Strategic Litigation Project Quarterly Newsletter: Responding to emerging crises
The Strategic Litigation Project (SLP) has for years been working to hold the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) accountable for human rights abuses and international crimes. Yet since the start of the year, the world has seen thousands of Iranian protestors killed in the streets by their own security forces, while being caught in the crossfire of war between the IRI and the United States and Israel. While all parties to the conflict have violated international human rights law and humanitarian law, civilians have borne the cost.
The SLP has ramped up its work in response. Over the past quarter, SLP and its Iranian partners have worked on the international stage to raise awareness of the massacres and urge diplomatic action. After supporting a group of Iranian survivors to file a novel legal complaint last year, SLP has explored new avenues to hold perpetrators accountable.
At the same time, the team has expanded its work on Syria, Ukraine, China, and Afghanistan, while its work with the campaign to end gender apartheid achieved a major milestone in April, when seven states included gender apartheid in their textual proposals for the draft Crimes Against Humanity Convention.
On behalf of the SLP team, I thank you for your continued support of our work. You can donate to support our projects at the link below.
Kind regards,
Pursuing justice for victims in Iran
Last December, the SLP supported a group of Iranian survivors and the Iran Human Rights Documentation Center to file a criminal complaint in Argentina for crimes against humanity committed by the IRI during the Woman, Life, Freedom protests. The complaint is the first in the world filed on behalf of victims against named perpetrators of the IRI for crimes against humanity committed during the 2022 protests. It calls on the Argentine court to investigate senior members of the IRI for the crimes against humanity of gender persecution, murder, torture, and other inhumane acts, and highlights the targeting of women protesters as a core element of the repression.
Since January, when the IRI orchestrated a massacre of Iranian protesters unparalleled in the nation’s recent history, Gissou Nia and the SLP have been at the forefront of efforts to urge international attention to these atrocities and accountability for those responsible. Central to these efforts has been Gissou’s participation in events on the international stage, including the January World Economic Forum in Davos, where Gissou organized a panel hosted by the Feminist Quotient called “Iran’s Fight for Freedom: An Uprising for Change.”
In February, Nia traveled to Geneva for the opening of the Human Rights Council session and met with permanent missions to coordinate a diplomatic walkout in response to the IRI’s massacre of protestors. Following their pressure campaign, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who was scheduled to speak at the Council, was removed from the schedule.
In April, Nia was featured in a panel discussion organized by the Council on Foreign Relations, where she highlighted the need to support Iranian civilians most severely suffering the consequences of the ongoing war. Shortly after, Gissou traveled to Oslo to moderate a panel at the 2026 Oslo Freedom Forum on the next chapter in Iran.
Finally, amid the breadth of atrocities against Iranian citizens, worrying evidence began to emerge indicating that medical workers, health facilities, and patients were deliberately targeted by regime forces. Responding to this, the SLP has, in partnership with the Iran Digital Archive Coalition, begun rapid response documentation work, identifying attacks on medical workers, healthcare facilities, and injured protestors, preserving it for use in the ongoing and future accountability efforts that the SLP is broadly advocating for.
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In the media
Campaign to end gender apartheid
This year, the United Nations Sixth (Legal) Committee moved forward on preparations for the Crimes Against Humanity Convention (CAHC)—the first treaty of its kind to specifically target these atrocities.
In partnership with the End Gender Apartheid Campaign, the SLP has supported the global movement to codify gender apartheid as a crime against humanity, including in the CAHC. In April, in a major step toward codification, seven states included gender apartheid in their textual proposals for amendment to the draft CAHC, making fourteen states that have broadly expressed support for codification in the treaty to date.
In the lead up to this milestone, SLP attended the first Preparatory Committee session for the CAHC and co-sponsored and participated in multiple events spotlighting the urgent imperative to recognize gender apartheid—including on the margins of International Law Week, Women, Peace, and Security Week, the ICC Assembly of States Parties, and the Commission on the Status of Women. As the clock ticks down to the second Preparatory Committee session in 2027, the SLP team will continue to work to build a broad coalition of states in support of this effort.
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Advocating for a Syria Victims Fund
Over one year after the fall of the Assad regime, the SLP has continued to advocate for the establishment of a Syria Victims Fund (SVF). In partnership with Syrian civil society experts and advocates, the SLP has brought together key stakeholders—including International, Impartial, and Independent Mechanism for Syria Head Robert Petit—to discuss options for justice and accountability for the decades of atrocities perpetrated by the Assad regime.
Central to these discussions is Syria’s draft Transitional Justice Law. In January, the SLP provided feedback on the law, incorporating recommendations from its SVF Working Group around reparations and the establishment of a victim compensation fund, as well as broader recommendations to ensure inclusive justice and conformity with international legal standards. As Syria continues to build a new government, the SLP will continue to push for a comprehensive transitional justice process in Syria that puts victims and survivors first.
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Pursuing accountability for Russia and its enablers
As Russia continues its offensive into Ukraine with little indication of cessation, the SLP has continued its work examining the complicity of third parties in Russia’s commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
In October, the SLP and the International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) briefed the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation, including its Joint Investigation Team for Ukraine, on the IRI’s provision of drones to Russia for use in Ukraine, and how secondary liability for core international crimes could apply.
Continuing this work, the SLP has organized several events highlighting Russia’s enablers.
In March, the SLP held an event in partnership with the Embassy of the Republic of Poland, IPHR, and C4ADS for the formal launch of the new report, “From Tehran to Kyiv: The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Role in Russia’s Drone War,” written by SLP Senior Staff Lawyer Celeste Kmiotek and partners at IPHR and C4ADS.
As the SLP’s Ukraine portfolio continues to grow, it has worked with new partners to examine various legal aspects of Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. In December, the SLP joined a coalition of civil-society partners to host a conference at Georgetown University on Russian eliminationist rhetoric and the legal and political questions around the determination of genocide. The conference resulted in a white paper on the topic.
Finally, in June, the SLP and the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center hosted a virtual event on Russia’s predatory recruitment of foreign fighters for its war against Ukraine. Panelists discussed recent evidence of Moscow’s large-scale human trafficking operation and global autocratic reach, as documented in a new report by International Federation for Human Rights and Truth Hounds.
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Advocating for Uyghurs in Xinjiang and abroad
Led by SLP Senior Legal & Policy Advisor and China Lead Rayhan Asat, the SLP has continued to examine legal pathways to halt the ongoing atrocities perpetrated against Uyghur and other Turkic minority communities. This work took Rayhan to Geneva, where the SLP hosted an event on the sidelines of the sixty-first Session of the UN Human Rights Council on how the UN can respond to the ongoing arbitrary detention and transnational repression of Uyghurs.
In addition, Rayhan has sought to draw the world’s attention to China’s newly enacted authoritarian “ethnic unity” law, aimed at further stripping Uyghurs and minority groups of cultural identities. In March, she spoke at a panel event at the University of Pennsylvania’s Law School, “China’s Fraught Ethnic Future: Implications of the New Law on Ethnic Unity and Progress.” Furthermore, the SLP has continued to raise awareness and promote government action to urge the Chinese government to release her brother, Uyghur tech entrepreneur Ekpar Asat. In April, ten members of Congress issued a bipartisan statement, and in May, the US Senate unanimously passed a resolution calling on the president to secure his release, alongside four other political prisoners. The chairs of the Congressional Executive Commission on China have also pressed for his release.
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The Atlantic Council’s Strategic Litigation Project injects fresh thinking into how governments and practitioners can apply legal tools to advance human rights and democracy around the world.
Image: Gold leaf statue of Lady Justice (Justitia) adorns the Old Civil Registry building at the Burg Square in the city of Bruges (Brugge) in Belgium, Europe. (Photo by Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto)
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