Mustafa HOMS. 1 November 1975 – 6 February 2023
بالعربية
It is with the deepest sorrow that we announce the death of our Deputy Chief of the Syria Investigations Unit, Mustafa, and his family. Mustafa, his wife Rola, their beautiful children Tala, Hanin, Mays and Omar all perished in the devastating earthquake that struck North-Western Syria and Turkey on 06 February 2023.
Mustafa was an integral part of CIJA’s investigative team, joining the very first cohort of investigators in 2011. He was a passionate advocate for accountability and believer in justice. He was a beloved team leader and a visionary, not losing hope even in the darkest moments of a cruel war that has ravaged his homeland.
Mustafa was from Ar Rastan, Homs which is where his investigative journey began. A trained lawyer, he was a highly skilled international crimes investigator who secured enormous troves of evidence inside Syria. Over the last twelve years he has made invaluable contributions to the quest for truth and justice about atrocities against the Syrian people, not least to the case of Colvin v Syrian Arab Republic which established the truth about the brutal campaign of sniping and shelling of the people of Homs in 2012. Mustafa will be remembered for the great compassion, empathy, and dedication with which he carried out his life’s work.
His legacy will live on.
Above all, Mustafa was a devoted family man. “When I am with them, there is no war,” he was known to say. He lived and breathed for his wife and children, always striving to secure a better future for them.
Mustafa will be dearly missed by his friends, family, and colleagues.
بالعربية
It is with the deepest sorrow that we announce the death of our Deputy Chief of the Syria Investigations Unit, Mustafa, and his family. Mustafa, his wife Rola, their beautiful children Tala, Hanin, Mays and Omar all perished in the devastating earthquake that struck North-Western Syria and Turkey on 06 February 2023.
Mustafa was an integral part of CIJA’s investigative team, joining the very first cohort of investigators in 2011. He was a passionate advocate for accountability and believer in justice. He was a beloved team leader and a visionary, not losing hope even in the darkest moments of a cruel war that has ravaged his homeland.
Mustafa was from Ar Rastan, Homs which is where his investigative journey began. A trained lawyer, he was a highly skilled international crimes investigator who secured enormous troves of evidence inside Syria. Over the last twelve years he has made invaluable contributions to the quest for truth and justice about atrocities against the Syrian people, not least to the case of Colvin v Syrian Arab Republic which established the truth about the brutal campaign of sniping and shelling of the people of Homs in 2012. Mustafa will be remembered for the great compassion, empathy, and dedication with which he carried out his life’s work.
His legacy will live on.
Above all, Mustafa was a devoted family man. “When I am with them, there is no war,” he was known to say. He lived and breathed for his wife and children, always striving to secure a better future for them.
Mustafa will be dearly missed by his friends, family, and colleagues.
Articles of War Symposium on Prosecuting War Crimes: “Evidentiary Challenges” contribution by Chris Engels
In his contribution to the Symposium, CIJA’s Director of Investigations and Operations Chris Engels provides a clear-sighted summary of the experiences and challenges of gathering and authenticating evidence in combat zones, drawing on CIJA’s long-standing investigations into the armed conflict in Syria. Engels identifies several crucial measures necessary to ensure the robust collection and authentication of evidence, including:
· Awareness and continuous monitoring of the security situation and risks posed to the investigation and to different team members;
· Preparing appropriate collection plans that include clear goals, objectives and risk-thresholds;
· Ensuring safe transit of materials out of the conflict zone with procedures that are realistic and consistent;
· Maintaining the integrity of information including through proper chain of custody record keeping;
· Preserving and authenticating materials;
The post is drawn from the remarks made by Chris Engels at an expert workshop convened by the Lieber Institute for Law and Warfare in partnership with the U.S. State Department Office of Global Criminal Justice and the United States Institute of Peace in late 2022. According to a summary provided by Professor Sean Watts and Jennifer Maddocks the workshop addressed “the practical difficulties that arise when charging, prosecuting, and defending against war crimes charges, as well as investigative and evidentiary challenges in mass-crime contexts. The workshop additionally addressed the acute problems of guaranteeing both protection and justice to victims, particularly when those victims are situated in cultural settings that are unfamiliar to the international and private organizations that increasingly conduct war crimes investigations and prosecutions.”
Read the post here: https://lieber.westpoint.edu/evidentiary-challenges/
In his contribution to the Symposium, CIJA’s Director of Investigations and Operations Chris Engels provides a clear-sighted summary of the experiences and challenges of gathering and authenticating evidence in combat zones, drawing on CIJA’s long-standing investigations into the armed conflict in Syria. Engels identifies several crucial measures necessary to ensure the robust collection and authentication of evidence, including:
· Awareness and continuous monitoring of the security situation and risks posed to the investigation and to different team members;
· Preparing appropriate collection plans that include clear goals, objectives and risk-thresholds;
· Ensuring safe transit of materials out of the conflict zone with procedures that are realistic and consistent;
· Maintaining the integrity of information including through proper chain of custody record keeping;
· Preserving and authenticating materials;
The post is drawn from the remarks made by Chris Engels at an expert workshop convened by the Lieber Institute for Law and Warfare in partnership with the U.S. State Department Office of Global Criminal Justice and the United States Institute of Peace in late 2022. According to a summary provided by Professor Sean Watts and Jennifer Maddocks the workshop addressed “the practical difficulties that arise when charging, prosecuting, and defending against war crimes charges, as well as investigative and evidentiary challenges in mass-crime contexts. The workshop additionally addressed the acute problems of guaranteeing both protection and justice to victims, particularly when those victims are situated in cultural settings that are unfamiliar to the international and private organizations that increasingly conduct war crimes investigations and prosecutions.”
Read the post here: https://lieber.westpoint.edu/evidentiary-challenges/
Ambassador Rapp discusses the need for CIJA’s battlefield investigations in The Syria Trials Podcast: Innovation
CIJA’s Commissioner Ambassador Rapp and Fritz Streiff discuss the need for CIJA’s battlefield investigation in Syria and its importance in securing justice in the Syria Trials Podcast (S1:E10) on Innovations in international criminal justice for Syria. They discuss how CIJA was able to access evidence in areas of Syria that had fallen to the moderate opposition, including Aleppo and Idlib, showing how NGOs can conduct battlefield investigations and how the Syrian regime and its security agencies abandoned 1000’s of pages of incriminating documents. CIJA’s Syrian investigators were able to meticulously collect, store and move these materials to secure locations to be processed, preserved and archived: “a lot of this material would have ended up being burned to stay warm in the winter” says Ambassador Rapp. But more than 1 million pages were collected, preserved and analysed, contributing to several criminal trials, including the unlawful killing verdict of US journalist Marie Colvin by the US District Court in a case brought by the Center for Justice and Accountability, which Streiff acknowledges was “the first judgement in open court that heavily relied on documents and legal analysis provided by CIJA.”
CIJA’s Commissioner Ambassador Rapp and Fritz Streiff discuss the need for CIJA’s battlefield investigation in Syria and its importance in securing justice in the Syria Trials Podcast (S1:E10) on Innovations in international criminal justice for Syria. They discuss how CIJA was able to access evidence in areas of Syria that had fallen to the moderate opposition, including Aleppo and Idlib, showing how NGOs can conduct battlefield investigations and how the Syrian regime and its security agencies abandoned 1000’s of pages of incriminating documents. CIJA’s Syrian investigators were able to meticulously collect, store and move these materials to secure locations to be processed, preserved and archived: “a lot of this material would have ended up being burned to stay warm in the winter” says Ambassador Rapp. But more than 1 million pages were collected, preserved and analysed, contributing to several criminal trials, including the unlawful killing verdict of US journalist Marie Colvin by the US District Court in a case brought by the Center for Justice and Accountability, which Streiff acknowledges was “the first judgement in open court that heavily relied on documents and legal analysis provided by CIJA.”
Nerma Jelacic on “The Contribution of Justice Paths to Provisioning Justice to Victims and Establishing a Safe Environment”
On 17 November 2022, Nerma Jelacic spoke at Roadmap to a Safe Environment in Syria, convened by the Syrian Association for Citizens Dignity, the Free Syrian Lawyers Association and the European Institute of Peace, in Geneva. As part of the panel “The Contribution of Justice Paths to Providing Justice to Victims and Establishing a Safe Environment” Nerma considered some of the challenges and constraints in achieving criminal justice for Syrian victims, despite the Syrian conflict being one of the best documented conflicts in recent history. She also reflected on the importance of remaining persistent, where the overwhelming evidence of Regime criminality may continue to serve Syrian victims in their search for justice and accountability into the future.
Image: screengrab of the livestream, @SyrianACD, Twitter
On 17 November 2022, Nerma Jelacic spoke at Roadmap to a Safe Environment in Syria, convened by the Syrian Association for Citizens Dignity, the Free Syrian Lawyers Association and the European Institute of Peace, in Geneva. As part of the panel “The Contribution of Justice Paths to Providing Justice to Victims and Establishing a Safe Environment” Nerma considered some of the challenges and constraints in achieving criminal justice for Syrian victims, despite the Syrian conflict being one of the best documented conflicts in recent history. She also reflected on the importance of remaining persistent, where the overwhelming evidence of Regime criminality may continue to serve Syrian victims in their search for justice and accountability into the future.
Image: screengrab of the livestream, @SyrianACD, Twitter
Chris Engels on “Protection of Victims and Witnesses in Atrocity Trials”
On 19 September, CIJA’s Director of Investigations and Operations participated in the Atlantic Council’s panel “Protection of Victims and Witnesses in Atrocity Trials” held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. Chris Engels joined Ambassador Beth Van Schaack (US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice), Deborah Amos (International Correspondent, NPR) and Myriam Fillaud (Lead Investigator, UNITAD) where he discussed CIJA’s role as an NGO investigating international crimes and its support to public authorities.
Photo credit: Gissou Nia, Twitter
On 19 September, CIJA’s Director of Investigations and Operations participated in the Atlantic Council’s panel “Protection of Victims and Witnesses in Atrocity Trials” held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. Chris Engels joined Ambassador Beth Van Schaack (US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Criminal Justice), Deborah Amos (International Correspondent, NPR) and Myriam Fillaud (Lead Investigator, UNITAD) where he discussed CIJA’s role as an NGO investigating international crimes and its support to public authorities.
Photo credit: Gissou Nia, Twitter
CIJA Publishes its 2021-2022 Annual Report
CIJA’s 2020-2021 Annual Report showcases the organisation’s remarkable progress and achievements in furthering criminal justice efforts for core international crimes. Alongside our investigative and analytical results and critical contributions to the first verdicts against Syrian Regime officials, the report details CIJA’s four-year Myanmar investigation, which concluded successfully in March 2022.
CIJA’s 2020-2021 Annual Report showcases the organisation’s remarkable progress and achievements in furthering criminal justice efforts for core international crimes. Alongside our investigative and analytical results and critical contributions to the first verdicts against Syrian Regime officials, the report details CIJA’s four-year Myanmar investigation, which concluded successfully in March 2022.
‘Like an open prison’: A million Rohingya refugees still in Bangladesh camps
The Guardian reports on the plight of Rohingya refugees and highlights CIJA-held evidence of the planning and commission of their persecution by Myanmar’s Armed Forces.
Read the full article here.
The Guardian reports on the plight of Rohingya refugees and highlights CIJA-held evidence of the planning and commission of their persecution by Myanmar’s Armed Forces.
Read the full article here.
CIJA Report: investigation into crimes against minorities in Myanmar
After a four-year investigation CIJA presents its findings including the identification of high level suspects responsible for genocide against the Rohingya people.
After a four-year investigation CIJA presents its findings including the identification of high level suspects responsible for genocide against the Rohingya people.
New evidence shows how Myanmar’s military planned its purge of the Rohingya
In an exclusive report, Reuters draws on CIJA-collected evidence to showcase the planning and execution of Tatmadaw’s violent campaign against the Rohingya in Myanmar.
In an exclusive report, Reuters draws on CIJA-collected evidence to showcase the planning and execution of Tatmadaw’s violent campaign against the Rohingya in Myanmar.
Nerma Jelacic speaks at ELAC Oxford Conference
Nerma Jelacic spoke at the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict where she discussed CIJA’s upstream contributions to accountability for mass atrocities. Read More
D’Alessandra et al., ‘Anchoring Accountability for Mass Atrocities; The Permanent Support Needed to Fulfil UN Investigative Mandates’ (The Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law, and Armed Conflict, May 2022), https://www.bsg.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2022-05/Anchoring%20Accountability%20for%20Mass%20Atrocities%20Report.pdf, accessed 12 July 2022.
Nerma Jelacic spoke at the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict where she discussed CIJA’s upstream contributions to accountability for mass atrocities. Read More
D’Alessandra et al., ‘Anchoring Accountability for Mass Atrocities; The Permanent Support Needed to Fulfil UN Investigative Mandates’ (The Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law, and Armed Conflict, May 2022), https://www.bsg.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2022-05/Anchoring%20Accountability%20for%20Mass%20Atrocities%20Report.pdf, accessed 12 July 2022.
Bill Wiley on Criminal Investigations in the Ukraine
Speaking with BBC Worldwide, CIJA’s Bill Wiley discusses the legal requirements of proving that war crimes took place in Bucha, Ukraine.
Wiley emphasizes the need of identifying the Russian structures and units in Bucha at the time of the killings. Watch Here
Speaking with BBC Worldwide, CIJA’s Bill Wiley discusses the legal requirements of proving that war crimes took place in Bucha, Ukraine.
Wiley emphasizes the need of identifying the Russian structures and units in Bucha at the time of the killings. Watch Here
Evidence of war crimes, crimes against humanity in Ukraine but not genocide: Veteran investigator
In an interview with CBC, CIJA Executive Director discussed the atrocities in the Ukraine and the clear perpetration of war crimes. Watch Here
In an interview with CBC, CIJA Executive Director discussed the atrocities in the Ukraine and the clear perpetration of war crimes. Watch Here
How war crimes investigators do their jobs in evidence-rich Ukraine
Bill Wiley discusses the importance of linkage evidence and the significant role it plays in a war crimes investigation. Read More
Bill Wiley discusses the importance of linkage evidence and the significant role it plays in a war crimes investigation. Read More
Mapping Putin’s War on Civilians
In this New Statesman article which tracks potential war crimes incidents in Ukraine, Bill Wiley discusses the Russian military’s modus operandi being put into place in Ukraine. Read More
In this New Statesman article which tracks potential war crimes incidents in Ukraine, Bill Wiley discusses the Russian military’s modus operandi being put into place in Ukraine. Read More
Ukraine War: Can War Crimes Be Proven?
Bill Wiley discusses collecting evidence of war crimes in a SkyNews interview, emphasizing the importance of looking at patterns and finding material generated by the attacking force. Watch Here
Bill Wiley discusses collecting evidence of war crimes in a SkyNews interview, emphasizing the importance of looking at patterns and finding material generated by the attacking force. Watch Here
Already Evidence of War Crimes in Ukraine, Says Expert
The Sunday Post interviewed Bill Wiley on war crimes evidence in Ukraine.
“We look at patterns because it’s very hard to build a case around a specific shelling incident…” Wiley says, drawing on his experience of collecting evidence on war criminals. Read More
The Sunday Post interviewed Bill Wiley on war crimes evidence in Ukraine.
“We look at patterns because it’s very hard to build a case around a specific shelling incident…” Wiley says, drawing on his experience of collecting evidence on war criminals. Read More
Investigating Possible War Crimes in Ukraine
Bill Wiley reflects on the challenges of establishing an investigation in Ukraine and considers evidence needed to secure future convictions in an interview with CTV News. Watch Here
Bill Wiley reflects on the challenges of establishing an investigation in Ukraine and considers evidence needed to secure future convictions in an interview with CTV News. Watch Here
‘Leave no stone unturned’: how investigators gather evidence of war crimes in Ukraine
CIJA Executive Director Bill Wiley spoke to The Guardian’s Julian Borger about the challenges of collecting battlefield evidence amid active conflict. Read More
CIJA Executive Director Bill Wiley spoke to The Guardian’s Julian Borger about the challenges of collecting battlefield evidence amid active conflict. Read More
Ukraine takes Russia to court, but Moscow’s representatives are a no-show
Demand for criminal-justice accountability in Ukraine is growing. How can those most responsible for serious crimes be held to account? CIJA Executive Director Bill Wiley and Chair of the Board Stephen Rapp discuss in The Washington Post. Read More
Demand for criminal-justice accountability in Ukraine is growing. How can those most responsible for serious crimes be held to account? CIJA Executive Director Bill Wiley and Chair of the Board Stephen Rapp discuss in The Washington Post. Read More
Building a War Crimes Case Against Putin Is Harder Than You Think
Executive Director Bill Wiley draws on CIJA's unprecedented work in Syria and Iraq to outline the steps required for effective collection and preservation of war crimes evidence in Ukraine. Read More
Executive Director Bill Wiley draws on CIJA's unprecedented work in Syria and Iraq to outline the steps required for effective collection and preservation of war crimes evidence in Ukraine. Read More