The High Commissioner was briefed on Eurojust’s role in supporting national judicial authorities across the EU and beyond in tackling serious cross-border crime. This includes the investigation and prosecution of core international crimes, particularly in the context of the war in Ukraine. Through its Core International Crimes Evidence Database (CICED), Eurojust helps national authorities preserve, analyse and share evidence across jurisdictions, identify links between investigations and build stronger cases.

Also on the agenda was the existing cooperation between the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Genocide Prosecution Network, whose Secretariat is hosted by Eurojust. The Genocide Prosecution Network provides a platform for national authorities, observer states and partner organisations, including UN agencies, to exchange expertise and strengthen cooperation in investigating and prosecuting core international crimes. Its work complements that of OHCHR, which supports UN mechanisms that collect, preserve and analyse information of alleged human rights and humanitarian law violations.

Discussions explored how to further strengthen this connection, particularly by addressing practical challenges in accessing, sharing and using such information collected by OHCHR entities in national criminal proceedings. The shared objective: ensuring that valuable evidence can contribute to bringing perpetrators to justice.