Resource
archive
ICC
and Africa: selective justice
New
African, 1 May 2009
"On 4 March 2009, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against the Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir, only the second ever sitting president to be so indicted. This has caused outrage and anger among the normally placid African Union and its member countries. AU chairman and Libyan leader Muammar AlGathafi has said it is akin to “new world terrorism”, and that “all developing countries are opposed to the so-called ICC” ... "
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What's
the ICC up to?
New African, 1 May 2009
"So what use is the ICC? Millius Palayiwa, registrar of Christ Church College, Oxford University, attempts an answer in this article. When it comes to international justice, he writes, it is important to know who is doing the indicting, who is being indicted, at whose behest, what the charges are, and the system of law in use ... "
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Global
Justice or Global Revenge? The ICC and the Politicization of International Criminal
Justice
Lecture delivered by Prof Dr Hans Köchler at the
World Conference for International Justice - 6 April 2009
"Among many sectors of international civil society the creation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has raised hopes that, from now on, international crimes could be prosecuted in a comprehensive, credible and consistent manner, in a way completely different from the victor’s justice of post-war tribunals or ad hoc tribunals created by the United Nations Security Council, the supreme executive organ of the world organization, in the years after the end of the Cold War. However, the noble idea of international criminal justice, administered by the ICC as a permanent institution, has been compromised from the outset and in two basic respects ... "
This
article is also available in a pdf version, click here
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A
Waltz with al-Bashir
by Joshua Rozenberg - Standpoint,
April 2009
"It
could take two months or two years, but he will face justice." So said the
prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, speaking after he had been granted
a warrant to arrest the president of Sudan. Don't
hold your breath. Past experience shows how much Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the prosecutor,
is prone to wishful
thinking ... "
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International
justice should not be open to political abuse and selective standards
by
the Muslim Association of Britain, 10 March 2009
"The
Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) expresses its profound rejection of the ICC
position, regarding its decision to level charges against the Sudanese president,
Omar Hassan Al-Bashir, in issuing a warrant for his arrest; a step that reflects
mismanagement on the part of the international order in dealing with the Darfur
crisis and its repercussions ... "
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Nothing
international about the ICC
by
Linda Heard - Arab News, 10 March 2009
"In 1998, 120 countries signed a treaty establishing a permanent international criminal court so that “no ruler, no state, no junta and no army anywhere will be able to abuse human rights with impunity”. The principle is great and honorable. A truly international court that protects ordinary citizens from abuse by their own governments and foreign nations is something we should all welcome. But wait...there’s just one problem. The International Criminal Court (ICC) doesn’t hold to its own constitution because, to date, it has held only Africans to account ... "
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Questions
over arrest warrant for Bashir
ICCwatch letter
- The Guardian, 6 March 2009
"Sudan, like many other countries, experienced British colonial rule. Now, it is being subjected to another form of external interference in its internal affairs (Facing court over Darfur, 5 March). The international criminal court in issuing an arrest warrant for President Bashir for alleged crimes committed inside the borders of Sudan, a country that - like India, Russia, America, China, and many others - refuses to submit to its jurisdiction, is asserting legal supremacy over this supposedly sovereign nation. But what is the ICC's moral and political right to claim that Sudan, and the entire world potentially, is under its jurisdiction? ..."
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Bashir
arrest warrant is political
NRC Handelsblad - 6 March
2009
"Formally the arrest warrant issued against Omar Hassan al-Bashir is the next step in the legal process against the Sudanese president, who was indicted by the International Criminal Court prosecutor in July 2008 for war crimes and crimes against humanity. But in reality, the first arrest warrant against a serving head of state, issued on Wednesday by the ICC in The Hague, is a political move ... "
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The
ICC issues an arrest warrant and creates a superstar
by
Neil Hrab - National Post, 6 March 2009
"You likely have seen references to the big rally held Thursday in Khartoum, Sudan, following the issuing of an international arrest warrant for that country's president, Omar al-Bashir. While Bashir doesn't care much about his reputation outside Sudan, he's moving quickly to emphasize his nationalist credentials and portray the arrest warrant as an attack on Sudanese independence. Thursday’s rally provides us with a sample of Bashir's PR strategy in action ... "
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Al-Bashir
Arrest Warrant a 'Symbolic Gesture'?
by
Charles Hawley - Der Spiegel, 5 March 2009
"Europe
and North America stand behind the decision of the International Criminal Court
to indict Sudanese President al-Bashir for war crimes. But many governments --
and many German commentators -- fear the situation in Darfur may now get
worse
... "
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The
Complexities Behind the al-Bashir Case
NRC
Handelsblad - 5 March 2009
"The arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is a victory for the court's top prosecutor. But the chances that the case will ever come to trial are slim ... "
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Bashir
vows to defy Darfur charge
BBC
News - 4 March 2009
"Sudanese
President Omar al-Bashir has angrily rejected the arrest warrant issued by the
International Criminal Court (ICC) against him. Mr Bashir told thousands of cheering
supporters in the capital that Sudan would not "kneel" to colonialists
... "
Related reports:
Will warrant tip Sudan into abyss? - BBC News, 4 March 2009
Warrant sparks anger in Khartoum - BBC News, 4 March 2009
Bashir warrant: Sudanese views - BBC News, 4 March 2009
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The
ICC and Universal Jurisdiction: “Ubi
lex voluit, dicit; ubi noluit, tacit.”
by
Dr John Laughland - ICCwatch, March 2009
The ICC judges are currently considering whether to approve the indictment issued in July 2008 by the ICC Prosecutor against the President of Sudan. Their decision is expected on 4th March.
Sudan is not a signatory state to the ICC Charter and therefore the country would not normally be considered subject to its jurisdiction. However, the situation in Darfur was referred to the ICC Prosecutor by the United Nations Security Council in 2005. In an earlier ruling in 2007, on indictments brought against a Sudanese minister, Ahmed Haroun, and a Sudanese paramilitary commander, Ali Kushayb, the judges confirmed the indictments, claiming that this referral by the Security Council meant that the ICC did have jurisdiction over states which have not signed or ratified its Charter.
It is therefore to be expected that the judges will make the same decision with respect to the indictment of the Sudanese president. But what was the basis of the 2007 ruling and how soundly based is it in the ICC Charter and in law? ...
This
ICCwatch article is available in a pdf version, click here
(40k)
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Special
Rapporteur Philip Alston calls for International Criminal Court to prosecute in
Kenya
UN press release
"Today, the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, Philip Alston, concluded his 16 to 25 February 2009 fact-finding mission to Kenya ... "
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Lawyers
divided over ICC witness preparation
By Katy Glassborow -
Institute for War & Peace Reporting
"As the first trial at the International Criminal Court, ICC, gets under way, the question of how to prepare witnesses for sharing their painful stories in court is dividing lawyers and judges. After a prosecution witness in proceedings against Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga temporarily withdrew his testimony, observers suggested he had not been properly prepared before appearing in court ... "
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Crimes
need to be punished, but is the ICC the right means?
by Brett
D. Schaefer, Radio Free Europe
"Although supporters of the court have a noble purpose, there are a number of reasons to be cautious and concerned about the effect the ICC could have on national sovereignty and politically precarious situations the world over .. "
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Save
Darfur: Why the UN Security Council should stop the ICC’s efforts to indict
al-Bashir
Jackfruity
blog - 16 February 2009
"The
International Criminal Court’s recent fumbled attempt to try Congolese rebel
leader Thomas Lubanga Dyilo is the latest addition to a series of reasons why
an ICC indictment of Sudanese president Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir would be
unwise
... "
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When
witnesses change their stories….
by Tracey Gurd - Open
Society Justice Initiative
"In a dramatic first week of Lubanga’s trial, the Prosecution’s first witness said he lied about being abducted by Lubanga’s forces and taken to a training camp for child soldiers. He also told the court that he was coached by an aid group about what he should say on the witness stand ... "
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Prosecutor
looks at ways to put Israeli officers on trial for Gaza 'war crimes'
The
Times - 2 February 2009
"The International Criminal Court is exploring ways to prosecute Israeli commanders over alleged war crimes in Gaza.
The alleged crimes include the use of deadly white phosphorus in densely populated civilian areas, as revealed in an investigation by The Times last month. Israel initially denied using the controversial weapon, which causes horrific burns, but was forced later, in the face of mounting evidence, to admit to having deployed it.
When Palestinian groups petitioned the ICC this month, its prosecutor said ... "
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ICC
Investigating Israel War Crimes Charges
by Daniel Luban - IPS
"The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague announced a preliminary analysis Tuesday into whether Israel committed war crimes during the recent Gaza war, following the Palestinian National Authority's (PNA) move to recognise the ICC's authority in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Whether the ICC has jurisdiction in Gaza is expected to be a highly contentious legal issue, and the ICC investigation comes at a time of heightened debate over the legality of Israel's Gaza campaign under international law ... "
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Prosecution
stumbles as historic trial opens
by Rachel Irwin in The Hague
- Institute for War & Peace Reporting
"The
highly anticipated trial of accused Congolese militia leader, Thomas Lubanga,
the first for the International Criminal Court, ICC, in The Hague, had a troubled
start this week. After two days of strong opening statements by the prosecution
and defence, prosecutors stumbled when their first witness, a former child soldier,
said that he had lied ... "
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Defence
comes on strong in Lubanga case
Handelsblad
"Both the prosecution and defence have laid out their case this week in the first-ever case presented before the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Is Thomas Lubanga a power-mad despot or a scapegoat?"
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Chaos
reigns at International Criminal Court trial of Thomas Lubanga
by
David Charter - The Times
"A series of mishaps marked a shambolic
opening day’s testimony yesterday at the trial of an alleged Congolese warlord
which ended with the first witness retracting his claim to have been a child soldier
... "
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Lawyer:
Congo warlord's trial may not be fair
by Mike Corder, ABC
News
"Defense lawyers for a Congolese warlord on trial for using child soldiers said Tuesday he is an innocent man sent to the International Criminal Court by President Joseph Kabila to get rid of a political opponent ... "
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Lubanga
denies war crimes in first ICC trial
By Katherine Iliopoulos,
Crimes of War Project
"Former Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga Dyilo pleaded not guilty to charges of using child soldiers at his trial which opened on 26 January 2009 ... "
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Ocampo
underwhelms in landmark trial
by Lisa Clifford - Institute
for War & Peace Reporting
"The first day of the first trial at the court which has promised justice for Africans was always going to be a very big deal. Not surprisingly then expectations were high when International Criminal Court, ICC, prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo stood to make his opening statement on January 26. After all the prosecutor of the world's first permanent war crimes court had almost three years to prepare his case against Congo’s Thomas Lubanga. But devoid of fire and passion, the prosecutor hardly seemed worth the wait. Watching from the gallery it looked like any other Monday morning for Moreno-Ocampo. One observer whispered that he came across as a student who hadn’t prepared properly for his final exam, like someone who had stepped in at the last minute ... "
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Lubanga
trial: another mishap
by
Joshua Rozenberg, Legal Editor - Daily Telegraph
"The senior trial lawyer in charge of the first case to be tried at the International Criminal Court has been taken off the case little more than a month before the trial is due to open ... "
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U.S.
shouldn't be supporting the ICC
by Brian Darling - Human
Events, 20 October 2008
"This
past summer, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced that it would seek
an indictment against President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan for his involvement in
crimes committed in Darfur. The announcement placed the Bush Administration in
a tough spot ... "
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International
court under fire for prosecution policy
NRC
Handelsblad
"The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Luis Moreno-Ocampo has not only been accused of sexual misconduct but faces criticism about the way his office operates. The final of NRC’s three-part series into the ICC looks into the way the prosecutor selects cases to investigate ... "
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Why
the world's most powerful prosecutor should resign: Part 1
by
Joshua Rozenberg, Legal Editor - Daily Telegraph
"The International
Criminal Court's first trial has been suspended because the prosecutor failed
to disclose evidence that could have helped the defendant ..."
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Why
the world's most powerful prosecutor should resign: Part 2
by
Joshua Rozenberg, Legal Editor - Daily Telegraph
"Sexual misconduct allegations against Luis Moreno-Ocampo have been dismissed as manifestly unfounded but he is held personally responsible for a breach of due process ..."
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Why
the world's most powerful prosecutor should resign: Part 3
by
Joshua Rozenberg, Legal Editor - Daily Telegraph
"When the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court sought the arrest of the president of Sudan, my initial reaction was one of relief. More than three years after the court was given jurisdiction over the Darfur “situation” by the UN Security Council, all we had seen were charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes against two men — a minister in the Sudanese government and a leader of the Janjaweed militia. But now Luis Moreno-Ocampo was accusing the president himself of the most serious crime of all: genocide. Some people were suspicious about the timing of Mr Moreno-Ocampo’s announcement on July 14 ... "
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Why
the world's most powerful prosecutor should resign: Part 4
by
Joshua Rozenberg, Legal Editor - Daily Telegraph
“The Office of the Prosecutor is highly confident that ... the trial of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo will start in September,” it announced in a press release on June 24.
Pure fantasy,
I’m afraid. Halfway through September, what we have had instead is a ruling
from the International Criminal Court that the prosecutor’s latest proposals
“infringe fundamental aspects of the accused’s right to a fair trial”...
"
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Utopia
deferred
by
Melanie Phillips - The Spectator
"The ICC supposedly embodies enlightened thinking, civilised values, the eclipse of the old order of venal self-interest by a collective endeavour of nations standing shoulder to shoulder to bring the world’s worst war criminals to the bar of justice.
How
deeply embarrassing, then, that its very first trial has been put on ice because
of a gross abuse of process by the court’s prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo
... "
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Growing
clamour to remove the Hague prosecutor who wants Sudanese president arrested
by
David Pallister - The Guardian
"A coalition of human rights lawyers, academics and leading non-governmental organisations (NGOs) has begun openly to criticise the competence and conduct of the prosecutor of the international criminal court, the Argentinian Luis Moreno-Ocampo. Their concerns follow his announcement last month that it is to seek an arrest warrant for genocide against the Sudanese president, and the collapse of the five-year-old court's first trial ..."
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International
justice is power without responsibility
by
John Laughland - The Independent
"Many
people welcome the recent growth in the power of international criminal tribunals.
However, their track record should give cause for extreme concern about
the
way that this new supranational power will be wielded ... "
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ICC
risks losing the plot in Congo
by
Lisa Clifford - Institute for War & Peace Reporting
"The
court insists its Congo outreach campaign, intended to debunk the myths and rumours
about the ICC, is robust and effective. But evidence on the ground suggests differently.
North Kivu is an opportunity to correct that. All sides in the conflict have committed
war crimes and the ICC’s long-promised case or cases must reflect that, to
refute the commonly held belief that the ICC is biased ... "
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The
International Criminal Court is a threat to democracy
by
Daniel Hannan MEP - Daily Telegraph
"A fearful blow has been struck against national sovereignty. The International Criminal Court has launched a prosecution against a head of state - a state, moreover, that has not signed the ICC treaty. International human rights apparatchiks are enjoying the warm glow of self-righteousness; but they have just made the world a darker and more dangerous place ..."
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Congolese
warlord faces ICC charges amid setbacks to first trial
by Anthony
Dworkin, Crimes of War Project
"The
former Vice-President of the Democratic Republic of Congo appeared as a suspect
before the International Criminal Court on July 4 after being arrested in Belgium
a few weeks earlier. Bemba, who was the runner-up in DR Congo's presidential election
in 2006, faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection
with a conflict in the Central African Republic in
2002-2003 ..."
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ICC
orders release of Lubanga
by Sebastiaan Gottlieb &
Thijs Bouwknegt, Radio Netherlands Worldwide
"On the eve of the tenth anniversary of the Rome Statute, judges at the International Criminal Court have decided to release the court's first-ever defendant, Thomas Lubanga Dyilo. The Congolese militia leader will remain in custody for the time being, since the prosecution has appealed against the decision. The decision to free Lubanga is a serious embarrassment for the prosecution ..."
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Imposed
justice and the need for sustainable peace in Uganda
Dr
Chris Dolan, Refugee Law Project (pdf)
"More specifically, I want to make the point that, on its own, the ICC can never be regarded as bringing justice to war-affected countries, and that, if justice is to be done and seen to be done, it requires a far broader effort ... "
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AU
rejects Bashir Darfur charges
BBC
News
"The
African Union has called for the UN Security Council to suspend war crimes accusations
against Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir over Darfur. The African foreign ministers
said the request to charge Mr Bashir would jeopardise the peace process ... "
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Diary
from northern Uganda
by Owiny Lakaragic - IRIN Africa
"I
have heard [LRA deputy leader Vincent] Otti on the radio saying he will not die
alone, he will take us down with him. We don’t want to risk more war. So
I’m begging the International Criminal Court to drop their case and let peace
come to northern Uganda ... In Acholiland we have Mato oput and that’s what
we want to use for the rebels. It’s the traditional ceremony we use for reconciliation.
The elders of the two clans come together, one admits wrong-doing and then drinks
the juice of a tree’s bitter roots. We come together, eat together, we slaughter
a sheep and drink local beer together ..."
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Why
the ICC must stop impeding Juba process
Global Policy Forum
"Despite
offering credible prospects for peace following twenty-one years of conflict in
northern Uganda, the Juba peace negotiations are threatened by the possibility
that the International Criminal Court (ICC) will not defer to local Ugandan mechanisms
which are suitable for addressing issues of accountability. The ICC was created
in part to contribute to the prevention of human rights abuses, but its failure
to accommodate the peace talks might ironically contribute to moving Lord's Resistance
Army (LRA) rebels back into open conflict and reigniting the humanitarian catastrophe
in northern
Uganda ... "
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Peace
v. justice: contradictory or complementary
by Zeid Ra'ad Zeid
Al Hussein, Marieke Wierda - American Society of International Law (2006)
"It is with great pleasure that I join you today to share some thoughts on what remains the dilemma bedeviling our age, as countries continue to attempt the transition from conflict to peace ... "
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Who's
afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? The International Criminal Court as a weapon of asymmetric
warfare
by
W. Chadwick Austin, Antony Barone Kolenc - Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational
Law (2006)
"The
United States is engaged in a war on terror against enemies who wage "asymmetric
war" through terrorism, media manipulation, and "law-fare"--exploiting
judicial processes to achieve political or military objectives. This Article explores
whether the fledgling International Criminal Court (ICC) could eventually be exploited
by these groups as a tool of asymmetric "law-fare." ... "
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Advocacy,
the International Criminal Court and the conflict in Northern Uganda
by
Tim Raby, Tearfund - Humanitarian Practice Network
"The role of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the conflict in Northern Uganda has been controversial from the moment the Chief Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, announced the start of its investigations in January 2004 ... "
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Uganda:
Give peace a chance, northern leaders tell ICC
IRINnews,
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
"The decision by Interpol to issue wanted person's notices against several Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) leaders will scuttle ongoing efforts to peacefully end the war in northern Uganda and may escalate the violence there, religious leaders in the war-affected region said on Friday ... "
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ICC
launches Central African Republic investigation
-
Reuters
"The International Criminal Court's prosecutor launched an investigation on Tuesday into allegations of killing and rape in the Central African Republic during the armed conflict of 2002 and 2003.
The alleged crimes in the Central African Republic, one of the world's poorest countries which has suffered decades of instability, occurred during a conflict between the government and rebels, which peaked in 2002 and 2003 ... "
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ICC
comes under sharp criticism from US-based Human Rights Watch
Hirondelle
News Agency, Fondation Hirondelle - Arusha
"The American organization for the protection of human rights, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has sharply criticized the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor and its communication policy in a status report presented on Friday In The Hague, The Netherlands ... "
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Can
Excess of Justice Lead to Injustice?
By Lisa Clifford - Institute
for War & Peace Reporting
"A
man who does public relations for Sudan’s foreign ministry recently asked
me if I thought Ahmed Harun would get a fair trial at the International Criminal
Court, ICC.
He insisted it was impossible, and in the 45 degree heat of a
Sudanese summer afternoon it was simply too hot to talk ICC politics ... "
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ICC:
A well-intentioned but flawed court
by Alan W. Dowd, World
Politics Review
"Lubanga's
trial was supposed to be the ICC's first case and its first test. But with the
trial now indefinitely delayed due to prosecutorial misconduct, the ICC has failed
the test. No one should be surprised by this ... "
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ICC
indictment of a Head of State is 'A Political Act'
Interview
with Stephen Ellis, Leiden University - Radio Free Europe
"Indicting a head of state is a political act and it poses some fundamental questions about the ICC: is it an independent court or a political institution? ... "
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Dilemmas
of justice: The challenges faced by the international criminal court are about
more than "peace vs justice"
by
Phil Clark & Nicholas Waddell - Prospect
"In
the May issue of Prospect, Richard Dowden argued that the international criminal
court’s (ICC) approach to justice in northern Uganda was hindering the chances
of a sustainable peace deal between the government and the rebel Lord’s Resistance
Army (LRA). The dilemma is a genuine one, but it is worth adding that coverage
of the Uganda situation has often been framed in simple “peace vs justice”
terms. This "boxing match" terminology is more hindrance than help.
Rather than polarise the debate further, it is more useful to consider how different
approaches at different levels, at different times and by different institutions
can address the challenges of mass crimes in complementary ways ... "
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ICC
in the dock: worrying signs that the international criminal court's approach to
justice may be jeopardising peace in Africa
by Richard Dowden
- Prospect
"The
international criminal court (ICC) was set up in 2002 to prosecute individuals
for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Some feared that its western-inspired,
universalist idea of justice might come into conflict with local forms of law,
jeopardising the process of reconciliation. Now that the court has started to
flex its muscles—issuing its first warrants, in October 2005, against five
leaders of the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda, and more recently making an arrest
in the Democratic Republic of Congo and identifying suspects in Sudan—there
are signs that these fears may turn out to have been justified ... "
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ICC
Arrests Jean-Pierre Bemba
by
Brice Blondel - HDPT-CAR
"Jean-Pierre Bemba, charged by the ICC for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Central African Republic, was arrested on 24 May in the suburbs of Brussels, Belgium.
Mr. Bemba
is chairman of the Mouvement de Libération du Congo (MLC), an armed group
which intervened in the 2002-2003 armed conflict in Central African Republic (CAR)
..."
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Lies
of the vigilantes:
The
Srebrenica ruling punctures the false claims that underpin the doctrine of intervention
by
John Laughland - The Guardian
"Slobodan Milosevic was posthumously exonerated on Monday when the international court of justice ruled that Serbia was not responsible for the 1995 massacre at Srebrenica ... "
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Sudan
and the International Criminal Court: a guide to the controversy
by
Alex de Waal - OpenDemocracy.net
"The request to indict Sudan's president on charges of genocide and war crimes in Darfur is a historic moment in international justice. But is it wise, and will it bring peace in Sudan nearer or destabilise the country further? ... "
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Criminal
proceedings: The case against Slobodan Milosevic would never have held up in a
proper court of law
by
John Laughland - The Guardian
"I
was one of the last western journalists to meet Slobodan Milosevic. Having been
called to The Hague as a potential witness, I spent an hour in his cell in January
last year. Like most who met him, I found him polite and intelligent. "We
will win," he told me. "Freedom is a universal value. They have no evidence
against me." Such statements will shock those who have been assured that
Milosevic was a nationalist dictator bent on establishing a racially pure Greater
Serbia. But civilised societies ought to be reluctant to condone criminal convictions
based on hate campaigns ... "
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New
world court faces unexpected trials in Uganda
Global Policy
Forum
"Analysts say [the ICC] expected local applause for launching an investigation last July into atrocities by the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and its elusive leader Joseph Kony. But one year on -- with arrest warrants for the self-styled mystic and five of his commanders expected to be issued next month -- the probe remains controversial, and Ugandans are divided over what impact it will have on the war ... "
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Uganda:
Mixed feelings about ICC warrants
Global
Policy Forum
"Civilians forced into refugee camps by the rebel LRA group are divided on whether prosecution or amnesty is the better option ... "
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Will
ICC prosecutions threaten Ugandan peace process?
ReliefWeb
"As the International Criminal Court seeks the arrest of top rebel leaders in northern Uganda, some of those involved in the peace process say it is not the right time for prosecutions ... "
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ICC
indictments to affect northern peace efforts, says mediator
IRINnews
- UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
"The decision by the International Criminal Court's (ICC) to issue arrest warrants for the leaders of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has changed the dynamics of ongoing peace talks between the Uganda government and the rebels, the mediator said. "You can no longer talk to the LRA as before, the dynamics have changed. The situation is different and I would not like to talk to the LRA now because the ICC has not yet given me details of the warrant," Betty Bigombe told IRIN on Monday ... "
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Post-Modernism
& the Silent Revolution
by Marc Glendening - European
Journal
"In
the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the dominant view in the West was
that liberal democracy had won a decisive, final victory. According to Francis
Fukuyama we were experiencing the 'end of history'. No illiberal ideology, including
militant Islam, he argued, would from now on be capable of seriously threatening
representative government. This view should now be viewed as dangerously complacent
... "
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ICC
under fire over Uganda probe
Global
Policy Forum
"By intervening in northern Uganda's 18-year civil war, the International Criminal Court is in danger of perpetuating it, according to NGOs and international bodies concerned about the court's fledgling investigation ... "
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Courting
a surrender of sovereignty
by William P. Hoar - The New
American, March 7, 2005
"A January 30 release from Citizens for Global Solutions applauded Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) for his televised remarks made the previous Friday at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in which he "declared his support for the United States joining the International Criminal Court (ICC), asserting: 'I want us in the ICC.' McCain's comments drastically change the debate on the International Criminal Court ... "
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Sending
Blair to Prison
by John Laughland - Antiwar.com (2004)
"Following the decision not to prosecute the GCHQ whistleblower Katharine Gun, the suspicion is that the government will do anything to keep secret the advice submitted to it by the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, on the legality of the Iraq war. There is a very simple reason why the government would want to do this. If it turns out that the Iraq war was illegal, then Tony Blair could go to prison. In 2000, the United Kingdom ratified the Rome treaty which created the International Criminal Court ... "
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Protecting
the protectors: can the United States successfully exempt U.S. persons from the
International Criminal Court?
by
Jeffrey S. Dietz - Houston Journal of International Law (2004)
"Thank you, American Servicemember, for fighting on the final frontiers of freedom to dutifully protect our nation. We appreciate your work, Madam Diplomat, for traveling to far off lands to honorably represent the United States. Your work to keep the fighting force running, Mr. Contractor, is greatly appreciated. However, after you complete your duties abroad, be careful of where you travel. Unless the United States prevails in exempting U.S. persons from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC), visiting the wrong foreign country could land you before a foreign court, stripped of your customary constitutional guarantees ... "
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A
Lawless Global Court: How the International Criminal Court undermines the U.N.
system
by John Rosenthal - Hoover Institution Policy Review,
Feb/Mar 2004
"The Bush administration’s opposition to the recently inaugurated International Criminal Court (ICC) has provoked expressions of outrage and disappointment from human rights advocates worldwide and especially shrill condemnations from European commentators. Critics claim to discern in the administration’s rejection of the court a return to American “unilateralism” and proof of the arrogant disregard of the “one remaining superpower” for the wishes of the “international community” or, at any rate, the rest of it. Such rebukes give the impression that the court enjoys a far higher degree of international support than in fact it does ... "
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Debate:
Is International Law a Threat to Democracy?
Council
on Foreign Relations (2004)
Speakers: Jed Rubenfeld, Robert R. Slaughter
professor of law, Yale Law School
Anne-Marie Slaughter, dean, Woodrow Wilson
School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University
Presider:
Fareed Zakaria, editor, Newsweek International
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A
successful, permanent International Criminal Court … "isn't it pretty
to think so?"
by Cassandra Jeu - Houston Journal of
International Law (2003/04)
"On September 30, 2002, the European Union (E.U.) assured the United States that it would not prosecute American military personnel and government officials in the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Bush Administration continues to seek total immunity for all U.S. citizens through bilateral agreements with individual nations ... Although the E.U. as a whole remains dedicated to the ideals of the ICC, its member nations vary in their agreeability to the idea of U.S. immunity ..."
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The
ICC's Bashir Indictment: Law Against Peace
by Rony Brauman -
World Politics Review (2008)
"On July 14, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), presented "evidence showing that Sudanese President, Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir committed the crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur." The motives of the Sudanese head of state were "above all, political," the prosecutor declared. He used the "alibi" of counterinsurgency in order to try "to end the history of the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa people." In fact, "his intent was genocide."
Let us leave aside the assessment that Gen. al-Bashir's motives were "political" in nature, which seems to constitute an aggravating factor in the prosecutor's view, and instead concentrate on the recent history of the notion of genocide ... "
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The
self-defeating International Criminal Court
By
Jack Goldsmith - Professor of Law, The University of Chicago (2003)
"Great
expectations greeted the opening of the International Criminal
Court (ICC)
on July 1, 2002. Kofi Annan captured these expectations when he expressed the
hope that the new ICC would "deter future war criminals and bring nearer
the day when no ruler, no state, no junta and no army anywhere will be able to
abuse human rights with impunity." ... Scores of other world officials, human
rights activists, and international law experts made similar predictions.These
are unrealistic dreams. They are unrealistic for many reasons. But perhaps the
most salient reason is that the ICC as currently organized is, and will remain,
unacceptable to the United States ... "
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American
justice and the International Criminal Court
(pdf)
by John Bolton, former US Under-Secretary of State - DISAM Journal (2003)
"There has been considerable debate in the United States about the International Criminal Court ... Rather than rehearse many of the those arguments, however, I thought it might be helpful to give you a report from the front, describing current efforts by the United States to protect its citizens from the illegitimate assertion of authority over them ... "
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Why
the United States is so opposed
by Paul W. Kahn, Crimes of
War Project (2003)
"The
opposition of the United States to the International Criminal Court appears as
either a puzzle or an embarrassment to many of the nation's traditional
supporters
... "
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American
opposition to the International Criminal Court
by
Jonathan D Tepperman, Crimes of War Project (2002)
"A few days after Christmas 2001, the U.S. Congress came within a hair's breadth of passing a law that would have permanently banned U.S. participation in the nascent International Criminal Court ... "
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Court
Dismissed: The ICC is a snare and a monstrosity with no standing
by
Lee A. Casey, David B. Rivkin, Jr. - National Review (2002)
"Today's Euro-bureaucrats have pretensions that dwarf those of the Bourbons: European Commission president Romano Prodi declares that the new Europe's goal is the creation of a new "superstate" to rival the United States. Of course, vast conscript armies and fleets of dreadnoughts are no longer the tools of European imperialism ... Europe's mantra is adherence to the letter of international law and to the prerogatives of international institutions-most notably, the new international criminal court (ICC) ..."
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International
Criminal Court sellout
by William Norman Grigg - The New
American (2002)
"Predictably, the Bush administration has caved in on the ICC, exposing U.S. soldiers to prosecution and opening the door for dismantling America's time-tested judicial system ... "
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Court
of injustice
by
William F Jasper - The New American
"While intoning platitudes about ending impunity and advancing the rule of law, advocates of the UN's new ICC are actually establishing a global kangaroo court ..."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The
Kissinger factor and US policy on the International Criminal Court
by
Anthony Dworkin, Crimes of War Project (2002)
"Leading
European states appear to have rebuffed the latest attempt by the United States
to secure exemption for its citizens from the new International Criminal
Court
... "
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Protecting
the Elite from the ICC
Insider
Report - The New
American (2002)
"In a review of Henry Kissinger's critique of the UN's International Criminal Court (ICC), THE NEW AMERICAN predicted that America's political Establishment would seek an arrangement with the ICC through which "well connected members of the Power Elite--such as Kissinger himself, for instance--might enjoy immunity from prosecution and imprisonment ... "
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U.S.
rejects all support for new court on atrocities
by Neil A. Lewis,
New York Times (2002)
"Bush administration officials said today that the new International Criminal Court should expect no cooperation from the United States, and that its prosecutors would not be given any information from the United States to help them bring cases against any individuals ... "
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U.S.
announces intent not to ratify International Criminal Court treaty
by
Curtis A. Bradley, The American Society of International Law (2002)
On May 6, 2002, the Bush Administration announced that the United States does not intend to become a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. John Bolton, the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, sent a letter to Kofi Annan ... "
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Attacking
our courts
by
Tom Gow - The New American
"Through
its proposed subsidiary, the International Criminal Court, the United
Nations
is plotting the ultimate subversion: The destruction of the American
judiciary
system ..."
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The
International Criminal Court and social engineering
by
Richard G. Wilkins - National Observer, Australia and World Affairs (2001)
"The I.C.C. statute purports to create a judicial mechanism with jurisdiction potentially reaching every individual on the face of the earth, whether or not that individual resides in (or is a citizen of) a country that has ratified the statute ... As currently structured, the I.C.C. Statute proposes to transfer a vast amount of decision making authority from previously sovereign nations to an international court that will be remote from (and unable to be controlled by) the diverse cultures and peoples of the world ... "
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International
criminal courts: some dissident views on the continuation of war by penal means
by
Carrie Gustafson - Houston Journal of International Law (1998)
"The recent horror of civil war in the Balkans generated a particular urgency in the West to do something to mask the appearance of disorder and moral collapse on its periphery. With the United States as lead lobbyist and financier, two ad hoc international criminal courts (ICCs) were established, ostensibly to restore order to the former Yugoslavia(3) and, as an afterthought, to Rwanda.(4) Hailed by U.N. leadership as moral progress,(5) these institutions were to merge our humanitarian instincts with a purported administrative capacity to control deviant behavior. Virtually overnight, the capacity of the international community to punish in a presumptively nondiscriminatory and salubrious manner grew exponentially, with scant philosophical reflection or historical depth ... "
Speech
by Dr. John Laughland
at the ICCwatch debate:
"The International Criminal
Court:
Best hope for mankind or threat to freedom?"
held
at the Ideas Space, Storey's Gate, Westminster
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Crisis
in Darfur: Alex de Waal Explains the History
The Hub,
3 September 2008
Click here to watch
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