GLAN pursues innovative legal actions across borders to challenge powerful actors involved in human rights violations, environmental harms & systemic injustice.
Every day a new atrocity. Every day more bombings.
The UK govt allows the export of parts to Israel for F-35s that drop 2000lb bombs in Gaza.
Juliet Stevenson joins
@Art4PalestineUK
GLAN &
@alhaq_org
to demand the UK
#StopArmingIsrael
Support the case:
NEWS: The European Court of Human Rights just announced it is fast-tracking a climate case brought by 6 Portuguese youth facing spiralling heat extremes. They filed their case with GLAN’s support against 33 European States. Now all 33 States are required to respond.
A thread..
BREAKING!!!: UK Government suspends weapons exports to Israel following threat of new legal action by GLAN and
@alhaq_org
This afternoon, we learnt that the Government has suspended 30 export licenses for arms sales to Israel. This news comes immediately after GLAN & Al-Haq
The evidence we obtained from Gaza is significant because it shows "Israeli torture is now so routine it contaminates all intelligence & undermines assurances given to the US, UK & other govts when considering arms exports" says GLAN Director Dr Gearóid Ó Cuinn 1/6
🚨
#Breaking
: GLAN and
@Bellingcat
have published reports today that answer whether open-source investigations can:
▪️ help in documenting and analysing violations of the law applicable in war
▪️ serve as evidence in
#WarCrimes
trials
Read the reports👇
Our extensive evidence filed with the High Court in the last week includes witness testimonies from doctors and first responders in Gaza detailing horrific cases of systematic Israeli torture.
The UK must end its complicity and
#StopArmingIsreal
.
More:
Allegations of widespread torture and sexual abuse have been reported by Palestinian detainees - held by Israeli forces.
The Israeli army and prison service deny abuse systematic and say wrongdoing is being investigated.
Watch part one of two.
1/3
Our team is preparing to document atrocity crimes in
#Ukraine
.
Open source evidence will play an important role in accountability efforts. Help us ensure this info makes its way into court!
Please consider sharing & supporting our crowdfund:
1/ 🚨Experts now say there is a serious risk of genocide in Gaza.
Yet UK & other countries continue to export weapons to the Israeli military.
GLAN &
@AlHaq_org
with support from
@ICJPalestine
are submitting fresh info (detailed below) to UK’s
@biztradegovuk
#Ceasefire
BREAKING: The High Court of E&W has granted permission for our challenge with
@UyghurCongress
to go to full hearing! We argue that UK’s authorities are unlawfully allowing importation of goods produced with forced
#Uyghur
labour. For press release visit:
We are working with
@Bellingcat
and
@mnemonicorg
to investigate alleged international crimes in Ukraine and will make the information uncovered available to official investigators and litigators. This builds on our work towards using open source information as evidence in court.
These 6 Portuguese young people face a devastating future of spiraling heat extremes
Today, with our support, they've filed an unprecedented climate case against 33 European states demanding deep & urgent cuts to their carbon emissions
To support, visit
1/6 Today
@glan_law
& Palestinian rights group
@alhaq
had their case revived + granted a full judicial review hearing at High Court on October. This challenges the UK govts failure to halt weapons exports to Israel, risking violations of international humanitarian law in Gaza.
We're taking the UK government to court on the 25th October to fight for a total ban on the import of
#Uyghur
forced-labour cotton.
The
#Chinese
State has incarcerated millions of
#Uyghurs
in the largest detention programme since World War II.
We with
@alhaq_org
have filed witness statements covering more than 100 pages from Palestinian & western medical doctors working in Gaza’s hospitals, and from ambulance drivers, civil defence department workers and aid workers 1/
#israel
#Gaza
Cameron knows Israel is violating international law; Israel knows they’re violating IHL; ex-Supreme Court Justices know they’re violating IHL; every rational actor knows they're violating IHL &yet this grotesque charade continues. That’s why we+
@alhaq_org
will see them in Court
'The UK's position on Israel arms sales remains unchanged', says
@David_Cameron
The Foreign sec adds that 'our position is in line with our international partners and Israel remains a vital defence and security partner to the UK'
📺 Sky 501 and YouTube
🚨Tomorrow GLAN and
@uyghurcongress
are taking the UK government to court for its failure to stop
#Uyghur
forced-labour cotton from entering our stores.
Keep an eye on our channel for live updates.
BREAKING: This. Is. Huge. We have resoundingly WON our appeal with
@UyghurCongress
against the National Crime Agency (NCA) - and this decision will have massive consequences for high street retail giants trading and importing forced labour goods. 1/
In response to our case with
@alhaq_org
UK gov confirmed
@KemiBadenoch
decided that no arms licence suspension was necessary - we think this is absurd & could make the UK complicit in international crimes.
Please support & share our legal crowdfund:
NEW: The UK govt has confirmed on 18 Dec
@KemiBadenoch
'reviewed' arms export licences to Israel & decided they should continue. That's why we're taking the govt to the High Court - the rule of law must be upheld.
Support the legal crowdfund:
#Gaza
🚨Breaking: An oral hearing to reverse dismissal of our
@alhaq_org
case v the UK government to stop weapons exports to Israel will take place on Tuesday 23rd April at High Court in London
Reported alongside news of German legal action led by
@ECCHRBerlin
As calls for accountability for crimes in Ukraine grow, we are equipping our partners
@bellingcat
to perform court-ready investigations into atrocities.
Support our efforts by donating to our crowdfund:
GLAN is working consistently to tackle atrocity crimes, pioneering the use of open source evidence in Ukraine. Find out more about what the GLAN and
@bellingcat
Justice and Accountability Unit does here:
#OSINT
#warcrimes
Today, our
@TheDocket
team filed three cases against perpetrators of crimes committed in Ukraine with German Federal prosecutors, requesting that they be prosecuted as war crimes and crimes against humanity under the principle of universal jurisdiction.
🚨
#Breaking
: We will be in London’s High Court on 31st January where the UK government is being challenged by
@CAATUK
over its decision to allow the sale of UK arms to Saudi Arabia🚨
#Yemen
TODAY GLAN &
@alhaq_org
warned
@Keir_Starmer
& govt ministers incl
@DavidLammy
of their criminal liability over exports of F-35 parts that can still reach Israel via the global F-35 programme. 🧵
We have published key documents from our case with
@alhaq_org
suing the UK Govt over continued arms sales to Israel. The govt must be held to account over their failure to follow UK rules + international law.
#Gaza
#Israel
#WarCrimes
See the full response:
BREAKING: European Court of Human Rights dismisses coordinated effort by 33 Govts to overturn its decision to fast-track
#Youth4ClimateJustice
case.
The Court also refused govt attempts to avoid their climate policies being scrutinised.
🚨1/ As part of our legal proceedings GLAN &
@alhaq_org
have written to the UKgov seeking confirmation that "the Foreign Office has received official legal advice that Israel has broken international humanitarian law,” per leaked recording of
@aliciakearns
We are in awe of these brave young people. All from such young ages have shown courage and strength, standing up for their rights against 32 states. We feel optimistic that govts will be compelled to protect their rights
#Youth4ClimateJustice
Our formidable legal team, representing
@alhaq_org
has been working around the clock preparing a vast catalogue of damning evidence to be submitted to the court next week as part of our legal fight to stop UK arms exports to Israel. 1/3
#stoparmingisrael
#Palestine
The UK is well beyond the point of complicity.
@Keir_Starmer
@DavidLammy
must act to salvage the UK's credibility and do all they can to protect civilian lives in Palestine as they suffer Israel's horrific daily attacks now.
#stoparmingisrael
6/6
Support our urgent legal case
One witness said, “some ambulance drivers confessed under torture that they transported fighters, weapons and captives. The Israelis knew this was not true, but they needed these confessions to film them and show them on media platforms to justify targeting ambulance vehicles and
We are expecting a full court hearing for our case with
@alhaq_org
in October and some of court documents can now be accessed on our case page:
But we should not have to wait until Oct - arms sales can and should be ended now!
Breaking: Application filed with European Court of Human Rights on behalf of unaccompanied minor who, while seeking asylum in Greek camp, was apprehended and placed in a raft & set adrift in the Aegean sea by Greek authorities.
We have reached the point in Gaza where British made bombs have bombed British doctors in Gaza.
Blatant violations of international humanitarian law are rife and should have resulted in the suspension of arms exports to Israel months ago.
A UN investigation found that US and UK-manufactured weapons or parts may have been used to bomb British doctors working for British and American charities in Gaza in January.
BREAKING: 170 leading lawyers warn
*Breach of the 1.5˚C Paris goal threatens mass loss of life and end of rule of law
*Companies giving misleading info on climate may face criminal prosecution
*Climate protestors may have a good legal defence
Mock Admissibility Hearing on Open Source Evidence (Feb 19th). Presiding judge:
@JudgeKorner
Testing our methodology developed with
@Bellingcat
to increase legal weight of open source information in criminal proceedings w/
@Swansea_Law
Register now:
The people of Gaza have been left to document their own genocide through social media. At the same time, Israeli soldiers have posted evidence of their own war crimes, taking place in plain sight while the UK stands by, even fuelling the attacks through weapons exports. 5/6
Strasbourg bound 🔜 🇫🇷 ⚖️
We are well underway in our journey to the European Court of Human Rights, having made our way from Portugal, through Spain, and into France.
With so much evidence from
#Ukraine
online what will actually be admissible in court?
@WIRED
examines approach of
@Bellingcat
, GLAN,
@mnemonicorg
& others to handling open-source evidence in support legal accountability efforts.
#OSINT
TOMORROW: We & Al-Haq will be in court over UK weapons sales to Israel. The govt is last-minute trying to avoid scrutiny & keep weapons flowing to Israel by delaying our hearing.
Support us as we hold them accountable for complicity in war crimes:
1/4 GLAN and
@alhaq_org
are taking legal action to halt weapons sales to Israel over illegal attacks on civilians trapped in
#Gaza
and ever more aggressive settlement activity in the West Bank:
.
@UyghurCongress
, with the support of
@GLAN_Law
, has filed an unprecedented case in the High Court of England & Wales arguing that UK’s authorities are unlawfully allowing the importation of goods produced with forced
#Uyghur
labour
Israel undoubtedly uses this false information in military targeting decisions meaning UK arms are likely being used in strikes made on the basis of info derived from torture – which is not only unlawful but renders such military conduct & decision-making wholly unreliable. 3/6
1) Court documents reveal that on April 8, a week after three Israeli airstrikes on the
@WCF
aid workers, the UK made a new decision to continue arms exports to Israel. This followed an assessment by Foreign Secretary
@david_cameron
.
This should have been front page news: Our ongoing case with
@alhaq_org
against the supply of British weapons to
#Israel
has revealed the UK govt's ‘serious concerns’ over Israel's compliance with International Law in
#Gaza
. Arms exports should have stopped last year 🧵1/13
2) Remarkably this decision was based on out-of-date info on events between 2 Dec 2023 - 28 Jan 2024. The docs show that no assessment has been made on
@WCF
strikes for instance
Using old info gives more room for reliance on current Israeli assurances which are not credible
3) Court docs also revealed that UK gov can make additional urgent assessments on Israel’s compliance with int'l humanitarian law “where circumstances require”. No such an assessment was conducted after Israel’s attack on
@WCKitchen
aid workers when British nationals were killed
Today we filled parallel complaints to OECD grievance mechanism against mining companies BHP, Glencore & AngloAmerican & purchaser
@ESBGroup
for links to human rights & environmental abuses at
#Cerrej
ón mine in Colombia.
#bizhumanrights
New: GLAN &
@UyghurCongress
have formally submitted a petition to the United States’ Customs and Border Protection, requesting the suspension of imports of cotton goods produced with forced Uyghur labour
Israel often claims that their constant attacks on ambulances, hospitals & doctors, and other protected or civilian objects are justified but this evidence shows their information and assurances cannot be relied upon by any credible government. 4/6
According to the UN at least 357 humanitarian-run sites and convoys in Gaza whose coordinates had been shared in advance were hit before the WCK attack. On the same day as the
@WCKitchen
the destruction & executions at Al Shifa Hospital were revealed.
In our ongoing legal case with
@alhaq
we recently submitted extensive evidence to the High Court of torture of detained Palestinians. The suspension of all export licences to Israel is the only right decision & we will assess whether further litigation remains necessary.
NEW -
@DavidLammy
cites reported mistreatment of Palestinian detainees as one reason for restricting arms to Israel
Says he,
@David_Cameron
+ allies raised concerns over the detainees
"Regrettably, these have not been addressed satisfactorily”
More:
Under its own rules the UK govt must stop weapons exports to Israel based on the clear risk that British arms could be involved in extensive violations of international law.
Support our urgent legal challenge with
@alhaq_org
to make this happen now:
Ministers did conduct a formal review into Israel compliance with IHL, but on basis of Lord Cameron advice, rejected suspending arms export licences on December 18, court documents in judicial review show.
UK government lawyers asked to advise if Israel was breaching IHL wrote
Very proud that our co-founder
@YannisKalpouzos
will be a Lecturer on Law
@Harvard_Law
for Spring 2020. He will be teaching a seminar on 'New Technologies and the Law of War'.
4) Israel is not providing the UK with briefings on individual incidents and investigations into potential war crimes are carried out by Israel themselves.
5) Five legal assessments of the situation in Gaza have been made. They include identification of incidents & analysis of statements by int’l bodies, States & NGOs. Given consensus that Israel’s conduct violates int'l law it is hard to conceive that advice said otherwise.
Today is a win for all generations! The Court has ruled that government failure to rapidly cut emissions is a violation of human rights. Although our
#youth4climatejustice
case was ruled inadmissible the court recognised the climate crisis is an existential threat to humanity. 1/
GLAN has been working with criminal practitioners and investigators to develop an investigative methodology & an evidence classification system designed to ensure that open source evidence uncovered could be admissible in criminal trials. See, e.g:
#OSINT
The gov'ts latest legal advice is clear: there is a real risk that UK made F-35 parts could be used in IHL violations in Gaza. We’re demanding that the gov’t close the loophole allowing parts to still reach Israel through the ‘global F-35 programme’.
Support the legal fight:
We are hiring for work on an unprecedented
#climatechange
case.
Legal Researcher, European Court of Human Rights Climate Change Litigation (6-12 months, extendable).
1/ This week's decision to dismiss our case comes as
#Israel
continues its brutal assault on trapped civilians in Rafah, plans for further forced displacement of Gaza’s population and restricts humanitarian aid resulting in mass starvation.
All contrary to recent
#ICJ
orders.
🚨Breaking: High Court rejects our legal challenge with
@alhaq_org
over UK weapons exports to Israel. This decision comes just weeks after the
@CIJ_ICJ
finds a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza. We are working on challenging this decision, read more:
Tomorrow, we will be in London’s High Court making submissions on violations of the laws of war in Yemen by Saudi Arabia in support of ending the sale of UK weapons to Saudi Arabia.
GLAN is supporting
@MwatanaEn
to intervene in the challenge brought by
@CAATUK
The UK is continuing to send weapons to Israel as they bomb and besiege hospitals across Gaza, killing patients and medical staff.
British weapons exports to Israel must stop now. Help our legal fight:
#Alshifa
#warcrimes
#genocide
#StopArmingIsrael
.
@UKMed
’s field hospital, which is funded by UK Aid, has now arrived in Gaza.
The hospital will treat over 100 patients a day and will be operational this week, making a real difference on the ground.
Fady, who secured asylum in Germany, learned that his brother (11), who travelled unaccompanied from Syria, was missing in Greece
Fady went to find him but was arrested, stripped of papers & expelled to Turkey, stranding him for 3yrs
His brother has never been found
/THREAD
We are eager to coordinate & share information and processes with others who are gathering evidence and seeking accountability at national and international levels.
GLAN and
@alhaq_org
have submitted new information to
@biztradegovuk
on the serious risk of genocide in
#Gaza
. Under UK rules weapons exports to Israel must stop.
Support the crowdfund for this legal action now at:
“There is a credible case that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and that the government could be in breach of the Genocide Convention by not addressing it.”
We, with
@alhaq_org
, have filed a case against UK govt over arms sales to
#Israel
:
In partnership with
@UyghurCongress
@UyghurProject
we commissioned an independent legal opinion on the treatment of Uyghurs by Chinese authorities. Developed by barristers
@EssexCourtLaw
, & led by Allison McDonald QC, their opinion today is released today
The UK must respect the rule of law and end unlawful arms exports to Israel now. We joined
@profbensaul
to brief MPs on the UK's legal obligations under international law, and its own exports rules, to stop weapons sales & transfers to Israel.
#Gaza
#WarCrimes
#israel
Prof Ben Saul - UN SR Human Rights & Counterterror
🚨Breaking: High Court rejects our legal challenge with
@alhaq_org
over UK weapons exports to Israel. This decision comes just weeks after the
@CIJ_ICJ
finds a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza. We are working on challenging this decision, read more:
This is unprecedented. Govt and arms company workers are themselves concerned over their personal complicity in the
#Gaza
genocide and may now take legal action against the government.
The govt must follow UK and international law and stop the flow of weapons to Israel.
🚨BREAKING: On May Day, over 1,000 workers are blockading the UK Trade Department in London and BAE Systems’ arms factories in Scotland, Wales and Lancashire 🇵🇸 🚩
#StopArmingIsrael
.
@HannahBagdasar
of takes us through
@bellingcat
's investigation using open source information of Yemen airstrike that also utilized our jointly developed methodology. The video & investigation were subject to a mock hearing to determine if it could be deemed admissible.
We are so proud of our legal team & the 6 youth for standing up to protect their futures & demand that govt inaction on the climate crisis is no longer tolerated.
This fight far from over - govts must now implement the court’s science based ruling to dramatically cut emissions!
NEW: Today we with
@CAATuk
@ICJPalestine
@WarOnWant
release a joint statement condemning 50 Days of Labour govt failure to suspend export licences for arms transfers to Israel. Every day of inaction deepens UK complicity in Israel’s genocide
Read more:
Together with
@alhaq_org
we are holding the UK Govt accountable over continued weapons sales to Israel despite clear violations of international law. UK arms exports must stop. Support this work now:
#Gaza
#ceasefire
#HumanRights
OECD National Contact Points in Aus, UK & Switz ALL decided our complaints against mining giants
@glencore
,
@bhp
,
@AngloAmerican
deal with a credible issue & should progress
The complaints detail links to serious human rights & environmental harms
@CerrejonCol
mine,
#Colombia
Dearbhla Minogue, legal officer at GLAN, explains why the Proceeds of Crime Act means that importing forced-labour cotton into the UK is illegal.
In 7 days, we will be in court with
@UyghurCongress
to argue for a total ban on imports of
#Uyghur
forced-labour cotton into the UK.
Detainees are subjected to torture, abuse and forced labour. Acts which international governments and legislatures have officially declared
#genocide
and crimes against humanity
Find out more about our upcoming legal action
#China
#Cotton
#LegalTwitter
NEW: We can now share - last week GLAN lawyers were in
#Ukraine
as part of our ground-breaking Justice & Accountability Unit w
@bellingcat
providing crucial training to senior judges &investigators on how
#OSINT
can be used as evidence in
#warcrimes
trials
GLAN &
@alhaq_org
have just come from a parliamentary briefing where we were invited to inform MPs on our weapons case & the UK obligations under IHL.
@DearbhlaMinogue
explains:
Our complaint submitted against
@SanLeonEnergy
has been accepted by Ireland's National Contact Point following initial assessment
We argue it is impossible to do business in Moroccan-controlled
#WesternSahara
& respect international law + OECD guidelines
Tomorrow we'll be in the high court, London, fighting for an end to the import of
#Uyghur
forced-labour cotton.
Zumretay Arkin from
@UyghurCongress
explains what she hopes will be achieved at tomorrow's hearing.
Full interview 👉
#HumanRights
#Xinjiang
Today we are in Parliament briefing MPs with partners & doctors, on the evidence of Israel’s war crimes that we filed with the High Court & the glaring legal errors in the latest decision to suspend weapons but exclude the F35 programme where they admit a clear risk exists.
GLAN Senior Lawyer,
@DearbhlaMinogue
said: "This momentous decision vindicates everything Palestinians have been saying for months. The UK Government was backed into a corner. Our most recent letter showed that a suspension was the only right and legal thing to do. This is a
GLAN
@asgi_it
&
@ARCItorino
have filed a complaint to
@EUauditors
for EU's misuse & mismanagement of funds for Libyan Coast Guard (IBM programme) to intercept & return migrants & exposing them to torture and slavery 1/8