hands of the authorities and militias who ran the centres. The assistance provided by EU member states, particularly Italy, to the Libyan Coast Guard and migrant detention centres made them complicit in the abuses. IMPUNITY Impunity for grave violations of the past remained a live concern. Victims of crimes committed in recent and ongoing conflicts generally faced entrenched impunity at a national level. In Iraq, the authorities announced investigations in response to some allegations of serious violations committed by Iraqi forces and pro-government militias – such as torture, extrajudicial execution and enforced disappearance. However, they consistently failed to make any findings public. In Libya, the judicial system was hamstrung by its own dysfunctionality, with magistrates often failing to pursue accountability for abuses because of fears of reprisal. In Syria, the judicial system lacked independence, and failed to investigate and prosecute crimes by state forces. In Yemen, the National Commission to Investigate Alleged Violations of Human Rights, established by the government, failed to conduct investigations consistent with international standards into alleged violations committed by all parties to the conflict in Yemen. SLOW PROGRESS The region’s only ongoing national transitional justice mechanism, Tunisia’s Truth and Dignity Commission – mandated to address human rights violations committed between July 1955 and December 2013 – held 11 public sessions during which victims and perpetrators testified on a range of violations including election fraud, enforced disappearance and torture. However, there was no progress on an agreement to refer cases to specialized judicial chambers, and security agencies continued to fail to provide the Commission with the information it requested for its investigations. At the international level, some significant initiatives continued but moved slowly. The Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court continued its preliminary examination of alleged crimes under international law committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territories since 13 June 2014, including during the 2014 Gaza-Israel conflict. In Libya, it broadened its investigations from political and military leaders to consider the wider systematic mistreatment of migrants. Other initiatives had positive aspects, but were tarnished or undermined. The UN Security Council passed a resolution in September that was aimed at ensuring accountability for war crimes and human rights abuses committed by IS in Iraq, but crucially failed to include any provisions to ensure accountability for crimes committed by Iraqi forces, militias and the USled coalition. The Joint Investigative Mechanism of the UN and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons made progress on determining accountability for chemical weapons use in Syria, but an extension of its mandate was vetoed by Russia at the Security Council. Two developments raised particular hope in the longer term for truth and justice for victims of violations in two seemingly intractable ongoing conflicts. The International Impartial and Independent Mechanism to assist in the investigation and prosecution of the most serious crimes under international law committed in Syria since March 2011 took shape during the year after its formal establishment in December 2016 by the UN General Assembly. And the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution in September to establish a panel of experts to investigate abuses by all parties in Yemen. Both developments followed concerted advocacy by human rights organizations. Amnesty International Report 2017/18 63