51³Ô¹Ï

The Mothers of Srebrenica and Zepa

¡°Tell us the truth, where are they?¡°, was the question that the Mothers of the Srebrenica and Zepa enclaves asked tirelessly in the aftermath of the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, after being separated from their sons, husbands, brothers and fathers. This question, repeated in spontaneous gatherings in front of local and international institutions where they did not accept silence as an answer, contributed to the discoveries of first mass graves and scattered remains to whom the International Commission on Missing Persons gave back their identity using DNA provided by the Mothers. It ultimately led to key verdicts by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia which determined that what happened in Srebrenica was genocide. Their tireless campaign also led to the establishment of the Memorial Center in Srebrenica and to bringing their story to many corners of the world.

In 1996, they registered the Association with 8,116 wives, daughters, and mothers of those killed in the UN enclaves of Srebrenica and Zepa, and in 1999/2000 they conducted a public survey to establish a memorial and graveyard in Srebrenica ¨C at the very same place where their loved ones were taken away. The Mothers sough, advocated for, and trusted that justice would be met. Day by day they encouraged competent courts to apprehend and prosecute perpetrators. Day by day they made themselves present in front of ICTY, ICJ, Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, courts in the Netherlands, often standing face to face with those facing trial and denying the crimes the Mothers had witnessed. The Mothers fought for justice, for 'without justice, there is no peace.' They wanted to ensure that what had happened to them, could never happen to anyone again. Like Lemkin¡¯s imprint in the strengthening of international law before, the Mothers¡¯  enduring legacy is in the many judgements which have contributed to the further development of international criminal processes, as is in the European Parliament's resolution to designate 11 July as the Srebrenica Genocide Remembrance Day. Their daily mission remains to safeguard the facts and testimonies in the face of rampant genocide denial. When asked, they will tell you that their biggest success is raising their children ¨C children who lost one or both parents in the genocide ¨C without revenge and hatred, but with education as the best tool for ensuring justice and truth. Today, they keep on testifying on their experiences across the world, so that 'Never again' truly becomes 'Never again'. and watch a  about them.

The Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (JBI)

Established under the aegis of American Jewish Committee (AJC) in 1971, JBI seeks to realize the aspiration of AJC leaders who advocated for the creation of the 51³Ô¹Ï in 1945 for effective international institutions capable of preventing heinous crimes like those committed during the Holocaust and securing greater respect for the human rights of all in practice. JBI has undertaken many research and advocacy activities to strengthen international institutions and catalyze human rights protection in its more than 50 years of work. These include its 2001 publication of An Epitaph for Raphael Lemkin, by Dr. William Korey, which led the 51³Ô¹Ï to formally recognize Lemkin¡¯s responsibility for conceiving and advocating for the adoption of the Genocide Convention for the first time. JBI supported the creation of the UN Office of the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide (OSAPG) and developed,in cooperation with it, a Compilation of Human Rights-Related Risk Factors for Genocide and a Manual on Human Rights and the Prevention of Genocide. These diagnostic tools elaborate on the Genocide Convention¡¯s obligation to ¡°prevent genocide¡± by identifying the specific patterns of human rights violations that are particularly relevant to genocide prevention as well as the guidance that independent UN human rights mechanisms have given to States in past situations where such patterns of violations have been found to exist. JBI¡¯s Compilation and Manual have provided a framework for efforts to document risks of genocide and call for action to protect at-risk groups in countries including Myanmar and Sudan.

In 2022, in cooperation with the OSAPG, JBI developed the UN Policy Paper Combating Holocaust and Genocide Denial: Protecting Survivors, Preserving Memory, and Promoting Prevention, a tool that educates 51³Ô¹Ï as well as other national and international actors about the harmful nature of coded forms of hate speech that target survivors of genocide and their communities and, in some circumstances, can also indicate the enduring presence of a risk of atrocity crimes. It outlines strategies for preventing and responding to Holocaust denial and genocide denial and includes guidance for UN actors as well as stakeholders like social media and technology companies. As antisemitism and other forms of identity-based hatred are being documented today, the work of the Jacob Blaustein Institute to encourage and support 51³Ô¹Ï and other relevant actors to catalyze protective, rights-respecting responses and make good on the promise of ¡°never again¡± remains vitally important. .

The European Roma Rights Centre

The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) is a Roma-led international public interest law organisation working to combat anti-Roma racism and human rights abuses through strategic litigation, action research, policy advocacy and human rights education. More than 80 years after an estimated half-million Roma were murdered in the Holocaust by the Nazis and their allies, Europe¡¯s Roma continue to face structural racism and discrimination, are regularly scapegoated for electoral gain, and targeted with hate speech and racially motivated violence by state and non-state actors. Over the past 25 years, the ERRC has striven to empower Roma to combat discrimination and achieve equal access to justice, education, housing, health care and public services. The ERRC has prevailed in local, national and European courts on a range of issues affecting Roma, including school segregation, reproductive rights, police violence, forced evictions and denial of access to public services. Over that time, the ERRC has secured more than EUR 2 million in damages for Romani plaintiffs in approximately 1000 cases.  The ERRC¡¯s landmark victory in the European Court of Human Rights in 2007, D.H. & Others vs. Czech Republic, was hailed as ¡®Europe¡¯s own Brown v Board of Education¡¯, and paved the way for further desegregation cases across the continent. At international policy level it transformed the narrative about segregation of Romani pupils, asserting once and for all that this practice amounts to unlawful racial discrimination. Mindful of the gap between judgments and justice, the ERRC continues to campaign for the eradication of school segregation; for effective state responses to violence and hate speech against Roma; for access to clean water and sanitation, and against all forms of environmental racism that threaten the health, safety, and security of Romani communities; for equal access to justice for Roma, and an end to police impunity when it comes to racially-motivated violence.

Ms Domitilla Mukantaganzwa

Adapting a traditional form of dispute resolution into a grassroots mechanism for trying genocide cases was an experimental and sensitive undertaking, one which Ms. Mukantaganzwa took on with the purpose of seeking justice for the victims of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, but also of having Rwandans come together. ¡®We also need reconciliation ¨C not only justice. And we need to educate our population that we are all the same despite our differences¡¯, she once said. Like Lemkin, leaving her imprint in the shaping of legal systems, Ms Mukantaganzwa is known for contribution to the success of Gacaca courts as the Executive Secretary for National Gacaca Jurisdiction which officially closed in 2012 after trying more than 1.2 million cases related to the 1994 Genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda. It was estimated that 800,000 people participated in the genocide, and with such a strain on the judicial system to process criminal cases, the alternative solution of leveraging traditional communal courts came into being. The word Gacaca means "on the grass." And this is where the gatherings were held in Rwanda, under the trees or on the roads, focused on those suspected of conducting the killings. The Gacaca¡¯s judges were people from the communities, elected by popular vote. The victims and suspects would face each other and talk before these locally elected judges. After the closure of the Gacaca courts, Ms. Mukantaganzwa became first a Commissioner at the National Commission for the Fight against the Genocide (CNLG), and then the Chairperson of the Rwanda Law Reform Commission. She was also among the Commissioners¡¯ which drafted the 2003 Rwanda Constitution, showcasing the power of individuals to influence legal systems which give voices to the victims and seek accountability for crimes committed against them.