were literally swallowed up by the water,” he shared with the Council.
The UN, along with local and international partners, swiftly responded to the crisis, providing life-saving aid and leading search and rescue operations. The focus now is on early recovery and reconstruction.
End divisions over rebuilding
Mr. Bathily said the divided leaderships had supported rescue efforts well overall with the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) establishing an operations room to support rescue teams. Armed groups from both east and west “demonstrated remarkable solidarity”, he added.
However, he expressed concern over the clear divisions among Libya’s leaders regarding the reconstruction of Derna and the affected areas.
“Uncoordinated initiatives could lead to further disappointment for the citizens of Derna and all of Libya, who are hoping for a speedy recovery and efficient reconstruction of the affected areas,” cautioned Mr. Bathily.
Electoral progress
In the bid to finally hold national elections towards a new unity government the UNSMIL chief noted some progress.
Earlier this month, a committee of representatives from rival administrations tasked to produce laws for the upcoming elections, completed its work. With certain reservations, they have published revised electoral laws acceptable to all sides.
Mr. Bathily warned that remaining disagreements over electoral laws may jeopardise the hard-won gains by the rival chambers and the compromise they have achieved so far.
He said a wider base of support was needed to safeguard progress towards the ballot box, calling on all parties involved to meet and agree on a binding political settlement.
The “backbone of that will be a unified government to lead Libya to elections” he said, assuring of UNSMIL’s readiness to help.
“We share the concerns expressed on Tuesday by the Presidency of the ICC’s Assembly of States Parties that these actions are unacceptable, and we call for them to be promptly withdrawn,” said Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani, speaking in Geneva.
Last month, Russia issued arrest warrants against the President, deputy and one of the judges at the ICC, which investigates and tries persons charged with the gravest crimes, namely genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.
Response to ICC warrants
The development follows the Court’s issuance of arrest warrants in March against Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Commissioner for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, for alleged unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia.
Days later, Russia opened cases against ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan and three Court judges, according to media reports.
Fighting against impunity
The ICC was established in July 2002 under a treaty known as the Rome Statute and is based in The Hague, in the Netherlands.
The Court is “a cornerstone of the rule of law and complements the work of national courts in the fight against impunity,” said Ms. Shamdasani.
“It is therefore crucial that it, and its officials, can perform their vital functions under the Rome Statute, unhindered by pressure, interference, or intimidation – from any quarter,” she added.
“Azerbaijan must also promptly and independently investigate alleged or suspected violations of the right to life reported in the context of its latest military offensive…during which dozens of people, including peacekeepers, were killed,” said, Morris Tidball-Binz, the UN Human Rights Council-appointed Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.
Thousands have moved into Armenia from the Karabakh Economic Region of Azerbaijan in the span of just a few days, including many elderly, women and children.
UN chief António Guterres said on Tuesday he was “very concerned” about the displacement.
“It’s essential that the rights of the displaced populations be protected and that they receive the humanitarian support they are owed,” Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists at UN Headquarters.
Long-running conflict
Conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the region has persisted for more than three decades, but a ceasefire and subsequent Trilateral Statement was agreed almost three years ago following six weeks of fighting, by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, leading to the deployment of several thousand Russian peacekeepers.
Amid last week’s flare-up in fighting and the arrival of the first refugees in Armenia, the UN chief called for fully-fledged access for aid workers to people in need.
International standards must apply
Mr. Tidball-Binz said that “investigations must be conducted in accordance with international standards, in particular the Revised UN Manual on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions, also known as the Minnesota Protocol”.
This requires that investigations be carried out promptly and be thorough, complete, independent, impartial and transparent.”
“I reaffirm my readiness to provide technical assistance to the authorities for ensuring compliance with their international humanitarian law and human rights obligations to properly investigate every potentially unlawful death in line with applicable standards of forensic best practice,” the Special Rapporteur said.
Special Rapporteurs and other UN experts are not UN staff and are independent from any government or organisation. They serve in their individual capacity and receive no salary for their work.
Taking questions from reporters in New York, the UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said that the UN has been in communication with the Government of Azerbaijan on issues relating to international law and humanitarian principles, noting that the Government has given public assurances that all citizens in the region would be protected.
Alarming images
He also flagged a statement issued on Wednesday by Alice Wairimu Nderitu, the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide.
“She reiterated her strong concern over the ongoing situation in the South Caucasus region…She said the images of people leaving due to fear of identity-based violence are very alarming”.
Ms. Nderitu called for “all efforts to be made” to ensure the protection and human rights of the ethnic Armenian population who remain in the area and for those who have left.
Emergency shelter, ‘critical’
In a press briefing in Geneva earlier in the day, the World Health Organization’s head of Health Emergencies, noted that possibly up to a third of the population of the Karabakh region has moved “in a very, very short time.”
They don’t have their normal meds with them. They haven’t eaten, they are thirsty. There is a risk of dehydration, there’s a risk to disease and other psychological traumas which go along with that. I think right now, given the cold temperatures at night emergency shelter is absolutely crucial.”
They called for his immediate release and for the US “to comply with its obligations under international law…and drop all charges against him.”
Allegations
Mr. Saab was appointed as a Special Envoy by the Government in Caracas in April 2018 to undertake official missions in Iran to secure humanitarian deliveries, including of food and medicine, a press release issued by the UN human rights office detailed.
The US alleges the envoy was behind a corruption network involving a Government-subsidized food programme called CLAP that was in effect, stealing from the Venezuelan people, while also using food as a form of social control, according to the US Treasury.
In July of the same year, Mr. Saab was placed under US sanctions for allegedly being responsible for inter alia engaging in transactions or programmes administered by the Venezuelan Government.
On 12 June 2020, during his third trip to Iran, while in transit through Cabo Verde, he was arrested and detained by local authorities. Following an extradition request by the US, he was ultimately extradited in October 2021.
Problematic arrest
According to the Human Rights Council-appointed experts, the Cabo Verde courts dealing with his case reportedly rejected his numerous appeals against the extradition, his diplomatic status as an ad hoc diplomat and the decision in his favour by an ECOWAS Court in the region.
They said the courts also “discarded numerous official communications” from Venezuela, and recommendations from international rights bodies, including the Human Rights Council’s Special Procedures and the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
“We note with concern the reported irregularities in the arrest and detention in Cabo Verde of Mr. Saab, prior to his extradition to the US,” the experts said.
“In particular, information we received indicates that at the exact moment of his arrest, while he was on his place at the Amílcar Cabral International Airport, there was no Red Notice by Interpol, nor an arrest warrant presented to him. Both were instead issued ex post facto,” they noted.
Charges against Saab
Following his extradition, US judicial authorities dropped seven counts of money laundering against him, while maintaining a single count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
“We deeply regret that for almost two years since his extradition, Mr. Saab remains in detention awaiting trial for alleged conduct which is not considered an international crime, and thus should not have been the subject of extraterritorial or universal jurisdiction,” the UN experts said.
The experts were informed that since his extradition Saab was being detained at the Federal Detention Center in Miami, which is not a correctional institution, but instead a pre-trial administrative facility.
Violation ‘for millions’
“The actions against Mr. Saab are not only violations of his human rights…but also a violation of the right to an adequate standard of living for millions of Venezuelans, as result of the abrupt interruption of his mission for the procurement of essential goods,” the experts said.
Special Rapporteurs and other independent UN experts are not UN staff. They serve in their individual capacity and receive no salary for their work.
Heads of State, Foreign Ministers, and other top representatives are converging to endorse multilateral treaties which form the bedrock of international legal frameworks.
“Multilateral treaties are essential tools for Member States to achieve the objectives of the UN Charter,” emphasized David Nanopoulos, Chief of the Treaty Section at the UN Office for Legal Affairs (OLA).
The former, focused on trade and signed by 15 nations as of Tuesday, aims to shore up international law regarding ship sales.
The landmark BBNJ treaty was agreed in June, following nearly two decades of negotiations, and strengthens the legal regime in the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity, in over two-thirds of the world’s ocean.
Other treaties open for signature include those relating to environment, human rights, disarmament, and combatting transnational organized crime.
United Nations/Paulina Kubiak
Catherine Colonna, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, signs the BBNJ treaty at the UN Treaty Event.
Long legacy
The Treaty Event, established in 2000 by former Secretary-General Kofi Annan, capitalizes on the UN General Assembly’s annual high-level week to garner global leader support for multilateral treaties and the rule of law.
This initiative has seen substantial success, with over 2,000 treaty actions secured.
As the depository of multilateral treaties, the UN Secretary-General plays a pivotal role in their administration, ensuring transparency and facilitating cooperation among Member States, thereby upholding international law and principles of diplomacy.
OHCHR said that at least 120,000 people across Myanmar and another 100,000 in Cambodia may be held in situations where they are forced to execute lucrative online scams – from illegal gambling to crypto fraud.
Other States including Lao PDR, the Philippines and Thailand have also been identified as main countries of destination or transit.
Victims, not criminals
“People who are coerced into working in these scamming operations endure inhumane treatment while being forced to carry out crimes,” said UN rights chief Volker Türk. “They are victims. They are not criminals,” he insisted.
The latest OHCHR report sheds new light on cybercrime scams that have become a major issue in Asia, with many workers trapped and forced to participate in scams targeting people over the internet.
The report notes workers face a range of serious human rights violations, and many have been subjected to abuses such as torture, arbitrary detention, sexual violence and forced labour.
Victims of such operations can be scammed an average of $160,000 each, often through sophisticated scripts sent via unregulated social media applications.
According OHCHR, these victims come from across the ASEAN region as well as mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, South Asia and even further afield from Africa and Latin America.
Mr. Türk called on States to ensure justice “for the people who have been so horrifically abused.”
Noticeable trends
Speaking in Geneva, Pia Oberoi, OHCHR’s Senior Advisor on Migration and Human Rights in Asia Pacific, said ongoing regional “economic distress” paired with the COVID-19 pandemic has meant there is a lack of regular and safe pathways towards decent work opportunities.
“This has meant populations are more likely to rely on recruitment forums or intermediaries,” so criminal gangs are increasingly targeting individuals through these platforms, suggesting victims are destined for real jobs.
“There weren’t red flags being raised” – particularly for the more educated, multilingual young men who the report notes are frequent victims.
“It follows a pattern of how labour migration has taken place in the region, and also speaks to the sophistication of these fraudulent recruitments,” added Ms. Oberoi.
Weak regulations
According to OHCHR, the COVID-19 pandemic and associated response measures had a drastic impact on illicit activities across the region – with increased virtual work and the movement of business to less regulated spaces.
Ms. Oberoi said the situation is “unfolding in locations where regulation is weak,” such as conflict affected border areas in Myanmar, “with little to no rule of law” and in “laxly regulated jurisdictions such as special economic zones in Laos PDR and Cambodia.”
Describing the trends across the region, she added that the ability of ASEAN nationals to travel across borders without a visa, also means there is a “lack of protection sensitive screening”, as officials don’t always have the training to “identify protection sensitive responses.”
Justice for victims
Although there are several regional legal frameworks to prosecute such crimes, OHCHR said there is a lack of implementation by States and often forced criminality is not seen as a legal violation.
Even when victims are rescued or escape, rather than being protected and given access to the rehabilitation and remedy they need, they are often subjected to criminal prosecution or immigration penalties, OHCHR said.
“All affected States need to summon the political will to strengthen human rights and improve governance and the rule of law, including through serious and sustained efforts to tackle corruption,” said Mr. Türk.
“Only such a holistic approach can break the cycle of impunity and ensure protection and justice for the people who have been so horrifically abused.”
“I used to transport sugar from Malawi,” said an anonymous driver, who was arrested for migrant trafficking. “In 2016, I had to wait for several days at a border crossing in Tanzania for customs checks. I was approached by a man who offered me a lot of money to transport goats.”
His story is not unique.
Malawi is located at the crossroads of several significant flows of people fleeing conflict, instability, and poverty in Central Africa and the Horn of Africa.
Such movements provide lucrative opportunities for smugglers and traffickers and for Malawi’s 5,000 registered international truck drivers.
The driver who shared his story said he was paid in advance, and the man who offered him the deal took photos of both him and his truck. The driver proceeded to spend some of the money and send more to his wife.
“On the day I was due to leave, the man told me the ‘goats’ were actually 30 illegal migrants from Ethiopia,” he said. “They looked very sick, tired, and malnourished. He said I had to take them to a location in Malawi that’s close to a large refugee camp.”
When the driver tried to protest, the smuggler demanded his money back and threatened to take the truck and share photos of him with the authorities.
“This is how it all started, and soon it became my main business,” he said. “The man would pay me a lot of money and escort me in a small car, so he could bribe corrupt police and immigration officers along the way.”
According to the driver, he was initially not aware that what he was doing was illegal.
Then, in 2019, he was arrested in Mozambique while transporting 72 migrants from Malawi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
“Now I’m sick, unemployed, and divorced,” the driver said.
Trafficking risks
Truck drivers based in Malawi are now learning about the risks of transporting migrants and trafficking victims, thanks to a programme supported by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The courses, which began in February, are already proving to be a success.
Feckson Chimodzi, a truck driver who transports farming products from countries in Southern Africa into Malawi and also participated in the course, said drivers who work with smugglers and traffickers often do it “out of necessity” to supplement their low salaries.
“Our employers need to improve our working conditions and give us comprehensive training about the dangers of getting involved in these crimes,” Mr. Chimodzi said.
Strict penalties
UNODC
Maxwell Matewere, addresses a local community in Malawi about the threat of human trafficking.
Criminals who smuggle or traffic humans within countries or across borders use all possible routes and modes of transportation to transfer people for profit and exploitation.
If apprehended by authorities, the truck drivers are usually arrested and imprisoned, explained Maxwell Matewere, a UNODC National Project Officer on trafficking in persons.
“There’s a lack of understanding of human trafficking and migrant smuggling in the region, and payment for illegally transporting people is much larger than the regular truck driver’s salary,” said Mr. Matewere, who conducts the training.
“Most drivers know what they’re doing is illegal, but are told that when they cross borders, corrupt officials will let them pass,” he said. “So, they take the money and the risk.”
Vehicle confiscations and arrests
IOM/Alexander Bee
Migrants travel by foot and by vehicle across Africa in order to reach Europe and other destinations.
Following a series of vehicle confiscations and arrests in neighbouring countries, the Professional Drivers Association of Malawi asked UNODC to train its members on the dangers of transporting smuggled migrants and victims of trafficking.
A total of four courses for around 400 drivers have been conducted, with further sessions scheduled in October. The participants are informed about the penalties they face if caught, including the loss of both their truck and employment, a criminal record, and potential imprisonment of up to 14 years in a foreign country.
Positive impact, new allies
Since the start of the UNODC courses, the Professional Drivers Association has reported a reduction in the number of arrests of Malawian drivers on charges of migrant smuggling and human trafficking.
Many drivers who attended the training are proving to be “very useful allies” in the prevention and detection of cases of migrant smuggling and human trafficking, said Mr. Matewere said.
United Nations
“We explain that migrant smuggling and human trafficking are serious organized criminal activities punishable by laws in Malawi and the countries the drivers transit, such as Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, and Mozambique,” he said.
“Furthermore, the drivers are told that these crimes are linked to exploitation, abuse, and violence and can even result in death, and we tell them about the connections to other illicit activities such as drugs and firearms smuggling,” he added.
Last year, Malawi’s Ministry for Homeland Security appointed a new group of law enforcement officers to counter the increasing cases of migrant smuggling and human trafficking.
“We’ve established contact between the truck drivers we trained and this specialised unit, so they now know who to inform when they’ve been approached by criminals to carry people in their vehicles,” Mr. Matewere said.
Since May, seven attempts of human trafficking and migrant smuggling have been stopped by authorities at border crossings due to information from truck drivers. A recent case involved 40 Malawians, including children, who were being taken in three trucks to South Africa and intercepted on the border with Zambia.
The awareness-raising courses are organized through UNODC’s human trafficking and migrant smuggling section, with the cooperation of Malawi’s Ministry of Homeland Security and financial support from the Government of Sweden.
Find out more about how UNODC is tackling human trafficking and migrant smuggling here.
Volker Türk said the 19-year sentence was based on vague and overly broad charges of “extremism” and followed a closed trial on the premises of the prison where Mr. Navalny is already serving two other sentences amounting to 11 and a half years.
He recalled that under international human rights law, States have an obligation to respect, protect and fulfil the full range of fair trial and due process rights to all individuals deprived of their liberty.
“I call on the Russian authorities to take measures to respect these obligations by immediately ceasing violations of Navalny’s human rights and release him,” the rights chief said.
Repressive crackdown
Mr. Türk said this latest sentence against Mr. Navalny comes amid an increasingly repressive crackdown on freedom of expression and political opposition in Russia.
Since February 2022, some 20,000 people have been arrested, many of them briefly, for various actions against Russia’s war against Ukraine, including protesting and posting on social media.
Several were jailed for allegedly spreading false information about the actions of the military and hundreds more have been given administrative fines for “discrediting” the Russian Army, he added.
There has also been a sharp increase in the use of the espionage and treason provisions of the Criminal Code to try and convict people that were merely exercising their human rights.
Mr. Türk called for a transparent and impartial review of such cases, in accordance with international human rights norms.
“Deprivation of liberty for the exercise of human rights, including the freedom of opinion, expression, peaceful assembly and association, constitutes arbitrary detention under international human rights law,” he said, adding that “all those arbitrarily detained should be released immediately.”
The UN Secretary-General supports the High Commissioner’s statement, his Deputy Spokesperson said during the daily press briefing at UN Headquarters in New York.
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