[APWW-Meet] Ten Years On, Some Step Towards Justice

[Roberto Savio <soros@other-net.info>]

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Ten Years On, Some Step Towards Justice

=20
By Irene de Vette

ROTTERDAM, Jul 15 (IPS) - Human rights organisations all over the world =
will celebrate the tenth anniversary Jul. 17 of the adoption of the Rome =
Statute establishing the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC is =
the first and only permanent international criminal tribunal to =
prosecute individuals accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against =
humanity.

"Our hope is that, by punishing the guilty, the International Criminal =
Court will bring some comfort to the surviving victims and to the =
communities that have been targeted," then Secretary General of the =
United Nations Kofi Annan said on the historic day in 1998. "More =
important, we hope it will 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."=20

After the Berlin Wall had fallen in 1989, the Republic of Trinidad and =
Tobago put the establishment of a permanent criminal tribunal, a wish =
that had long existed among the international community, back on the =
agenda. While ad-hoc tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda were =
established, a Statute was drafted in 1994 and then adopted in 1998 as =
the Statute of Rome. It went into effect Jul. 1, 2002, when the required =
60 states had ratified it. To date, there are 106 ratifications. Some =
countries have not signed, among them the United States, China, India =
and Israel.=20

Early July of this year, former Congolese rebel leader Jean-Pierre Bemba =
was transferred from Belgium to the ICC in The Hague, the Netherlands, =
to face multiple counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the =
Central African Republic. On Jul. 14, ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo =
requested the arrest of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on charges of =
war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in connection with the =
ongoing violence in the Darfur region.=20

Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch (HRW) launched a 250-page report in The =
Hague last Friday, assessing the past five years of the court's =
operations. The report titled 'Courting History' looks at the =
considerable progress the unprecedented judicial institution has made, =
and some of its shortcomings. Progress has been made in terms of =
investigations and criminal charges, but also in the establishment of =
field offices and witness protection measures, the report says.=20

However, the recent suspension of the proceedings against Congolese =
warlord Thomas Lubanga due to the prosecutor's inability to disclose =
potentially exculpatory information, raises a difficult issue. =
Insufficient investigative force, especially against those with =
considerable experience, could be at the root of this problem, HRW says. =


The ICC can only prosecute crimes when national courts are unable or =
unwilling to do so. It has no police unit to execute warrants, and is =
thus dependent on assistance of governments.=20

The HRW report recommends that the ICC should embark on more robust and =
tailored outreach programmes to increase its impact among communities =
most affected. "It's time for the institution to come out of its shell," =
Parampreet Singh, counsel for HRW's International Justice Programme, =
said at the report's launch.=20

"The ICC's key to success relies for a great part on the relevance to =
affected communities," added G=E9raldine Mattioli, Advocacy Director of =
the International Justice Programme of HRW.=20

HRW plans to bring the report to the attention of court officials and =
state parties. "We will use the report as a basis for further lobbying =
for continuing support of the ICC," Mattioli told IPS.=20

The Coalition for the International Court (CICC), a global network of =
over 2,500 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) advocating a fair, =
effective and independent ICC, sees the report as a "great tool", a CICC =
spokesperson at The Hague told IPS. The CICC has organised several =
events to mark the tenth anniversary of the Rome Statute.=20

One of these events took place at the Peace Palace in The Hague Jul. 3, =
attended by Princess M=E1xima. Maxime Verhagen, Dutch Minister for =
Foreign Affairs, told a gathering of diplomats, members of international =
courts, those responsible for drafting the Rome Statute, academics and =
members of the court that the Netherlands was proud to host the ICC.=20

Unlike the ad-hoc tribunals, "the ICC is a permanent court -- it is here =
to stay. And the world should be extremely grateful for that." The =
Netherlands will continue to strive for universal adoption of the =
Statute, Verhagen said. Not only does the country provide technical =
support, such as housing the court and transportation of suspects, but =
also political support, such as assistance for countries in the process =
of signing or ratifying the statute, he said. (END/2008)=20

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