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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260704T150000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260704T160000
DTSTAMP:20261014T204613
CREATED:20260604T122856Z
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UID:259953-1783177200-1783180800@www.npwj.org
SUMMARY:Murder on the Land and the Sea II: Accountability for Extrajudicial Drug War Killings Is Only a Matter of Time
DESCRIPTION:Side event for the 35th session of the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice\nonline-only\, 4 June 2026\, 9:00-10:00am ET / 3:00-4:00pm CET / 9:00-10:00pm PHT\nWatch the video recording at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmWvtqICIV8 \nDrugs are an issue which – like migration\, social liberalization and economic tensions – has the capacity to shatter democratic and human rights norms. Perhaps no other extreme drug policy today does so more than extrajudicial killings (EJKs). As the former president of the Philippines awaits trial later this year\, the death toll from US strikes on alleged “drug boats” has raced past 200\, making state violence and accountability for it pressing issues in drug policy today. \n“Murder on the Land and the Sea II” discussed identified episodes of drug war EJKs in the 21st century\, their context and interrelationships\, and the international legal exposure officials may face – in some cases are already facing – in states that perpetrate EJKs or facilitate them through intelligence and law enforcement cooperation. \nSpeakers:\nJohn Ramming Chappell\, Advisory\, US Advocacy\, Center for Civilians in Conflict\nDino Singson de Leon\, Trustee\, Human Rights and People Empowerment Center\nSarah Harrison\, Nonresident Fellow\, Conventional Defense Program\, Stimson Center\nIntro and Moderation: David Borden\, Executive Director\, StoptheDrugWar.org \nOrganized by DRCNet Foundation AKA StoptheDrugWar.org\, with cosponsors Associazone Luca Coscioni\, Drug Policy Alliance\, Eumans\, Forum Droghe\, International Drug Law Advocacy & Resource Center\, No Peace Without Justice\, NoBox Transitions Philippines\, Philippine Coalition for the International Criminal Court\, Students for Sensible Drug Policy\, Veterans Action Council\, Washington Office on Latin America \nPlease contact David Borden at +1 202-236-8620 or borden@drcnet.org for further information. Visit https://stopthedrugwar.org/ruleoflaw and https://stopthedrugwar.org/global to read about our international programs.
URL:https://www.npwj.org/event/murder-on-the-land-and-the-sea-ii-accountability-for-extrajudicial-drug-war-killings-is-only-a-matter-of-time/
LOCATION:vienna\, Austria
CATEGORIES:Webinars
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260917T130000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260917T140000
DTSTAMP:20261014T204613
CREATED:20260916T102214Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260916T102326Z
UID:260096-1789650000-1789653600@www.npwj.org
SUMMARY:"Human Rights in Tunisia: Sliding into Authoritarianism"
DESCRIPTION:Side Event on the margins of the 63rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council (Room XI\, Palais des Nations\, Geneva)\n17 September 2026 │ 12:00 – 13:00 CET\n– Organised by:  Human Rights Watch\n–  Co-sponsored by: Amnesty International\, Avocats Sans Frontières\, Euromed Rights\, International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)\, No Peace Without Justice (NPWJ)\, OMCT\n– Concept note \nFive years after President Kais Saied seized extraordinary executive powers in 2021\, the human rights situation in Tunisia has severely deteriorated and the country is sliding into authoritarianism.\nTunisian authorities have intensified repression of political opponents\, lawyers\, journalists\, activists\, and other critical voices\, by carrying out mass arrests on vague charges including on terrorism or conspiracy against state security and bringing abusive prosecutions within a judicial system under executive control. Much of civil society and the political opposition is now behind bars or in exile.\nThe government has turned arbitrary detention into a cornerstone of its repressive policy\, aimed at depriving people of their civil and political rights.\nCivic space has closed rapidly as authorities harassed activists and systematically targeted civil society organizations through arbitrary arrests\, detentions\, unfounded financial and criminal investigations and administrative suspensions. This campaign threatens to collapse one of the last remaining checks on Saied’s one-man rule.\nTunisia’s deepening authoritarian drift is having an increasingly severe impact on the country’s most vulnerable groups. Detainees face deteriorating conditions and suspicious deaths in custody; people on the move are exposed to torture\, ill-treatment and other serious human rights violations; and an increasing number of individuals are subjected to arbitrary security measures and coercive practices of control. Several UN bodies and experts\, including the High Commissioner for Human Rights\, Special Procedures and Treaty Bodies\, have repeatedly raised the alarm\, particularly in the past few years\, over the human rights situation in Tunisia.\nThis side event will provide a space for civil society to brief HRC member and observer states on the human rights situation in Tunisia and to present recommendations to both the Tunisian government and international partners to ensure accountability for on-going human rights violations and stop the downward spiral into authoritarianism.
URL:https://www.npwj.org/event/human-rights-in-tunisia-sliding-into-authoritarianism/
LOCATION:Human Rights Council\, Geneva\, Switzerland
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260925T120000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Rome:20260925T130000
DTSTAMP:20261014T204613
CREATED:20260923T144852Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260923T145120Z
UID:260114-1790337600-1790341200@www.npwj.org
SUMMARY:The intensification of short-range drone attacks in Ukraine: implications for emergency and humanitarian response
DESCRIPTION:Side Event on the margins of the 63rd Session of the UN Human Rights Council\n– Date: 25 September 2026\n– Time: 12:00 – 13:00\n– Location: Room VIII\, Palais des Nations\, Geneva\n– Co-organisers: Permanent Mission of the Czech Republic to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva; Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva; Truth Hounds; Nonviolent Peaceforce; the Charitable Foundation Spravzhni; BASE.UA.\n– Co-sponsors: Permanent Missions of Albania\, Andorra\, Australia\, Austria\, Canada\, Estonia\, Finland\, France\, Germany\, Latvia\, Liechtenstein\, Lithuania\, the Republic of Moldova\, the Kingdom of the Netherlands\, New Zealand\, Norway\, Poland\, Romania\, Slovakia and Sweden to the UN in Geneva; No Peace Without Justice.\n– Concept note \nBackground and Context\nShort-range drones have fundamentally changed the character of contemporary warfare and\, with it\, the way emergency services and humanitarian missions can operate. In Ukraine\, Russian forces have increasingly used short-range drones in attacks affecting civilians and civilian objects\, including first responders and humanitarian personnel carrying out life-saving activities in frontline areas. The scale and persistence of these attacks illustrate how the proliferation of short-range drones can create new risks for civilian populations and significantly constrain humanitarian and emergency response operations in areas affected by hostilities. \nRecent monitoring indicates a broader deterioration in the operating environment for humanitarian actors in Ukraine. Between January and June 2026\, violence against humanitarian personnel increased by 20 per cent compared with the same period in 2025\, while instances in which hostilities prevented humanitarian personnel from reaching affected areas\, or civilians from reaching humanitarian assistance\, increased by 225 per cent. These trends demonstrate that attacks and threats against humanitarian and emergency responders have consequences extending beyond individual incidents: they can prevent assistance from reaching civilians who depend on it. \nThis event builds on research and field documentation by Truth Hounds concerning short-range drone attacks and the apparent targeting of emergency responders in frontline regions of Ukraine. It will present new findings on the risks faced by first responders and humanitarian personnel and examine the practical measures increasingly used to mitigate those risks\, including electronic warfare and jamming devices\, drone detectors\, armoured vehicles and other protective equipment. \nThe discussion will also address a protection gap which is becoming starker. Humanitarian and emergency personnel may operate in areas where conventional protective measures are insufficient\, while access to specialised protective equipment remains limited. This raises practical and legal questions concerning the measures civilians can employ to protect themselves and others while continuing to perform humanitarian and life-saving functions\, and how such measures should be understood under international humanitarian law. \nShort-range drones also raise a broader question about the relationship between technological precision and civilian protection. Although these systems can enable highly targeted attacks at short range\, their technical precision does not in itself guarantee compliance with international humanitarian law or reduce civilian harm. In Ukraine\, documented patterns indicate that short-range drones can be used to repeatedly expose civilians\, humanitarian personnel and first responders to direct and persistent threats\, including while they are responding to previous attacks. \nSimilar challenges are emerging in other contemporary armed conflicts\, where short-range drones are increasingly used for surveillance\, reconnaissance\, targeting and attacks in and around populated areas. The Ukrainian experience therefore provides an important case study for understanding how the proliferation and use of short-range drones is changing the protection environment for civilians and humanitarian actors more broadly. \n\nObjectives\n\nPresent new field evidence on attacks against first responders and humanitarian personnel in Ukraine and identify patterns in the use of short-range drones.\nExamine how the proliferation of short-range drones is changing the operating environment for humanitarian and emergency actors\, including their ability to reach civilians in need.\nIdentify gaps in access to protective equipment and practical self-protection measures available to humanitarian and rescue teams working in high-risk areas.\nDiscuss the legal and operational implications of measures such as jamming devices\, drone detection\, and armoured vehicles for civilian and humanitarian actors under international humanitarian law.\nPlace the Ukrainian experience in a broader cross-conflict context and identify common protection challenges and means of overcoming them.\nEngage Member States\, UN Special Procedures and monitoring mechanisms on concrete measures to strengthen protection\, documentation and accountability.
URL:https://www.npwj.org/event/the-intensification-of-short-range-drone-attacks-in-ukraine-implications-for-emergency-and-humanitarian-response/
LOCATION:Human Rights Council\, Geneva\, Switzerland
CATEGORIES:Conferences
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Rome:20261016T170000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Rome:20261016T200000
DTSTAMP:20261014T204613
CREATED:20261011T143529Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261011T152333Z
UID:260152-1792170000-1792180800@www.npwj.org
SUMMARY:PUBLIC MEETING: Organisational resilience of civil society under external pressure
DESCRIPTION:Bank accounts\, archives\, management platforms\, communication channels\, insurance and payments: intermediaries that are often irreplaceable and themselves exposed to unpredictable political pressure. How can operational continuity be ensured in a system built around a few chokepoints\, and what policy response could secure European financial and digital sovereignty? \n\nWhen: Friday 16 October 2026 – 5 pm to 8 pm\nWhere: EMERGENCY Venezia – Giudecca 212\, Fondamenta San Giacomo\nFree entry\, registration required: Register at tinyurl.com/NGOResilience\nProgram\n\n  \nProgramme\n17.00 Welcome Rossella Miccio\, President\, EMERGENCY\nOpening remarks Giovanni Pelizzato\, President of the Municipalità di Venezia-Murano-Burano\nIntroduction Tara O’Grady\, President\, No Peace Without Justice\n17.20 Panel discussion\nStefano Quintarelli\, Computer scientist (online)\nZoe Paris\, Advocacy Director\, Coalition for the International Criminal Court\nFausto Gianelli\, Lawyer for Autistici/Inventati\nRoberta Borroni\, Vice-President\, EMERGENCY\nAhmed Abofoul\, Legal Advisor\, Al-Haq\nLuca Casarini\, Head of Mission\, Mediterranea Saving Humans\nMatt Cannock\, Centre for International Justice\, Amnesty International\nAlvise Nicoletti\, Founder and CEO\, ELAN42\n18.30 Open discussion Moderated by Niccolò Figà-Talamanca\, Secretary-General\, No Peace Without Justice\n19.50 Conclusions Alison Smith\, Convenor\, Coalition for the International Criminal Court\n20.00 Close \nBackground\nAn almost invisible infrastructure\nEvery organisation\, small or large\, rests on an ordinary and almost invisible infrastructure: the bank account\nthat receives its grants and pays its salaries\, the archives and management platforms that hold its documents\,\ncontracts and institutional memory\, its email and messaging\, its insurance\, its payments. These services are in\nthe hands of a few intermediaries\, often irreplaceable in the short term and themselves exposed to\nunpredictable political pressure. The resulting architecture has grown around a few nodes without anyone\ndesigning it that way: each dependency is a critical point with no alternative\, and the dependencies add up.\nWhen a node gives way\, the organisation stops\, even if it was never itself targeted.\nFrom the International Criminal Court to an ordinary bank transfer\nAt the most visible extreme are the sanctions imposed\, under the same executive order\, on judges and\nprosecutors of the International Criminal Court and on three Palestinian human rights organisations that\ncooperate with it\, Al-Haq\, Al Mezan and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights: measures contrary to Italian\nand European law\, which nonetheless take effect in Europe\, because banks\, payment networks and digital\nservices depend on nodes located elsewhere.\nAt the end of August the same tool was turned on a small Italian volunteer collective\, which had offered free\nemail and websites to associations and activists since 2001: the United States government placed it on a\ncounter-terrorism list. A few days later its bank\, an Italian ethical bank\, suspended its account rather than put\nat risk the cards and international payments of all its customers. In early September the collective shut down\nall its services.\nAt the other extreme there is no list\, only over-compliance: a compliance system that goes well beyond\nanything the law requires. An organisation pays a staff member in a country automatically classified as “high\nrisk”: almost every time\, even for recurring payments\, the machine flags the transfer\, the payment (and\nsometimes the account itself) is suspended\, and the bank’s compliance office has to phone to ask for the donor\ncontract\, the invoice or the payslip\, and then release it manually. If this happens three times a week\, the bank\ncloses the account on a simple cost-benefit calculation\, knowing full well that everything is in order. An\norganisation afraid of losing its account starts choosing projects\, partners and words with the bank in mind:\nthat is how self-censorship and blackmail take hold.\nOrganisational policies and policy responses\nOn 16 October we will discuss this on two levels. The first concerns organisations: which governance choices\,\nredundancies and contingency plans ensure operational continuity\, without solutions so rigid that they push\nstaff towards informal workarounds that create new risks. The second concerns policy: what responses could\nsecure European financial and digital sovereignty\, starting with an update of the Blocking Statute\, the\ninstrument through which the European Union shields those operating on its territory from the extraterritorial\neffects of third-country measures.\nFormat\nThe meeting is public and open to everyone. It takes the form of a working session: short framing remarks and\nplenty of room for the practical experience of those who run organisations and those who carry out their day\nto-day work. Civil society organisations of every size\, local and national\, and experts in the field are invited to\njoin the discussion. Contributions are welcome in Italian or English\, with live subtitles in both languages.
URL:https://www.npwj.org/event/public-meeting-organisational-resilience-of-civil-society-under-external-pressure/
LOCATION:EMERGENCY Venezia\, Giudecca 212\, Fondamenta San Giacomo\, Venezia
CATEGORIES:Meetings
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