The Department of State submits this annual report on the United States’ work to prevent and respond to atrocities. The United States is committed to promoting respect for human rights around the world and reaffirms that preventing atrocities is a fundamental national security commitment and a fundamental moral responsibility. This report highlights several countries of concern, the release of the U.S. Strategy to Anticipate, Prevent, and Respond to Atrocities, and illustrative examples of efforts coordinated by the Atrocity Prevention Task Force from June 2021 through May 2022. These Examples represent a wide range of efforts in prevention, response and recovery contexts through individual departmental and agency efforts as well as joint interagency efforts.
United States Response to Current or Recent Atrocities – Country Highlights
The following examples illustrate how the Biden administration is working to prevent atrocities in a wide range of contexts. On the same subject : Clark Art Features ‘Rodin in America’.
On March 23, 2022, after careful consideration of information from public and intelligence sources, Secretary Blinken announced the U.S. government’s assessment that members of Russian forces had committed war crimes in Ukraine. Credible reports of individuals killed with their hands tied, executions of Ukrainians attempting to surrender, torture, targeting of civilian objects, forced displacement of civilians to Russia and Belarus, sexual violence linked conflict, as well as sexual violence perpetrated in view of children and family members with the apparent intention of traumatizing them. This growing body of evidence reflects a series of atrocity reports. Together with our partners, the United States supports a series of mechanisms to document these actions and pursue accountability for potential war crimes and other atrocities. This includes supporting Ukrainian authorities, journalists, human rights defenders and civil society actors as well as international investigative and accountability mechanisms, such as those led by the International Criminal Court and the United Nations Commission of Inquiry, and the Moscow Mechanism of the OSCE. . USAID continues its long-term support, since 2014, of government and civil society efforts to document human rights violations, including atrocities, support truth-telling efforts, strengthen the enabling legal environment , build the capacity of legal practitioners to investigate and prosecute these crimes. , and provide legal assistance to conflict-affected civilians to ensure justice and accountability, and end impunity. The Department of State continues to support and coordinate with the Office of the Secretary General’s Special Rapporteur on Sexual Violence in Conflict and other relevant Special Procedures experts. The Department of State is bolstering these efforts with initiatives, such as the new Conflict Observatory platform, supporting documentation, verification, and dissemination of evidence of violations of international humanitarian law by the Russia. The Department of State also supports teams of international criminal prosecution experts and investigators to assist the war crimes units of the Office of the Attorney General of Ukraine to investigate and prosecute atrocities.
The United States continues to support the desire of the people of Sudan to achieve a democratic transition under full civilian leadership and justice for past and ongoing human rights violations and abuses, including violence against protesters, the rape and other forms of gender-based violence, unjust detentions, restrictions on freedom of expression and recent violence in West Darfur. This includes the imposition of sanctions related to serious human rights abuses against protesters and the provision of foreign aid to Sudanese civil society actors supporting the democratic transition (US aid to the government was suspended in response to the military coup of October 25). The United States also works with civil society to support local peacebuilding efforts and advance transitional justice efforts; and supports local actors across the country to advance human rights monitoring, documentation and advocacy for accountability when violations occur.
The United States is increasingly concerned about the commission of ongoing atrocities, including reports of conflict-related sexual violence being used as a weapon of war, in South Sudan, as well as the increased intercommunal violence in Abyei, a disputed area between Sudan and South Sudan. The recent clashes between the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Opposition Movement (SPLA/M-IO) in Upper Nile State and the violence sub-national in Leer County and Unity State reflect an alarming rise in tensions. The recent violence in Abyei also highlights the increase in inter-communal tensions in this contested region and comes with the risk of atrocities. The Department of State is also supporting ongoing community conflict resolution efforts in the disputed Abyei region. The Department of State supports early warning and rapid response efforts in protection sites for internally displaced civilians and in the border region with the Democratic Republic of the Congo. To gather evidence of past and ongoing atrocities and continue survivor-centered accountability efforts in South Sudan, the Department of State also supports civil society-led human rights documentation, psychosocial support and building local capacity to investigate and prosecute atrocity crimes. USAID also provides community support and technical assistance to initiate and manage community-based peace and reconciliation processes between communities in conflict and supports civil society efforts and community-based trauma awareness activities designed to help communities to manage and pre come the cycles of violence and atrocities.
The United States continues to work with allies and partners to call on the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to end crimes against humanity and genocide in Xinjiang. In July 2021, Secretary Blinken met with Uyghur internment camp survivors, advocates, and relatives of those detained in Xinjiang to express the United States’ commitment to accountability for atrocities and human rights violations. the PRC man more broadly. This commitment is reflected in steps taken to promote accountability, including denying entry into the United States of certain PRC officials implicated in acts of repression against members of minority ethnic and religious groups and religious and spiritual practitioners. , as well as the imposition of financial sanctions and the implementation of export restrictions. The State Department and USAID also support investigations, reporting, NGO capacity building, and advocacy efforts related to forced labor in Xinjiang. These efforts culminated in the publication of reports of forced labor practices that helped discredit PRC disinformation aimed at curtailing such abuses and informed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Law that President Biden signed into law on 23 December 2021. The United States continues to assist those fleeing state-sponsored forced labor, persecution, and other abuses in the PRC. The United States remains committed to ongoing efforts to prevent the refoulement of Uyghurs and members of other minority ethnic and religious groups from Xinjiang to the PRC. Over the past year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has increased public awareness of PRC-backed transnational repression, including launching public-facing websites and a guide to bullying threats for potential victims. In addition, federal authorities announced charges against six people working on behalf of the PRC’s police and intelligence services in the United States to silence critics of PRC abuses.
The United States remains vigilant to the continued threat of genocide and other atrocities committed by ISIS, including against members of minority religious groups such as Christians and Yazidis, in Iraq and Syria. In Iraq, the Department of State continues to support documentation and investigative efforts by civil society. The United States has also provided support to the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability Against Daesh (UNITAD) since its inception to collect, preserve, and store evidence of acts that may constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Iraq. . In October 2021, the State Department launched a program to analyze the political, economic, and military networks of armed groups in the Sinjar district, the epicenter of ISIS’s genocide against the Yazidis, which helped to draw attention to the factors that prevent displaced people from returning to their homes. State Department efforts have supported broader work on atrocity prevention activities, including the recovery of members of minority religious and ethnic groups in Ninewa provinces and other areas liberated from ISIS.
The United States continues to fight the atrocities committed by the Assad regime in Syria, which has committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. These atrocities include torture, extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances and the use of chemical weapons. The United States continues to promote accountability, including through targeted sanctions against those linked to abuses in Syria. The United States supports the work of the International, Impartial, and Independent Mechanism (IIIM) to collect, consolidate, preserve, and analyze evidence of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights violations and abuses, and to prepare records to facilitate and expedite fairness. and independent criminal proceedings before national, regional or international courts or tribunals that have or may in the future have jurisdiction over these crimes. The Department of State also continues to support civil society and UN-led documentation and investigative efforts, the Torture Survivors Initiative, and the integration and empowerment of women in justice efforts. to ensure that atrocities committed against women and girls are appropriately addressed. survivor-centered manner.
The United States remains deeply concerned about reports of atrocities, including widespread reports of gender-based violence in northern Ethiopia. The Department of State supported the joint efforts of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia to investigate allegations of human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law committed by all parties. USAID supported local nongovernmental organizations and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission to monitor, document, and report human rights violations and abuses and atrocities. The United States co-sponsored a Human Rights Council resolution establishing an International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia on December 17, 2021. Many of these ongoing efforts will help gather and preserve the testimonies of victims and survivors in order to contribute to future accountability and reconciliation. process. The United States is also pursuing strong diplomacy to support the humanitarian truce and advance a peaceful resolution to the conflict, inclusive and credible national dialogue, and comprehensive and inclusive transitional justice.
On March 21, 2022, Secretary Blinken announced his determination that members of the Burmese military had committed genocide and crimes against humanity against the Rohingya, most of whom are Muslims. The United States is committed to justice for victims, survivors, and their families, and to accountability for those responsible for past atrocities, as well as the prevention of future atrocities against any group. This commitment includes detailed documentation of abuses against the Rohingya and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups prior to the 2021 coup, as well as support for the people of Burma to seek truth, justice and accountability. Coinciding with the determination of genocide and crimes against humanity, the United States announced a contribution of $1 million to support the mandate of the United Nations Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) to collect, consolidate, preserve and analyze evidence of the most serious international crimes. and violations of international law. The United States has shared information with The Gambia as part of The Gambia’s case against Burma under the Genocide Convention at the International Court of Justice. The United States seeks prompt and full implementation of the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus Call for an immediate cessation of violence in Burma. The United States has also imposed financial sanctions on some Myanmar military-linked income-generating businesses, as well as financial sanctions and visa restrictions on those implicated in abuses against Rohingya and members of other ethnic groups. and religious minorities. State Department and USAID Support Large-Scale Efforts to Provide Emergency Support to Defenders of human rights, documenting human rights violations and abuses, and helping to prevent and respond to human rights violations and atrocities. In October 2021, USAID launched a $45 million program focused on human rights and atrocity prevention in Burma.
The United States has repeatedly called on the Taliban to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, especially for women and girls, members of minority ethnic and religious groups such as the Hazara, and other populations marginalized in Afghanistan. U.S. delegations led by Special Representative for Afghanistan Tom West have repeatedly engaged Taliban leaders from October 2021 to March 2022 to push for an inclusive and consultative process among Afghans on the future country’s politics, respect for human rights, the removal of restrictions on women and girls. , protection of members of minority communities and accountability for atrocities. The United States has coordinated closely with international partners and allies to issue joint statements calling on the Taliban to respect the human rights of Afghan women and girls, provide girls with access to education at all levels, and to end retaliatory killings. The Special Representative for the West and Special Envoy for Afghan Women, Girls and Human Rights, Rina Amiri, continued her consultations with Afghan civil society, women leaders and representatives of minority ethnic and religious groups to discuss challenges facing their communities and how the international community can support them. . State Department and USAID foreign assistance programs have supported efforts to promote respect for human rights and provide emergency support to human rights defenders. The United States supported the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and the appointment of a new Special Rapporteur of the C UN Human Rights Council on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, advocating to emphasize the human rights of women, girls and members of religious and ethnic minority groups in their respective mandates .
Notable Milestones in 2021-2022 towards Accountability for Past Atrocities
In 2021, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) identified and indicted 34 people “most responsible” for war crimes and crimes against humanity that occurred during Colombia’s armed conflict. In April 2022, the JEP organized a public admission of ten military officials and one civilian of guilt for war crimes and crimes against humanity against at least 120 civilians linked to extrajudicial executions. These followed historic JEP rulings in 2021 that the “false positives” of 6,402 innocent civilians as combatants were systematic crimes perpetrated by the military, and that the FARC had abducted or taken hostage 21 396 people for fundraising and strategic advantage in cases that sometimes also involved torture, sexual abuse and enforced disappearance. This may interest you : FACTS: The United States and the G7 will take further action to support Ukraine and hold the Russian Federation accountable. In April 2022, the JEP ruled that 5,733 people had been killed or disappeared in retaliation for their participation in the Union Patriótica political party. Additionally, the Truth Commission will release its final report this year, which will document the truth about Colombia’s five decades of conflict and provide recommendations to prevent future conflict. In addition to foreign assistance to the transitional justice system, the United States helps victims’ organizations engage in transitional justice mechanisms, including the location and identification of missing conflict victims.
The Guatemalan justice sector and civil society actors have taken important legal steps, such as in the “Diario Militar” case and the Maya Achi case, which have helped achieve justice for the families of victims of atrocities committed during the internal armed conflict in Guatemala. While the United States is deeply concerned about attacks on judicial independence in Guatemala and threats to independent justice actors, the United States supports an independent and fair judicial process that ensures victims and survivors can to demand accountability for allegations of atrocity crimes through fair and independent judicial processes. . The United States has used public diplomacy and programming to support efforts by members of Guatemala’s national justice system, civil society, and victims’ representatives who fairly and independently investigate, prosecute, and adjudicate historic crimes, including war crimes and crimes against humanity.
German courts have convicted two people in connection with the atrocities committed against Yazidis in Iraq by ISIS. With State Department support, UNITAD supported the successful prosecution in German court of Taha al-Jumailly, a 29-year-old Iraqi citizen for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes after joining ISIS in 2013. A German court sentenced al-Jumailly to life in prison. In a separate trial in 2021, al-Jumailly’s wife, German citizen Jennifer Wenisch, was sentenced to ten years in prison for crimes against humanity. Al-Jumailly’s conviction was the world’s first genocide conviction of an Islamic State fighter. It was also the first-ever trial of an IS fighter based on the principle of universal jurisdiction. The following year, a German court also convicted Anwar Raslan, a former Syrian regime official, of crimes against humanity. Raslan was found guilty of torture, rape and sexual assault, arbitrary detention of at least 4,000 Syrians and complicity in the murder of at least 27 people. The IIIM provided evidence in support of the court in the Raslan case, and Department grantees provided evidence and testified publicly.
Strategic Prevention Initiatives
The United States is committed to preventing destabilizing violence, promoting human rights around the world, and pursuing strong efforts to prevent and respond to atrocities. To see also : Is the United States the home of the brave?. The strategic prevention initiatives below take a holistic, whole-of-government approach to pursuing these goals.
U.S. Strategy to Anticipate, Prevent, and Respond to Atrocities
The Elie Wiesel Act calls on the United States government to pursue a strategy to “identify, prevent, and respond to atrocities” in coordination with international partners, civil society, and local partners. In July 2022, the Atrocity Prevention Task Force publicly launched the U.S. Strategy to Anticipate, Prevent, and Respond to Atrocities. This whole-of-government strategy offers an evidence-based approach to addressing the challenges inherent in atrocity prevention and response. The strategy guides the Task Force’s use of early warning assessments and inputs from civil society and Congress to guide the Task Force’s response in coordination with international partners and through multilateral forums.
U.S. Women, Peace, and Security Strategy: The Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Act made the U.S. the first country with a comprehensive national WPS law. WPS is a cross-cutting issue that requires inter-agency coordination to help ensure that the implementation of the WPS Act, the Elie Wiesel Act on the Prevention of Genocide and Atrocity and the Global Fragility Act apply each other and are beneficial in helping and protecting survivors and their families. atrocities, gender-based violence and conflict-related sexual violence.
U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability: Pursuant to the Global Fragility Act, on April 1, 2022, the United States launched implementation of the U.S. Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability with five countries and partner regions, including Haiti, Libya, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea and coastal West Africa (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea and Togo). The strategy outlines a decade-long, evidence-based effort to foster long-term peace and stability through local solutions. The Strategy refers to the importance of civil protection and transitional justice as essential elements in addressing fragility and the underlying causes of conflict, and it demands that the work of the Working Group on atrocity prevention is integrated into national and regional plans, as appropriate.
Current Efforts by Sector
The United States uses a wide range of programmatic, financial, diplomatic, and transitional justice actions to prevent and respond to atrocities. Using fiscal year 2020 funding, the Department of State and USAID reported approximately $54.41 million for atrocity prevention programs in fiscal year 2021, including $2.5 million in Economic Support Funds (ESF) and $2.5 million in International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE) earmarked for atrocity prevention. The significant growth in reported funding, from $6.2 million in fiscal year 2019 to $54.41 million in fiscal year 2020, reflects increased reporting on programs that support the goals of prevention of atrocities, particularly in Iraq.
Diplomacy and Foreign Assistance
Over the past year, the Department of State has used the ESF for atrocity prevention programs, including the aforementioned ESF earmarking for atrocity prevention, to support early warning systems and context-appropriate and community-based early intervention to protect at-risk communities and monitor human rights violations and abuses, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Central Asia regions. These programs have also strengthened the engagement of local civil society and survivors in a series of truth, justice and reconciliation initiatives to overcome divisions, intolerance and violence at the community level. These initiatives have contributed to breaking the cycle of impunity that often leads to atrocities and have developed the capacity and resilience of local civil society and survivors to identify risk factors in their communities and use strategies to prevent violence to mitigate these risks and contribute to the consolidation of peace at the local level. The Department has used INCLE funds to build the capacity of the criminal justice system to combat atrocity crimes, including training law enforcement and justice professionals on how to recognize and respond to warning signs of potential atrocities. INCLE funds sustained research on the nexus between atrocities and related criminal justice topics such as organized crime, corruption, terrorism, and women, peace and security; the findings and recommendations of this research are made available to criminal justice practitioners online. INCLE funding has also engaged justice institutions to build awareness and accountability for gender-based violence as a driver and component of atrocities. Given the link between corruption, human rights violations and the risk of atrocities, the Treasury hosted the 3rd Annual Partnership to Fight Human Rights Violations and Corruption in October 2021.
USAID supports atrocity prevention programs worldwide that focus on atrocity prevention, response, and recovery. During this reporting period, USAID implemented rapid response activities to respond to atrocity risks within weeks, long-term development programs in a range of sectors designed to reduce the risk of atrocities, conflict, and human rights programs to respond to ongoing atrocities and reduce the risk of recurrence, and atrocity-informed planning and policies to ensure that USAID’s entire development portfolio addresses the risk of atrocities to the extent possible.
Defense and Security
The Department of Defense issued Joint Publication 3-07 Joint Stabilization Activities in February 2022. This manual provides joint doctrine for planning, conducting, and evaluating the military contribution to stabilization efforts across the continuum of competition and deals with the prevention of atrocities through the protection of civilian targets.
Law Enforcement
In fiscal year 2021, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) arrested seven people for human rights violations, facilitated the deportation of 18 people known or suspected to be involved in human rights abuses or human rights abuses and prevented 20 other people from entering the United States. DHS is investigating more than 160 human rights cases involving suspects from 95 countries, and DHS is pursuing nearly 1,700 additional human rights-related investigative leads. The FBI’s International Human Rights Unit has supported the accountability of perpetrators of crimes such as genocide, war crimes and torture.
Within the Ministry of Justice, the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) primarily investigates and prosecutes cases against human rights abusers and other international criminals. HRSP investigates and prosecutes individuals for genocide, torture, war crimes, recruitment or use of child soldiers, female genital mutilation, and immigration and naturalization fraud resulting from efforts to cover up their involvement in such crimes . Successful past cases have involved the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Guatemala and other countries. Ongoing cases relate to human rights abuses that have occurred in Estonia, Gambia, Ethiopia and Liberia. Additionally, the Office of International Affairs (OIA) works with domestic and foreign partners to extradite or lawfully deport criminals prosecuted in the United States or abroad for human rights offenses. In addition, the Criminal Division’s Office of Overseas Prosecutor Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) and its International Criminal Investigation Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) provide capacity building. to countries around the world, as well as training, advice and assistance in preventing human rights violations, as well as how to investigate and prosecute human rights violations when they occur .
Atrocity Prevention Training
The Department of State provided two courses on atrocity prevention; a total of 272 participants registered between January 1, 2021 and May 1, 2022. Course participants came from 164 overseas posts and 56 inter-agency offices, offices and partner organizations. USAID has updated its atrocity prevention training to move from early warning to early action. In 2021, 65 USAID personnel, including 50 Foreign Service officers, participated in atrocity prevention training, including a dedicated training course held for USAID and Department of State in Ethiopia.
The Defense Institute for International Legal Studies (DIILS) has incorporated themes of atrocity prevention and response into its rule of law seminars. These and similar courses trained 815 foreign partner participants in FY21 and 320 participants in the first half of FY22. DIILS courses included lessons on genocide, gender-based violence, protection civilians and transitional justice as a means of restoring and sustaining peace after atrocities, as well as an examination of how breaches of military discipline can lead to the commission of atrocities. DHS and the FBI have also offered capacity building programs through their component offices to partner governments that support law enforcement and security professionalization.
The Interagency Center for Human Rights Violators and War Crimes offered training related to its justice and accountability mission. For example, in fiscal year 2021, Homeland Security Investigations trained more than 1,900 people to fight female genital mutilation, and the FBI’s International Human Rights Unit hosted more than 45 training events. training related to the investigation of war crimes, genocide, torture and other human rights violations. The DOJ offices of HRSP, OPDAT, ICITAP, and OIA provide training to the U.S. government and foreign partners on tools that can be used in support of accountability for crimes of atrocities and the methods by which foreign partners can prepare requests for the production of evidence and for the extradition or other lawful return of fugitives.
Multilateral and External Engagement
The United States continued to expand its atrocity prevention work with like-minded partners and the offices of the United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and the United Nations Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect. The United States has rejoined the United Nations Human Rights Council, which has taken numerous steps to promote respect for human rights and accountability for atrocities in fiscal year 2021, including a resolution establishing an independent international commission of inquiry on Ukraine. The United States has also won broad cross-regional support for language on atrocities committed by members of Russian forces in Ukraine at the United Nations General Assembly and other UN bodies, the G7, the NATO and other multinational forums. The United States has worked closely with partners to draw attention to atrocities in Burma and Ethiopia that have not been adequately addressed in other forums and has convened UN partners and civil society to coordinate efforts and share emerging best practices and supporting technologies, including through the International Working Group on Atrocity Prevention. The DOJ, FBI and DHS retain observer status with the Eurojust Genocide Network, which promotes close cooperation between European national authorities responsible for investigating and prosecuting genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and other crimes.
The Atrocity Prevention Working Group has prioritized outreach to civil society, particularly the Prevention and Protection Working Group, and Congress. This collaboration has led to revisions to the Atrocity Assessment Framework and informed the dissemination of innovative tools and technologies to protect lawyers and activists in volatile environments, as well as the issuance of multilateral statements drawing attention to the atrocities in Burma and Ethiopia.
Recommendations for the Coming Year
The Atrocity Prevention Task Force has taken concrete steps towards its 2021 recommendations, including integrating atrocity prevention into the implementation of the Global Fragility Act, integrating gender into assessments of atrocities and prevention tools, and proposing revisions to national strategies based on assessed atrocity risks. In 2022, the Atrocity Prevention Task Force will continue to implement the 2021 recommendations and will prioritize the following, based on consultations with Congress and civil society:
