Web pages about "International Justice"

The need for comprehensive justice across the former Yugoslavia

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 14:30:46 +0100

Written by Nicola Duckworth, Director of Amnesty International's Europe and Central Asia Programme

As the trial of Radovan Karadzic at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague resumes, his prosecution is undoubtedly a huge step forward towards bringing justice to the tens of thousands of victims of Bosnia and Herzegovina. But are a small number of high profile trials in The Hague enough to heal the wounds caused by the horrific violations of human rights committed by all sides to the conflict?

Amnesty International has repeatedly called for the work of the Tribunal to be complemented by comprehensive national efforts in the region to investigate and prosecute the tens thousands of other crimes, involving middle and lower ranking suspects that the Tribunal does not have the capacity to deal with.

While the resumption of the trial of Radovan Karadzic has thrown the spotlight back onto The Hague Tribunal, for which the UN Security Council has recommended an arbitrary 2010 deadline for closure, we have serious concerns about whether enough work is being done to enable local criminal justice systems to administer justice in the region. Victims of crimes like murder, rape and forcible deportation have been waiting for justice for almost 13 years since the war ended and continue to suffer without truth or reparations.

We are not saying that there have not been some efforts at a national level to investigate and prosecute crimes of the 1990s conflict. But the reality is that they have been impeded by a wavering political will, coupled with limited judicial capacity and a lack of co-operation between countries on the sharing of evidence as well as the arrest and extradition of the accused. In addition, only a handful of suspects are being tried.

In Croatia, Amnesty International has criticised the failure to investigate and prosecute crimes committed by the Croatian army and police forces, including the murder and disappearance of more than 100 Croatian Serbs in the Sisak area during the 1991-1995 war.

Montenegrin cases have been the subject of political obstruction and there are concerns about the effectiveness of national proceedings. No progress has been made in the criminal case of the disappearance of 83 Bosniaks, while civil claims brought by the families have been rejected by the National Appeals Court.

In Serbia, the pace of investigations is slow and the independence of the judiciary is questionable. Sixteen years after the forced exodus of hundreds of Vojvodina Croats which left 14 people dead, no investigative action has been taken. Furthermore, in those cases that are being prosecuted, national prosecutors involved in cases have been regularly threatened and there are concerns about the effectiveness of national witness protection systems.

In Kosovo there is a lack of effective investigations and prosecutions, particularly of crimes of sexual violence, an absence of witness protection and a declining number of international judges and prosecutors. Impunity remains in over 3,000 cases of enforced disappearances and abductions.

And while a War Crimes Chamber has been established with international support in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Amnesty International is concerned that the planned withdrawal of international staff could undermine its effectiveness, unless sufficient resources and training programmes are established for local judges, prosecutors and staff. While other cases have been prosecuted by cantonal and district courts, serious doubts remain about their capacity to deal with such complex cases.

As pressure mounts for the closure of the ICTY, more work must be done to deliver the longer-lasting benefits of strengthened national justice systems. Likewise international monitoring of local war crimes trials must continue until we witness the political commitment and comprehensive reform required to equip them to deliver justice.

The international community should use its influence in relations with these countries to call for an end to impunity for all cases of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. In doing so, we also have to make sure that national justice systems in the region receive the necessary support for training national staff, capacity-building of local judicial systems and establishing effective witness protection programmes and truth and reparation mechanisms.

While the trial of Radovan Karadzic is likely to be completed before the Tribunal closes, trials at the ICTY are not enough for the victims of the Balkans conflict. We have a duty to make sure their rights to justice, truth and reparations are realised. If not, the dispensation of justice across the former Yugoslavia may remain an unfinished task. And it is the thousands of victims of the crimes who will pay the price.

Arrest of Radovan Karadžic a major step towards justice

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:21:48 +0100

Radovan Karadžic could be surrendered to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in the Netherlands either this weekend or early next week, depending on the outcome of a possible last minute appeal.

The former Bosnian Serb had until midnight Friday 25 July 2008 to file an appeal against his surrender to the ICTY in The Hague, Netherlands . If he does, a panel of judges will meet to decide on it. If, as expected, they reject the appeal, the Serbian government, will issue the final surrender order.

Amnesty International has called for the ICTY to be given enough time and resources to secure justice for the victims of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“The UN Security Council must review the arbitrary deadline of 2010 set for the Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to complete its cases,” said Amnesty International on Tuesday.

"Of the 161 people charged by the Tribunal, cases against 115 have been concluded but there are still ongoing proceedings against a further 46. Two of those charged also still remain at large - Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadžic. The court must be given the necessary time to process all these cases."

Amnesty International is concerned that the Tribunal will not be able to try all those who have been charged but whose cases are ongoing by the 2010 deadline. As a result, indictments may be dropped due to a lack of time to consider all charges or appeals may not be considered.

Cases might then be referred to national criminal courts, where the organization has significant concerns about the quality of justice, ability to protect victims and witnesses, ability to locate evidence and the commitment to a thorough investigation and prosecution. In most countries of the former Yugoslavia a lack of political will, and sometimes even deliberate obstruction, continue to block the investigation and prosecution of war crimes.

“The arrest of Radovan Karadžic is a major victory. Amnesty International has been calling for his arrest and surrender to the Tribunal as part of its Arrest Now! campaign for the past decade. The cases of alleged perpetrators of such serious crimes, including Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadžic, should be considered by the Tribunal," said Amnesty International.

Radovan Karadžic, the former President of Republika Srpska, head of the Serbian Democratic Party and Supreme Commander of the Bosnian Serb Army (VRS), had been at large for more than 12 years since being indicted for crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Srebrenica.

Background
Radovan Karadžic is charged with genocide, complicity in genocide, extermination, murder, wilful killing, persecutions, deportation, inhumane acts, and other crimes committed against Bosnian Muslim, Bosnian Croat and other non-Serb civilians in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1992-1995 conflict.

The charge of genocide against Radovan Karadžic includes the murder of approximately 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995. The indictment alleges that he also committed genocide, persecutions and other crimes when forces under his command killed non-Serbs throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, detained thousands of non-Serbs and transferred them to detention facilities set up by the Bosnian Serb authorities. The indictment alleges that forces under his command killed, tortured, mistreated, and sexually assaulted non-Serbs in these camps.

Radovan Karadžic is also charged with war crimes for the shelling and shooting of civilians in Sarajevo which resulted in the killing and wounding of thousands, including many women and children.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (Tribunal) was established by the United Nations Security Council in 1993 to investigate and prosecute crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia since 1991.

Despite the fact that some persons indicted by the Tribunal remain at large, the United Nations Security Council in 2004 called on the Tribunal to complete its work by 2010.

President of Sudan could face arrest over Darfur war crimes

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:25:36 +0100

On Monday 14 July, Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo submitted to the pre-trial chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) an application for the issuance of an arrest warrant against Sudanese president Omar El Bashir for 10 counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Amnesty International said that the announcement was “an important step towards ensuring accountability for human rights violations in Sudan.”

The organization called upon the Government of Sudan to ensure that its reaction to the prosecutor’s application does not have an adverse effect on the deployment and operations of the joint United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

The organization stressed on the Sudanese Government’s role in protecting civilians and not impeding in any way the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Darfur.

The judges of the Pre-Trial Chamber will examine the Prosecutor’s application. They will decide whether there are “reasonable grounds to believe” that the Sudanese President may have committed acts of genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity.

If his arrest is necessary to ensure his appearance at trial, or to stop him from endangering the investigations, or to prevent him from committing more crimes, the Court may issue an international arrest warrant.

In previous cases, the Judges have taken from one to three months to decide whether to issue arrest warrants. Once a warrant is issued, the government of Sudan has a legal obligation to arrest and surrender to the ICC anyone named in an arrest warrant.

The United Nations Security Council imposed on the government of Sudan and all other parties to the conflict in Darfur a legal obligation to “cooperate fully with and provide any necessary assistance to the Court and the Prosecutor” (Resolution 1593 of 31 March 2005). Recently, the President of the Security Council urged the government of Sudan and all other parties to the conflict in Darfur to cooperate fully with the Court “in order to put an end to impunity for the crimes committed in Darfur” (Statement by the President of the Security Council, 16 June 2008).

The UN Security Council also urged all States and concerned regional and other international organizations to cooperate fully with the ICC (Resolution 1593 of 31 March 2005). In addition, states that have ratified the Rome Statute of the ICC have a legal obligation under the Statute to arrest and surrender the suspect(s) named in the arrest warrant(s).

Background

Since the conflict started in 2003, over 200,000 people are believed to have died in Darfur. Over 2.3 million are internally displaced.

On 31 March 2005, the United Nations Security Council determined that the situation in Sudan constituted a threat to international peace and security and referred the case of Darfur to the ICC. On 1 June 2005, the ICC Prosecutor opened an investigation into the situation in Darfur.

Amnesty International is already campaigning for the execution of other arrest warrants issued by the ICC. The organization is calling for the arrest and surrender to the Court of Sudanese government minister Ahmad Harun and Janjawid militia leader Ali Kushayb, both suspected of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur, against whom the ICC issued arrest warrants in April 2007.

In December 2007, the ICC Prosecutor informed the United Nations Security Council that his Office is collecting information on attacks on humanitarian workers and peacekeepers. Those would include the attack that took place in Haskanita in October 2007, in which 10 African peacekeepers were killed. The attack was attributed to armed groups, although OCampo did not name any suspects. UN sources announced in December 2007 that Ocampo plans to put forward two new cases relating to these attacks.

ICC in difficulty ten years after the Rome Statute

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:27:01 +0100

Thursday 17 July marks the tenth anniversary of the Rome Statute, the treaty that led to the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Set up in 2002, the ICC is mandated to investigate and prosecute crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, when national authorities are unable, or unwilling to do so.

Lauded as one of the most ambitious steps by the international community in recent history, the ICC has made significant progress in its investigations. But its work is being obstructed by serious internal and external difficulties.

The Court’s first investigations in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Darfur region of Sudan and northern Uganda have focussed on some of the most serious human rights situations in the world. Afghanistan and Colombia are also being assessed.

Prosecuting cases is the problem. To date, the Court has issued 12 public arrest warrants, with another requested by the Prosecutor on 14 July 2008. Only four people have been arrested and surrendered for trial. The first case has been stayed. The accused may be released on fair trial grounds.

Without its own police force, the Court’s ability to prosecute cases depends upon the willingness of states to arrest and surrender those charged.

If a state fails or refuses to arrest and surrender persons to the Court, it was thought that other states and intergovernmental organizations would pressure them to do so. In practice, this is proving ineffective.

In response to the government of Sudan’s refusal to arrest and surrender former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Ahmad Harun and Janjaweed leader Ali Kushayb to the Court, the United Nations Security Council issued a Presidential Statement in June 2008 calling for cooperation.

However, Sudan continues to refuse to implement the warrants. Four senior leaders of the Lords Resistance Army accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes in northern Uganda still remain at large.

An obstacle within the ICC emerged in June 2008, before the start of the Court’s first trial. The case against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo was stayed by the Trial Chamber to protect the right of the accused to a fair trial.

This was because the Prosecutor was unable to disclose to the defence exculpatory and mitigating evidence that had been provided confidentially by the United Nations and other organizations.

Confidentiality agreements are provided for in the Rome Statute, but only in exceptional circumstances and for the purpose of generating new evidence. A decision has been made to release the accused. Both decisions are the subject of appeals.

The possible collapse of the Court’s first case on fair trial grounds is deeply troubling. In particular, victims of the charges will be denied the opportunity to participate in the case.

However, the Trial Chamber’s decision to ensure the rights of the accused to have access to all information which could demonstrate their innocence demonstrates the Court’s determination to apply the highest standards of justice.

To date, 107 states, over half the international community, have ratified the statute. Many other states, including governments who originally opposed the statute, are in the process of ratifying.

Even the USA, which launched a worldwide campaign against the ICC, has since supported its work at the United Nations Security Council and indicated that it may cooperate with the ICC’s future investigations.

Amnesty International is a strong supporter of the Court. The organization lobbied extensively during the drafting of the Rome Statute for a just, fair and effective permanent court.

The long-term success of the Court as a central element of the new system of international justice will depend on its ability to prosecute cases. However, arrest and surrender of suspects is a matter largely outside the ICC’s control.

The supporters of the Court, therefore, have a vital role to ensure that cooperation is demanded bilaterally from states and through intergovernmental organizations. Efforts must also be taken to ensure that missions conducted by intergovernmental organizations are mandated to execute arrest warrants.

Call for arrest of suspected Sudanese war criminals

Tue, 13 May 2008 17:48:03 +0100

Over 2.3 million people have been displaced in the Darfur conflict. More than 90,000 people are believed to have been killed as a result of the conflict, and over 200.000 are thought to have died from conflict related causes. Thousands of women have been raped since the conflict began.

On 27 April 2007 the International Criminal Court (ICC), an international tribunal, issued two arrest warrants against government minister Ahmad Harun and Janjawid leader Ali Kushayb. The two are suspected of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur, including murder, rape and torture.

The Sudanese authorities have refused so far to allow Ahmad Harun and Ali Kushayb to be tried by the ICC.

Take action to ensure that persons accused of the worst human rights violations are brought to justice.

Indonesia urged to ratify the Rome Statute

Fri, 02 May 2008 16:26:36 +0100

Indonesia must fulfil its commitment to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in 2008, Amnesty International has urged.

In 2004, the President of Indonesia adopted a National Plan of Action on Human Rights. Significantly, the Plan states that Indonesia intends to ratify the Rome Statute in 2008.

Midway through 2008, however, it remains uncertain whether Indonesia will achieve its target. In particular, national legislation providing for cooperation with the International Criminal Court has not yet been enacted.

Amnesty International has called on Indonesia to take all necessary steps to ratify the Rome Statute this year, to demonstrate its commitment to end impunity for the worst human rights violations: genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

What is the International Criminal Court?
The International Criminal Court is a permanent independent judicial body created by the international community to prosecute crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Under a system of complementarity, it will only act when national authorities are unable or unwilling to investigate and prosecute crimes.

The Rome Statute was adopted at an international conference in Rome on 17 July 1998. To date 106 countries - more than half of the world - have ratified. The International Criminal Court, which began work on 1 July 2002 has already commenced four investigations into crimes committed in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Darfur (Sudan) and Uganda. Its first trial is expected to start this year.

Pakistan: New government sends a positive signal to the world by ratifying UN human rights convention

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:55:03 +0100

Amnesty International welcomes Pakistan’s ratification of a key human rights treaty and signing of two others.

“Becoming a state party to UN human rights conventions is a key step to ensuring human rights are respected, protected and realized for all in Pakistan in line with international standards,” said Amnesty International.

The organization calls on the Pakistani authorities to grasp this opportunity and address the pressing human rights problems in the country.

When presenting its candidature for the elections of the Human Rights Council in April 2006, Pakistan committed itself to early ratification of core human rights treaties.

On 17 April 2008 Pakistan moved to uphold this pledge, ratifying the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and signing both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT).

Amnesty International has repeatedly, over many years, urged Pakistan to ratify these and other UN human rights treaties.

Amnesty International now calls upon the Government of Pakistan:

To promptly ratify the ICCPR and the UNCAT and enact implementing legislation to ensure that the three treaties become part of Pakistan’s domestic law;
To ratify all other human rights treaties and their optional protocols, as well as the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court;
To give full effect to international human rights treaties in policy and practice;
Release, or else disclose the fate and whereabouts of all victims of enforced disappearance;
End all secret, incommunicado and administrative detentions;
End all torture and other ill-treatment and repeal all laws which carry cruel, inhuman or degrading punishments;
Declare a moratorium on all death sentences and commute the death sentences of the over 7000 persons currently on death row.

Uganda strikes deal with LRA on trials

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:31:30 +0000

The Ugandan government has struck a deal with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) about where their leaders will be tried. LRA leaders accused of crimes against humanity and war crimes would be tried by a national court under the terms of the deal.

Many of the people have been charged with horrific crimes – and international warrants have been out for their arrest for more than two and a half years.

As a party to the Rome Statute of the ICC, Uganda has the duty to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its investigations and prosecutions. In particular, it must cooperate in arresting and surrendering any person charged by the Court, without delay.

Arrest warrants for Joseph Kony and the others who are still alive were issued on 8 July 2005 and Uganda is obliged under international law to arrest and surrender them regardless of any agreement reached in the peace process. They are also obliged to bring to justice all those responsible for crimes under international law in fair trials without the death penalty.

The Rome Statute provides that, once the men have been surrendered to the ICC, the Ugandan government may then apply to have the cases returned to Ugandan courts. However, it would be up to the Pre-Trial Chamber of the ICC to decide whether Ugandan courts are able and willing to genuinely investigate and prosecute the LRA suspects named in the warrants.

Amnesty International has called for LRA members charged with crimes under international law to be surrendered to the International Criminal Court (ICC) immediately.

“It is not acceptable for the Ugandan government and the LRA to make a deal that circumvents international law,” said Christopher Keith Hall, Senior Legal Adviser in Amnesty International’s International Justice Project. “They must be handed over to the ICC so that their guilt or innocence can be determined once and for all. The people of Uganda deserve no less.

“At the moment, we have no evidence to suggest that even a new court established in Uganda to deal with these cases would be able and willing to do so in fair proceedings that are not a sham.”

During approximately 20 years of fighting between the LRA and the Ugandan government, soldiers on both sides have murdered tens of thousands of people and forcibly displaced about two million people.

Justice failed in Kosovo

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 10:45:05 +0000

War crimes and crimes against humanity from the Kosovo conflict in the late 1990s risk being left unpunished as a result of a failed UN justice mission.

Amnesty International's report describes the failure of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) International Judges and Prosecutors Programme (Programme) to comply with international law and standards concerning the right to fair trial. The report also reveals the failure to leave a legacy of experienced and well trained prosecutors, judges and defence lawyers able to try such crimes, as the European Union prepares to make a decision over its responsibilities with regard to Kosovo.

"Hundreds of cases of war crimes, crimes against humanity (including rapes and enforced disappearances), as well as other inter-ethnic crimes remain unresolved seven years after the UN began its efforts to rebuild the Kosovo judicial system. Hundreds of cases have been closed, for want of evidence that was neither promptly nor effectively gathered. Relatives of missing people report that they have been interviewed too many times by international police and prosecutors new to their case, yet no progress is ever made," said Sian Jones, Amnesty International's researcher on Kosovo.

The Programme was created in 2000, after the collapse of the judicial system in Kosovo. Although the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia had jurisdiction over Kosovo, it was clear that it would only be able to try a very limited number of cases.

It was, therefore, necessary for there to be another solution to conduct the majority of trials for crimes committed in Kosovo, and so the UN established the Programme to incorporate a limited number of foreign judges and prosecutors into the local criminal justice system.

These international staff were expected to ensure that trials would be conducted in an independent and impartial manner consistent with international law and standards and to help build the capacity of local lawyers and judges to try such cases.

However, as Kosovo (Serbia): The challenge to fix a failed UN justice mission demonstrates, the Programme has failed to meet expectations. Local prosecutors and judges are little better prepared to conduct proceedings in cases involving crimes under international law. Legal reforms essential for conducting such proceedings still have not been enacted into law.

No date has been set for completing the rebuilding of the justice system so that it can operate without a continuing international component. This effort has largely failed for a variety of reasons, including flaws in its conception and execution, limited resources and the low priority that international justice has been given in comparison to other UNMIK goals.

The report find that the structure and operation of the Programme have been so flawed that the example in Kosovo cannot serve as a model for internationalizing national judicial systems without major changes such as those recommended in this report.

Bangladesh: Secretary General to lead delegation on eve of anniversary of the state of emergency

Thu, 27 Dec 2007 19:46:29 +0000

Irene Khan, Secretary General of Amnesty International, is to lead a mission to Bangladesh to discuss human rights issues with members of the government and civil society.

The mission, the first by an Amnesty International Secretary General to the country, comes on the eve of the anniversary of the declaration of the state of emergency and will focus on the rule of law and institutional reform necessary to promote and protect human rights in Bangladesh.

The delegation will visit Dhaka and Rajshahi and will meet with survivors of human rights violations and members of civil society. Amnesty International will be meeting the Adviser on Foreign Affairs, Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, and Adviser of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Barrister Mainul Hosein. The organization has also requested meetings with the Chief Adviser, Dr. Fakhruddin Ahmed, the Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Mueen Ahmed, and Chief Justice Ruhul Amin.

Highlights of the visit include:

Saturday 5 January DHAKA

The delegation will meet with NGOs and other members of civil society to discuss the current human rights situation within the country.

Sunday 6 January RAJSHAHI

The delegation will carry out a filed visit to Rajshahi.

Monday 7 January DHAKA

The delegation will return to Dhaka from Rajshahi to conduct further meetings

Tuesday 8 January DHAKA

1300 hrs - Irene Khan will meet Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, Adviser on Foreign Affairs.

Wednesday 9 January DHAKA

1430 hrs - Irene Khan will meet Barrister Mainul Hosein, Adviser of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs.

Irene Khan will launch Amnesty International's new Bangla website during a discussion on freedom of expression.

Thursday 10 January DHAKA

Irene Khan will hold a press conference to present the findings of her visit.

NOTE TO PLANNING DESKS AND EDITORS

A detailed itinerary will be circulated next week.

Irene Khan will be available for comment after meetings. She is available for one-to-one interviews. To arrange an interview please contact the delegation's press office in advance.

Footage and still images will be available.

For further information or to arrange an interview, please contact Judit Arenas on +44 7778 472188 / jarenas@amnesty.org or Victoria Harrison Neves on +44 7795 628367 or victoria.harrisonneves@amnesty.org

Public Document

****************************************

For more information please call Amnesty International's press office in London, UK, on +44 20 7413 5566

Amnesty International, 1 Easton St., London WC1X 0DW. web: http://www.amnesty.org

For latest human rights news view http://news.amnesty.org