Abstract
The importance of the clarification of allegations of human rights violations is obvious. Many mechanisms have been developed for this purpose, the most important among them are international fact-finding missions. Those are increasingly employed by the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, but also by other international organizations as well as international non-governmental organizations monitoring human rights. Sometimes, the same area of concern is the object of several fact-findings using different methodologies, which may complement each other. In this contribution, after a general reflection on different forms and methodologies of international fact-finding in the field of human rights, the focus will be on the little-known and researched Moscow Mechanism related to the human dimension of OSCE. Of the eleven cases to be counted so far, the author has been involved in three of them allowing him to share and discuss some personal experiences. For this purpose, the particularities of the Moscow Mechanism will be explained and the major challenges of its implementation analysed before some conclusions are drawn and proposals are made how to better meet the challenges of such missions.
Prof. ret. Dr. DDr. h.c.Wolfgang Benedek, Institute of International Law and European Training and Research Centre on Human Rights and Democracy of University of Graz.
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Notes
- 1.
Jachec-Neale (2021).
- 2.
- 3.
- 4.
- 5.
UC Berkeley HRC and OHCHR (2022).
- 6.
See an overview at UN HRC (2022).
- 7.
See, for example, Franck and Fairley (1980), p. 308.
- 8.
- 9.
Parisi (2021), p. 141.
- 10.
OSCE (1991) Moscow Mechanism.
- 11.
OSCE (1989) Vienna Mechanism, updated by the Copenhagen conference in 1990 and the Moscow Mechanism, para. (2) in 1991.
- 12.
OSCE (1991) Moscow Mechanism, para. (4)
- 13.
OSCE (1991) Moscow Mechanism, para. (12).
- 14.
OSCE (1991) Moscow Mechanism, para. (8) and (9).
- 15.
OSCE (1991) Moscow Mechanism, para. (13).
- 16.
OSCE, Report on Violations of International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law, War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity, committed in Ukraine since 24 February 2022 (2022 I) and Report on Violations of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law, War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity Committed in Ukraine (1 April 2022–25 June 2022) (2022 II). See also OSCE (2022 b).
- 17.
OSCE (1991) Moscow Mechanism, para. (3).
- 18.
OSCE (2021) Human Dimension Mechanisms, List of experts.
- 19.
OSCE (1991) Moscow Mechanism, para. (10).
- 20.
- 21.
OSCE (1991) Moscow Mechanism, para. (6).
- 22.
OSCE (1991) Moscow Mechanism, para. (14).
- 23.
OSCE (1991) Moscow Mechanism, para. (11) and (7).
- 24.
OSCE (1991) Moscow Mechanism, para. (7) and (11).
- 25.
OSCE (1991) Moscow Mechanism, para. (11).
- 26.
U.S. Mission to OSCE (2021) statement delivered by the UK delegation on behalf of 35 participating states on 4 November 2021.
- 27.
OSCE, Report on Violations of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law, War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity Committed in Ukraine (1 April 2022–25 June 2022) (2022 II).
- 28.
OSCE, Report on Russia’s Legal and Administrative Practice in Light of its OSCE Human Dimension Commitments (August 2022). See also OSCE (2022 a).
- 29.
- 30.
- 31.
See OSCE Rapporteur’s Report under the Moscow Mechanism on Alleged Human Rights Violations related to the Presidential Elections in Belarus (2020).
- 32.
Platform for the Investigation of War Crimes in Ukraine (Ukraine 5 AM Coalition), see OSCE, Report on Violations of International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law, War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity, committed in Ukraine since 24 February 2022 (2022 I).
- 33.
See the announcement of the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2022 at: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2022/summary/, accessed 30.11.2022.
- 34.
See Higgins (2022).
- 35.
See the respective letters to the Russian and Belarusian delegation to the OSCE and responses received attached to the reports, supra notes 30 and 31.
- 36.
UK Delegation to the OSCE (2020) Human rights violations and abuses in the Chechen Republic of the Russian Federation: joint statement, 17.12.2020.
- 37.
See Benedek (2021 b) and for more information the website of the International Accountability Platform on Belarus at https://iapbelarus.org, accessed 30.11.2022.
- 38.
Human Rights Council Resolution 49/1 of 04.03.2022 on “The situation of human rights in Ukraine stemming from the Russian aggression”.
- 39.
Human Rights Council Resolution S-34/1 of 12.05.2022 on “The deteriorating human rights situation in Ukraine stemming from the Russian aggression”.
- 40.
See Higgins (2022).
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Benedek, W. (2023). International Fact-Finding on Human Rights Violations: The Moscow Mechanism of OSCE. In: Donath, P.B., Heger, A., Malkmus, M., Bayrak, O. (eds) Der Schutz des Individuums durch das Recht. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-66978-5_10
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