Building partnerships for justice and accountability

The Mobile Justice Teams (MJTs) have emerged as the leading component of support for Ukraine’s justice system as it attempts to process innumerable violations of international law before and during Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. This illegal aggression has resulted in extensive violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) and international criminal law (ICL), including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and potentially genocide. These violations have concurrently significantly damaged Ukraine's legal infrastructure, limiting its (already under-resourced) capacity to investigate and prosecute these grave crimes.

The response to this legal crisis has been, in part, led by an international collaborative effort, namely the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group for Ukraine (ACA), designed to support the Office of the Prosecutor (OPG) and associated investigative agencies, pursuant to which the MJTs operate as the principal, on-the-ground, partner of the ACA

Structure and Operational Focus: GRC’s MJTs consist of 90 expert consultants, 70% of whom are Ukrainian lawyers/researchers/civil society experts and 30% foreign prosecutors, investigators and transitional justice experts, divided into thematic and regional teams:

• Thematic Teams: supporting the design of, and the implementation of specific thematic strategies, including conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV), child justice, environmental crimes, starvation, attacks on critical infrastructure, health care, and attacks on cultural heritage.

• Regional Teams: of specialists supporting the OPG and nine regional war crimes sub-units (Regional Prosecutors’ Offices (RPOs)) spanning the most conflict-affected regions of Ukraine.

From the very first days of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, the MJTs have been a continuous presence in the field in Ukraine. This hands-on, full-spectrum support — spanning strategic guidance, operational planning, the integration of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and a myriad of essential, day-to-day analytical and advisory functions — delivers real-time, technical support throughout every aspect of Ukraine’s ‘war crimes’ prosecutorial system as it grapples with the extraordinary challenges of widespread and systematic criminality. Whether at the OPG, RPOs, National Police Units, or the Security Service of Ukraine, the MJTs are embedded within their case files — mentoring, monitoring, and providing tailored expertise to strengthen local efforts to build cases against those responsible for the crimes, especially at the political and military leadership level. Unlike all other comparable efforts, the MJTs are not just advisors, but rapid response teams, readily deployable across Ukraine to inject impactful support whenever and wherever it is needed. The Role and Impact of MJTs: The MJTs, as the ground implementer for the ACA, represent an innovation in delivering essential legal and forensic support to national actors seeking to investigate and prosecute mass atrocities. Central to the MJT model is the essential need of all national authorities and civil society, faced with mass atrocities, to access rapid, proximate, and specialised expertise and mentorship.

Faced with an overwhelming tide of international crimes and thousands of perpetrators, ranging from direct perpetrators to political and military leaders, national authorities, at a minimum, require timely, continuous and focused support if they are to document and marshal volumes of evidence to build robust criminal cases. The MJTs are the only legal support vehicle equipped to deliver this support on a case-by-case basis — arming local experts with the legal tools, SOPs, and analysis needed to navigate and tackle the multitude complex challenges that exist at all stages of the case-building exercise.

Moreover, whether governmental authorities or civil society, local actors must remain at the forefront of the search for justice. Hence, the MJTs are there to monitor, mentor, and advise, not lead or implement, let alone dictate. The MJTs operate outside of the classroom as support, serving as strategic enablers, providing continuous field mentorship, technical expertise, and real-time guidance, strengthening all local actors’ capacities to grapple with the myriad of legal and forensic challenges that ICL cases always present. They remain critical, behind-the-scenes, supporters of those tasked with the burden of conducting effective investigations and robust prosecutions of these most serious crimes.

GRC is at the forefront of business and human rights accountability, working to ensure that corporations and financial institutions adhere to international human rights standards. Our work in this area includes:

• Conducting investigations into human rights violations linked to corporate operations in high-risk sectors and jurisdictions.

• Developing due diligence frameworks to help businesses and member-based organisations assess and mitigate salient human rights risks in their supply chains.

• Piloting innovative approaches to due diligence, including worker-centred and community based due diligence models.

• Advising on the legal risk to businesses, with a focus on International Humanitarian Law and International Criminal Law risks occurring in conflict-affected and high-risk sectors.

• Simplifying information to operationalise engagement with legal frameworks to ensure workers and communities can access their routes to remedy, and businesses understand their responsibilities to protect human rights.

GRC strengthens domestic and international justice systems by combining technical support, capacity-building initiatives, and strategic deployment of experts.

Key work areas:

• Providing technical assistance to national and international courts and prosecutors.

• Enhancing legal capacity through secondments and mentorship programs.

• Strengthening the application of universal jurisdiction for atrocity crimes.

GRC promotes gender and social justice by integrating gender perspectives into our projects and advocating for accountability in cases of gender-based violence, gender persecution, and inclusion of marginalised communities.

Key work areas:

• Holding perpetrators accountable for sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV).

• Addressing gender persecution, reproductive violence, and intersectional oppression.

• Ensuring access to justice for LGBTQIA+ individuals, people with disabilities, and marginalized communities.

GRC promotes legal frameworks that protect children from violence, exploitation, and conflict related crimes while strengthening justice mechanisms that uphold their rights.

Key work areas:

• Investigating child recruitment, exploitation, trafficking and abuse in conflict zones.

• Working with governments, international organisations, and civil society to enhance child-sensitive justice and accountability mechanisms, particularly in conflict and post-conflict settings.

• Addressing forced and child labour in industries linked to conflict.

• Increasing visibility and participation of children in strengthening children's rights within local and international justice systems

• Training legal practitioners, law enforcement, and child protection agencies to improve responses to child rights violations.