Category: News

  • Reparation to victims of international crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a major challenge in the fight against impunity

    Reparation to victims of international crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a major challenge in the fight against impunity

    ASF has been active in the fight against impunity and the field of international justice for over 15 years in the DRC. During that time, the organization has witnessed great progress but regrets that current mechanisms are still not up to the challenges at stake.

  • Djugu killings: Significant evolution of Congolese jurisprudence on reparations

    Djugu killings: Significant evolution of Congolese jurisprudence on reparations

    The Djugu 2 trial came to an end on 1 April 2021. It concluded with 21 defendants being sentenced to life imprisonment for crimes against humanity by murder, arson, destruction, pillaging and persecution, and 11 defendants being acquitted. The 219 civil parties were also granted most of their claims for reparations, both individual and collective,…

  • Patrick Henry : “In a growing number of countries, the very notion of human rights is being challenged.”

    Patrick Henry : “In a growing number of countries, the very notion of human rights is being challenged.”

    Avocats Sans Frontières is about to celebrate its 30th anniversary. The Journal des Tribunaux sat for an interview with Patrick Henry, the newly elected ASF’s president, to address the organisation’s history and its special relationship with Belgian lawyers and bar associations.

  • Between walls – Omar Ben Amor (Art Acquis) : “Access to culture to every detainee at any time”

    Between walls – Omar Ben Amor (Art Acquis) : “Access to culture to every detainee at any time”

    Discover the work done by the association Art Acquis with prisoners in Tunisia. With its Perspectives project, supported by ASF and ATL MST SIDA Bureau National, the organisation uses art as therapy. Through the activities offered, it seeks to help prisoners express themselves better about their experience, to occupy themselves constructively during their incarceration and…

  • JUSTICE NOW ? Tackling legacies of Europe’s colonial past in the wake of Black Lives Matter

    JUSTICE NOW ? Tackling legacies of Europe’s colonial past in the wake of Black Lives Matter

    ASF co-organizes an interdisciplinary conference with the Anthropology Department at MIT, and the European Network against Racism fom the 22nd to the 26th of March 2021. Over the course of five half-days, scholars, activists, and policy makers from Africa, Europe and North America will address issues related to Europe’s colonial heritage and the global demands…

  • Between walls – Walid Bouchmila (Horizon d’Enfance) : “When you make a project in prison, you really have to think of everyone”.

    Between walls – Walid Bouchmila (Horizon d’Enfance) : “When you make a project in prison, you really have to think of everyone”.

    Within the “Projet Alternative”, implemented by Avocats Sans Frontières and ATL MST SIDA, Horizon d’Enfance sets up cultural activities at the Gabès prison, training courses for prison staff and qualifying training courses (plumbing, plastering, culinary arts and pastry making) for prisoners. The latter also benefit from training in entrepreneurship, support in setting up micro-projects and…

  • ASF joins the “Poverty is not a crime” campaign

    ASF joins the “Poverty is not a crime” campaign

    ASF joins the Open Society Foundation, APCOF, PALU, and ACJR in a campaign to promote the decriminalisation and declassification of minor offences. Particularly affecting people in vulnerable situations, these laws and their application are both arbitrary and discriminatory. “Vagrancy”, “disorderly behaviour” or “idleness” remain valid grounds for arresting and imprisoning individuals, contributing to the endemic…

  • A dire need to integrate human rights in the Covid-19 crisis management

    A dire need to integrate human rights in the Covid-19 crisis management

    As authorities initially downplayed the gravity of the Covid-19 health crisis, a sense of astonishment prevailed throughout the world at the unprecedented nature and scale of the measures that were later taken. More than half of the world’s population has found itself locked down, with varying economic, social, physical and mental consequences on individuals depending…

  • The DRC must pay off its debt to victims of mass crimes

    The DRC must pay off its debt to victims of mass crimes

    Why do so few victims in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) receive reparations even as the number of convictions for international crimes continues to rise? A policy brief produced by TRIAL International and its partners gives details of excessively lengthy and complicated procedures. The document, endorsed by around twenty civil society players and…

  • The health crisis in Belgium: A breeding ground for indirect discrimination?

    The health crisis in Belgium: A breeding ground for indirect discrimination?

    Avocats Sans Frontières publishes a study on the indirectly discriminatory impact of Belgian emergency policies on certain categories of the population, particularly vulnerable ones. The analysis, carried out as part of the project ‘Covid-19 Monitoring and Rule of Law’, relies on observation activities, as well as a set of interviews conducted by ASF in June…