ACTIVITIES & EVENTS
ACTIVITIES & EVENTS
The Asia Justice Coalition works as a collective to amplify our members’ initiatives and their
efforts to advance international justice and human rights in Asia. We, therefore, provide
aggregated and updated information and news on the Coalition’s projects, activities and events.
The Asia Justice Coalition works as a collective to amplify our members’ initiatives and their
efforts to advance international justice and human rights in Asia. We, therefore, provide
aggregated and updated information and news on the Coalition’s projects, activities and events.
Ljubljana-The Hague Convention on International Cooperation
The Asia Justice Coalition has actively engaged in civil society advocacy related to the Ljubljana-The Hague Convention on International Cooperation in the Investigation and Prosecution of the Crime of Genocide, Crimes against Humanity, War Crimes and Other International Crimes (Ljubljana-The Hague Convention or the LHC) the since 2022.
The LHC is a multilateral mutual legal assistance (MLA) and extradition treaty that focuses on State-to-State cooperation addressing core international crimes. It was negotiated in 2023 and opened for signature in 2024.
The LHC is separate from, but complementary to, the Rome Statute regime in addressing impunity; it prioritises cross-jurisdictional support for domestic investigation and prosecution. Because many States maintain traditional MLA or extradition treaties only with major trading partners or key diplomatic allies, the inter-regional nature of the LHC means that acceding as a Party could significantly expand a State’s avenues for cooperation, including by supporting stronger collaboration across the so-called Global South.
Like the Geneva Conventions, the LHC obligates State Parties to incorporate the crimes to which the Convention applies into its domestic law (Art 7), provide jurisdiction over such crimes (Art 8), and to extradite or prosecute alleged offenders of such crimes that are within its jurisdiction (Art 14).5 These crimes include genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in both international and non-international armed conflict (Art 5). While this may require Parties to adopt new domestic legislation, it leaves to the discretion of the State how the legislation is framed while still harmonising the jurisdictional bases on which Parties can cooperate.
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AJC believes that the LHC provides an opportunity for Asian jurisdictions to centre cooperation for international justice within the region and builds on existing mechanisms and related regional expertise to do so.
AJC Resources on the Ljubljana-The Hague Convention
Related AJC Primers:
Videos:
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Dr Priya Pillai’s speech at the LHC Diplomatic Conference Opening Ceremony (beginning at about 1:14:00; full text of the speech is available here)
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Members of the Asia Justice Coalition addressing questions about the Convention ahead of the negotiations:
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Pavani Bhat (Investigations Associate, Fortify Rights) exploring the possibilities and challenges of pursuing justice in Asia.
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Hugo Relva (Legal Adviser, Amnesty International) explaining how the Convention complements the Rome Statute and the Draft Convention on Crime Against Humanity.
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Raquel Saavedra (International Legal Adviser, International Commission of Jurists) discussing the importance of the Convention for Asia and its practitioners.
Articles:
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AJC-Opinio Juris Symposium on the Ljubljana-The Hague Convention (featuring 11 posts from 13 contributors)
Timeline of AJC Engagement
2026
On 14 February, aligned with the third anniversary of the Convention’s signing conference, AJC released a primer on Mutual Legal Assistance, Extradition, and the Principle of Double Criminality.
2025
On 20 May, the Asia Justice Coalition, and the Centre for Peace and Justice, BRAC University, Bangladesh along with the delegation of the European Union to Malaysia co-organised a closed-door international consultation on "The Situation in Myanmar: Opportunities for Collaboration on Justice and Accountability" in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The consultation involved a session presented by Dutch representatives of the Mutual Legal Assistance Initiative.
On 14 February, AJC released a joint statement on the importance of joining the Convention on the first anniversary of the Convention’s signing conference.
2024
Throughout 2024, Senior Law and Policy Advisor Jennifer Keene-McCann conducted face-to-face meetings with domestic civil society organisations and professional bodies in the region related to the relevance of the LHC.
2023
Following the Convention’s adoption, AJC hosted an online symposium with Opinio Juris, featuring 11 posts and 13 contributors critically examining the Convention.
On 29 May, AJC welcomed the adoption of the Convention. See the full statement here.
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On 23 May, the AJC secretariat released an update from the MLA Conference. See below.
On 15 May, Dr Priya Pillai, AJC Director, spoke at the opening ceremony of the Conference. Dr Pillai reiterated the fact that at the heart of this convention is the need for greater cooperation – between and among states within regions, and importantly, across different regions – to be a truly global effort in addressing impunity. Most importantly, the Convention encourages so-called Global South-South cooperation to address impunity. The full text of at he speech is available here. Alternatively, watch the video here (see about 1:14:00).
From 15-26 May, AJC participated in the MLA Diplomatic Conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia as an observer civil society organization.
AJC released three videos as a part of its advocacy campaign focused on the MLA Convention. Three members of the Asia Justice Coalition addressed different questions about the MLA Convention, and they are as follows:
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Pavani Bhat (Investigations Associate, Fortify Rights) explores the possibilities and challenges of pursuing justice in Asia.
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Hugo Relva Hugo Relva (Legal Adviser, Amnesty International) explains how the MLA Convention complements the Rome Statute and the Draft Convention on Crime Against Humanity.
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Raquel Saavedra (International Legal Adviser, International Commission of Jurists) elucidates the importance of the MLA Convention for Asia and its practitioners.
In April, AJC held an online consultation with 10 civil society organisations and legal practitioners across with expertise in 7 jurisdictions in Asia. The consultation was intended to both to introduce the Convention and allow lawyers across the region to share experiences with current legal advocacy. The discussions also helped to inform AJC’s approach to the May 2023 diplomatic negotiations. A summary of the discussions can be found here.
AJC prepared a backgrounder on the Draft Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty capturing what the treaty offers to the region and how it is relevant for Asian States. Between March and April, AJC directly shared this backgrounder more than 60 stakeholders across 20 Asian jurisdictions.
2022
In October 2022, AJC wrote a letter to the MLA Initiative welcoming the movement on the draft Mutual Legal Assistance Convention and made certain recommendations.