Very concerned about the current political and security situation in Ivory Coast, our organizations firmly condemn acts of violence against civilians and constraints to their fundamental rights and liberties. We fear an escalation of violence during the marches scheduled for Thursday 16 and Friday 17 December 2010 and urge Ivorian political leaders to call on their supporters to remain calm and refrain from acts of violence.
On 3 December 2010, the Ivorian Constitutional Council announced the victory of Laurent Gbagbo, thereby invalidating a previous announcement from the independent electoral commission naming Alassane Dramane Ouattara as the winner of the election. Since then, Ivory Coast has found itself in an unprecedented political and institutional gridlock, leading to many illegal acts of violence against civilian populations and constraints to their fundamental rights and liberties.
It is estimated that acts of violence in the whole country so far may have already caused the death of dozens of people, with several hundreds more being injured. Approximately 3700 people have fled Ivory Coast to take refuge to neighboring countries, in particular in Liberia. Intimidation and threats against groups perceived as supporting one party or the other as well as information about the presence of militias, including some coming from outside the country, and the flow of illegal weapons are also matters of serious concern.
Public liberties are seriously threatened. On 2 December 2010, under the pretext of ‘maintaining social peace', the national council of audiovisual communications decided to censor international medias, thereby depriving the Ivorian population of their right to information. Some journalists have been subjected to intimidation, thereby constraining their freedom of expression. A curfew was put in place on the eve of the presidential election and has just been extended by a week, constraining freedom of movement of civilians. The economic situation, marked by a sharp increase in food prices, might deteriorate further, first hurting civilian populations once again.
Guillaume Soro (Alassane Ouattara's Prime Minister) has announced that he will march onto the headquarters of State television on Thursday 16 December and that he will chair a council of ministers in government buildings the following day. Marches around these events may lead to acts of violence. Indeed, on 13 December, Ouattara's army (‘Forces nouvelles') as well as UN forces had to fire warning shots to disperse Gbagbo forces who had barricaded the hotel where Ouattara's government is currently taking refuge.
Our organizations therefore urge:
* Political leaders of both parties to manage the current political and institutional crisis responsibly, taking all necessary measures to prevent an increase in violence and guarantee the security and physical integrity of the civilian population in Ivory Coast. More specifically, our organizations urge political leaders to call on their supporters to remain calm and avoid any acts of violence.
* Military leaders, in particular leaders of the Garde Républicaine, Marine Nationale (national navy) and the Command Centre for security operations, as well as armed troops of the Forces nouvelles, to take all necessary measures to prevent any illegal acts of violence by security and defense forces, as they could be held accountable for these acts.
* Political and military leaders to guarantee basic rights and liberties of the Ivoirian population, including by ending censorship of international medias.
* Media outlets able to operate in the whole country to act responsibly by avoiding any appeals to hate or violence.
* ONUCI to implement its mandate "to protect [...] civilians under imminent threat of physical violence" and to "collect [...] arms and any related materiel" circulating illegally in the whole country.
Our organizations further remind that the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has urged supporters of both opponents and security forces to refrain from violence and has indicated that "All reported acts of violence will be closely scrutinized by the Office."
Signatory organizations :
* Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT) - Ivory Coast
* Association mauritanienne des droits de l'Homme (AMDH) - Mauritania
* Association nigérienne pour la défense des droits de l'Homme (ANDDH) - Niger
* Convention de la société civile ivoirienne (CSCI)
* Groupe Lotus - Democratic Republic of Congo
* Human Rights Watch
* International Federation for Human Rigths (FIDH)
* International Federation of the Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (FIACAT)
* International Refugees Rights Initiative (IRRI)
* La Voix des Sans Voix pour les droits de l'Homme - Democratic Republic of Congo
* Ligue des électeurs (LE) - Democratic Republic of Congo
* Ligue burundaise des droits de l'Homme (ITEKA) - Burundi
* Ligue ivoirienne des droits de l'Homme (LIDHO) - Ivory Coast
* Ligue sénégalaise des droits humains - Senegal
* Ligue tchadienne des droits de l'Homme (LTDH) - Chad
* Ligue togolaise des droits de l'Homme (LTDH) - Togo
* Maison des droits de l'Homme du Cameroun - Cameroun
* Mouvement burkinabé des droits de l'Homme et des peuples (MBDHP) - Burkina Faso
* Mouvement ivoirien des droits humains (MIDH) - Ivory Coast
* Organisation guinéenne pour la défense des droits de l'Homme (OGDH) - Guinea-Conakry
* Observatoire congolais des droits de l'Homme (OCDH) - Republic of Congo
* Rencontre africaine pour la défense des droits de l'Homme (RADDHO) - Senegal
* Union interafricaine des droits de l'Homme (UIDH)
Source: Human Rights Watch
Showing posts with label International Criminal Court. Show all posts
Showing posts with label International Criminal Court. Show all posts
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Kosovo militia may have stolen prisoners' organs, report alleges
The authorities who control Kosovo may have stolen organs from prisoners of war and political rivals when the Kosovo Liberation Army was fighting Serbian forces for control of the territory, European authorities allege in a new report. "Numerous indications seem to confirm that ... organs were removed from some prisoners ... to be taken abroad for transplantation," according to a draft report from the Council of Europe.
Investigators have "made progress" toward "proving the existence of secret KLA places of detention in northern Albania where inhuman treatment and even murders are said to have been committed," draft author Dick Marty says. Illegal organ trafficking continued after the war ended, the draft suggests. Nearly 1,900 people who disappeared during the conflict still have not been found, and another 500 disappeared after NATO troops arrived in June 1999, Marty says. And links between "criminal activity" and "certain KLA militia leaders ... has continued, albeit in other forms, until today," he report charges.
Prime Minister Hashim Thaci of Kosovo is one of the founders of the Kosovo Liberation Army. The report names him as the "boss" of a prominent faction in the militia that "apparently wrested control" of "illicit criminal enterprises" from rivals across the border in Albania. His office refused to comment on the allegations.
Kosovo's government called the report "defamatory" and "mendacious," saying the allegations "have been constructed to damage the image of Kosovo and the Kosovo Liberation Army." Kosovo's acting President Jakup Krasniqi -- a Thaci ally -- expressed deep indignation about the report, saying it was "nothing but fabricated and irresponsible statements."
Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha said it was "based on no facts, evidence or reality. Thus it proves political line of the author, who flagrantly abuses the authority of the Council of Europe."
European Union officials in Kosovo said that anyone with concrete evidence of war crimes or organized crime should come forward."The mission is already investigating and prosecuting a number of cases related to war crimes and organized crimes," spokesman Blerim Krasniqi said.On Thursday, the report will be debated by a committee of the Council of Europe, an organization with 47 member countries that seeks to promote democracy and human rights. The council's parliament plans to debate it in January.
The report is based partially on investigations by European Union officials and was written by Dick Marty for the Council of Europe's Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights. Investigators are not getting enough cooperation from either Albania or Kosovo, the report adds. Kosovo's majority population is ethnic Albanian. Serbs are the minority. The KLA was backed by NATO bombing when it fought for independence from Serbia in the late 1990s. Kosovo has made it "complicated" to dig for missing bodies, and Albania has refused to allow it, Marty says, adding: "Serbia ultimately cooperated."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday, "We are very seriously concerned about the published information." He was appearing in a joint news conference in Moscow with Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic. The report from the Council of Europe -- which is separate from the European Union -- was prompted partly by allegations made in a book in 2008.
Carla Del Ponte, the former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia, leveled the accusation in her memoir "Madame Prosecutor." The court opened an investigation into the allegations but dropped it, the Council of Europe said, without explaining why. Evidence has since been destroyed, Marty's draft says. He acknowledges the chaotic situation in Kosovo after the war but also criticizes the international community for tending to see Serbs as aggressors and Kosovars as victims. "The reality is less clear-cut and more complex," Marty writes. But the international authorities who took control after the 1999 war felt that they "needed to promote short-term stability at any price, thereby sacrificing some important principles of justice."
Kosovo was a province of Serbia but declared independence in 2008. About 70 countries have recognized the declaration, but Serbia does not, and international organizations including the United Nations and European Union continue to have administrators in Kosovo. Journalist Vlora Rustemi in Pristina, Kosovo, and CNN's Maxim Tkachenko in Moscow contributed to this report.
Source: CNN
Investigators have "made progress" toward "proving the existence of secret KLA places of detention in northern Albania where inhuman treatment and even murders are said to have been committed," draft author Dick Marty says. Illegal organ trafficking continued after the war ended, the draft suggests. Nearly 1,900 people who disappeared during the conflict still have not been found, and another 500 disappeared after NATO troops arrived in June 1999, Marty says. And links between "criminal activity" and "certain KLA militia leaders ... has continued, albeit in other forms, until today," he report charges.
Prime Minister Hashim Thaci of Kosovo is one of the founders of the Kosovo Liberation Army. The report names him as the "boss" of a prominent faction in the militia that "apparently wrested control" of "illicit criminal enterprises" from rivals across the border in Albania. His office refused to comment on the allegations.
Kosovo's government called the report "defamatory" and "mendacious," saying the allegations "have been constructed to damage the image of Kosovo and the Kosovo Liberation Army." Kosovo's acting President Jakup Krasniqi -- a Thaci ally -- expressed deep indignation about the report, saying it was "nothing but fabricated and irresponsible statements."
Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha said it was "based on no facts, evidence or reality. Thus it proves political line of the author, who flagrantly abuses the authority of the Council of Europe."
European Union officials in Kosovo said that anyone with concrete evidence of war crimes or organized crime should come forward."The mission is already investigating and prosecuting a number of cases related to war crimes and organized crimes," spokesman Blerim Krasniqi said.On Thursday, the report will be debated by a committee of the Council of Europe, an organization with 47 member countries that seeks to promote democracy and human rights. The council's parliament plans to debate it in January.
The report is based partially on investigations by European Union officials and was written by Dick Marty for the Council of Europe's Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights. Investigators are not getting enough cooperation from either Albania or Kosovo, the report adds. Kosovo's majority population is ethnic Albanian. Serbs are the minority. The KLA was backed by NATO bombing when it fought for independence from Serbia in the late 1990s. Kosovo has made it "complicated" to dig for missing bodies, and Albania has refused to allow it, Marty says, adding: "Serbia ultimately cooperated."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday, "We are very seriously concerned about the published information." He was appearing in a joint news conference in Moscow with Serbian Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic. The report from the Council of Europe -- which is separate from the European Union -- was prompted partly by allegations made in a book in 2008.
Carla Del Ponte, the former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court for the former Yugoslavia, leveled the accusation in her memoir "Madame Prosecutor." The court opened an investigation into the allegations but dropped it, the Council of Europe said, without explaining why. Evidence has since been destroyed, Marty's draft says. He acknowledges the chaotic situation in Kosovo after the war but also criticizes the international community for tending to see Serbs as aggressors and Kosovars as victims. "The reality is less clear-cut and more complex," Marty writes. But the international authorities who took control after the 1999 war felt that they "needed to promote short-term stability at any price, thereby sacrificing some important principles of justice."
Kosovo was a province of Serbia but declared independence in 2008. About 70 countries have recognized the declaration, but Serbia does not, and international organizations including the United Nations and European Union continue to have administrators in Kosovo. Journalist Vlora Rustemi in Pristina, Kosovo, and CNN's Maxim Tkachenko in Moscow contributed to this report.
Source: CNN
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Darfur: International Criminal Court’s Decision on Bashir Arrest Warrant
On February 3, 2010, the International Criminal Court (ICC) appeals chamber decided to reject the standard used to exclude genocide charges in the ICC's arrest warrant for President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan.
Last year, on March 4, 2009, ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I issued an arrest warrant for al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur. At that time, the Pre-Trial Chamber rejected the inclusion of genocide charges in the warrant on the basis that the prosecutor did not present "reasonable grounds to believe" that the Sudanese government possessed the necessary intent for the crime of genocide.
"Today's decision is a strong reminder that President al-Bashir is wanted for heinous crimes committed in Darfur," said Elise Keppler, International Justice Program senior counsel at Human Rights Watch. "President al-Bashir is a fugitive from justice who needs to appear in The Hague to answer to the allegations against him."
With today's decision, the appeals chamber instructed the pre-trial chamber to reassess the inclusion of genocide charges under a revised standard and amend the arrest warrant as necessary.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Last year, on March 4, 2009, ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I issued an arrest warrant for al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur. At that time, the Pre-Trial Chamber rejected the inclusion of genocide charges in the warrant on the basis that the prosecutor did not present "reasonable grounds to believe" that the Sudanese government possessed the necessary intent for the crime of genocide.
"Today's decision is a strong reminder that President al-Bashir is wanted for heinous crimes committed in Darfur," said Elise Keppler, International Justice Program senior counsel at Human Rights Watch. "President al-Bashir is a fugitive from justice who needs to appear in The Hague to answer to the allegations against him."
With today's decision, the appeals chamber instructed the pre-trial chamber to reassess the inclusion of genocide charges under a revised standard and amend the arrest warrant as necessary.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Darfur rebels hail court decision on al-Bashir
A leading Darfur rebel group hailed an international appeals court's decision on Wednesday to order a review of the dropping of genocide charges against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for al-Bashir in March last year on five counts of crimes against humanity and two of war crimes committed in Darfur, but did not press genocide charges, a decision it must now reconsider.
"The decision taken by the ICC was a good decision, a natural decision given the role of al-Bashir as head of the army and state," said Ahmed Hussein Adam, spokesperson for the Justice and Equality Movement, the most heavily armed of the Darfur rebel groups. "It is a great victory for the population of Darfur and justice," he said.
ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, having implicated the Sudanese leader in the deaths of 35 000 people, had lodged an appeal against the court's decision not to include the three counts of genocide he had asked for. He accuses al-Bashir of having "personally instructed" his forces to annihilate three ethnic groups -- the Fur, the Masalit and the Zaghawa in Darfur.
The judges of the appeals court said in their decision that the standard of proof on which the pre-trial chamber of the court rejected the genocide charge against al-Bashir was too demanding. They directed it to issue "a new decision using the correct standard of proof". Moreno-Ocampo has claimed to have "detailed evidence on the mobilisation and use of the entire Sudanese state apparatus for the purpose of destroying a substantial part of the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups in the entire region of Darfur during more than six years"."His intent was genocide," Moreno-Ocampo said, adding that al-Bashir had ordered his forces "not to bring back any wounded or prisoners".
The United Nations says up to 300 000 people have died and 2,7-million fled their homes since ethnic minority rebels in Darfur rose up against the Arab-dominated regime in Khartoum in February 2003. The Sudanese government says 10 000 people have been killed.
Source: Mail & Guardian
"The decision taken by the ICC was a good decision, a natural decision given the role of al-Bashir as head of the army and state," said Ahmed Hussein Adam, spokesperson for the Justice and Equality Movement, the most heavily armed of the Darfur rebel groups. "It is a great victory for the population of Darfur and justice," he said.
ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, having implicated the Sudanese leader in the deaths of 35 000 people, had lodged an appeal against the court's decision not to include the three counts of genocide he had asked for. He accuses al-Bashir of having "personally instructed" his forces to annihilate three ethnic groups -- the Fur, the Masalit and the Zaghawa in Darfur.
The judges of the appeals court said in their decision that the standard of proof on which the pre-trial chamber of the court rejected the genocide charge against al-Bashir was too demanding. They directed it to issue "a new decision using the correct standard of proof". Moreno-Ocampo has claimed to have "detailed evidence on the mobilisation and use of the entire Sudanese state apparatus for the purpose of destroying a substantial part of the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups in the entire region of Darfur during more than six years"."His intent was genocide," Moreno-Ocampo said, adding that al-Bashir had ordered his forces "not to bring back any wounded or prisoners".
The United Nations says up to 300 000 people have died and 2,7-million fled their homes since ethnic minority rebels in Darfur rose up against the Arab-dominated regime in Khartoum in February 2003. The Sudanese government says 10 000 people have been killed.
Source: Mail & Guardian
Friday, October 16, 2009
ICC prosecutor to examine Guinea killings
The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said on Thursday he was investigating last month's deadly crackdown on opponents of Guinea's military ruler, Captain Moussa Dadis Camara. At least 157 people were killed and 1,200 injured on Sept. 28 when security forces in the West African nation attacked tens of thousands of protesters calling for Camara to step down.
It was the worst outbreak of violence since Camara seized control of the world's biggest bauxite-exporting nation in a December 2008 coup. "A preliminary examination of the situation has been immediately initiated in order to determine whether crimes falling under the Court's jurisdiction have been perpetrated," the office of ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said in a statement. "From the information we have received, from the pictures I have seen, women were abused or otherwise brutalised on the pitch of Conakry's stadium, apparently by men in uniform", Deputy Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in a statement. "This is appalling, unacceptable. It must never happen again. Those responsible must be held accountable."
The violence drew international condemnation. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Guinea's military rulers should quit. France said it had cut military cooperation with its former colony. The European Union's aid chief, Karel De Gucht, said Camara should stand trial for a "crime against humanity". The African Union has given Camara until mid-October to confirm he will not stand in presidential elections slated for Jan. 31, warning of sanctions if he misses that deadline. Camara has blamed uncontrollable elements within the Guinean army for the killings, saying he cannot be held responsible. The Hague-based ICC is the world's first permanent court set up to try individuals for genocide, war crimes and other major human rights violations.
The African Union (AU) reiterated that Camara had about 24 hours to comply with the body's ultimatum. "What has happened is very, very unacceptable. It's condemnable," AU Commissioner for Peace and Security Ramtane Lamamra said, adding that the Peace and Security Council had considered the types of sanctions to be imposed. Lamamra did not give details. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will discuss the situation in Guinea on Saturday at a one-day meeting in the Nigerian capital Abuja.
Source: reuters
It was the worst outbreak of violence since Camara seized control of the world's biggest bauxite-exporting nation in a December 2008 coup. "A preliminary examination of the situation has been immediately initiated in order to determine whether crimes falling under the Court's jurisdiction have been perpetrated," the office of ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said in a statement. "From the information we have received, from the pictures I have seen, women were abused or otherwise brutalised on the pitch of Conakry's stadium, apparently by men in uniform", Deputy Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in a statement. "This is appalling, unacceptable. It must never happen again. Those responsible must be held accountable."
The violence drew international condemnation. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Guinea's military rulers should quit. France said it had cut military cooperation with its former colony. The European Union's aid chief, Karel De Gucht, said Camara should stand trial for a "crime against humanity". The African Union has given Camara until mid-October to confirm he will not stand in presidential elections slated for Jan. 31, warning of sanctions if he misses that deadline. Camara has blamed uncontrollable elements within the Guinean army for the killings, saying he cannot be held responsible. The Hague-based ICC is the world's first permanent court set up to try individuals for genocide, war crimes and other major human rights violations.
The African Union (AU) reiterated that Camara had about 24 hours to comply with the body's ultimatum. "What has happened is very, very unacceptable. It's condemnable," AU Commissioner for Peace and Security Ramtane Lamamra said, adding that the Peace and Security Council had considered the types of sanctions to be imposed. Lamamra did not give details. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will discuss the situation in Guinea on Saturday at a one-day meeting in the Nigerian capital Abuja.
Source: reuters
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
UN condemns 'war crimes' in Gaza
There is evidence that both Israeli and Palestinian forces committed war crimes in the recent conflict in Gaza, a long-awaited official UN report says. It accuses Israel of deliberately using "disproportionate force" in the three-week operation in December and January. The report also condemned rocket attacks by Palestinian groups which Israel says sparked its offensive.
Palestinians and human rights groups say more than 1,400 Gazans were killed, but Israel puts the figure at 1,166. Three Israeli civilians and 10 Israeli soldiers were also killed.
Israel, which had refused to co-operate with the UN fact-finding team, said the report was "clearly one-sided". The investigation, led by South African judge Richard Goldstone, found evidence "indicating serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law were committed by Israel during the Gaza conflict", a UN statement said. Israel also "committed actions amounting to war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity". The Israeli operations, the document states, "were carefully planned in all their phases as a deliberately disproportionate attack designed to punish, humiliate and terrorise a civilian population". The report accuses Israel of imposing "a blockade which amounted to collective punishment" in the lead-up to the conflict. It says "the Israeli military operation was directed at the people of Gaza as a whole". The report says Israel must be held accountable for its actions during the war, a process which could lead to the conflict being referred to the International Criminal Court. The report found there was also evidence that Palestinian groups had committed war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity, in their repeated rocket and mortars attacks on Israel. It says the launching of rockets which "cannot be aimed with precision at military targets" breaches the fundamental principle of sparing civilian lives. "Where there is no intended military target and the rockets and mortars are launched into civilian areas, they constitute a deliberate attack against the civilian population," it said. It also calls for the immediate release of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier seized in a Palestinian raid in 2006 and taken to Gaza.
Both the Israeli and Palestinian authorities are criticised for the treatment of their own civilians during the conflict. Israel's interrogation of political activists and repression of criticism of its activities had "contributed significantly to a political climate in which dissent was not tolerated", it said. Meanwhile, the alleged "arbitrary arrests" and "extra-judicial executions" of Palestinians by the authorities in both Gaza and the West Bank were also criticised. Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev told the BBC the report had been "born in sin" and had no mandate for its investigation.
The authorities in Gaza and the West Bank did co-operate with the UN mission, but Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has also dismissed the report as "political, unbalanced and dishonest". Ismael Radwan, a senior Hamas official in Gaza, was quoted by AFP news agency as saying it "puts on the same level those who perpetrate crimes and those who resist". Mr Goldstone rejected such allegations, and told the BBC that "fair minded people" should read the report and "at the end of it, point out where it failed to be objective or even-handed". The 574-page document recommends that authorities in both Israel and Gaza be required to investigate the allegations and report to the UN Security Council within six months.
The Israeli military insists troops acted lawfully during the conflict. The government says it has carried out more than 100 investigations into allegations of abuses by its forces - most were dismissed as "baseless" but 23 criminal investigations are still pending. It reiterated that it was "committed to acting fully in accordance with international law and to examining any allegations of wrongdoing by its forces".
The full report - which is based on 188 interviews, more than 10,000 pages of documentation and 1,200 photographs and other material - will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council at the end of this month. Eight months after the conflict, very little reconstruction has taken place in Gaza because of the strict Israeli-imposed blockade which bans all but essential supplies from entering the enclave. The stated aim of the blockade is to weaken Hamas's leadership but aid agencies say it serves only to punish the civilian population.
Source: BBC
A copy of the report can be found here.
Palestinians and human rights groups say more than 1,400 Gazans were killed, but Israel puts the figure at 1,166. Three Israeli civilians and 10 Israeli soldiers were also killed.
Israel, which had refused to co-operate with the UN fact-finding team, said the report was "clearly one-sided". The investigation, led by South African judge Richard Goldstone, found evidence "indicating serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law were committed by Israel during the Gaza conflict", a UN statement said. Israel also "committed actions amounting to war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity". The Israeli operations, the document states, "were carefully planned in all their phases as a deliberately disproportionate attack designed to punish, humiliate and terrorise a civilian population". The report accuses Israel of imposing "a blockade which amounted to collective punishment" in the lead-up to the conflict. It says "the Israeli military operation was directed at the people of Gaza as a whole". The report says Israel must be held accountable for its actions during the war, a process which could lead to the conflict being referred to the International Criminal Court. The report found there was also evidence that Palestinian groups had committed war crimes, and possibly crimes against humanity, in their repeated rocket and mortars attacks on Israel. It says the launching of rockets which "cannot be aimed with precision at military targets" breaches the fundamental principle of sparing civilian lives. "Where there is no intended military target and the rockets and mortars are launched into civilian areas, they constitute a deliberate attack against the civilian population," it said. It also calls for the immediate release of Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier seized in a Palestinian raid in 2006 and taken to Gaza.
Both the Israeli and Palestinian authorities are criticised for the treatment of their own civilians during the conflict. Israel's interrogation of political activists and repression of criticism of its activities had "contributed significantly to a political climate in which dissent was not tolerated", it said. Meanwhile, the alleged "arbitrary arrests" and "extra-judicial executions" of Palestinians by the authorities in both Gaza and the West Bank were also criticised. Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev told the BBC the report had been "born in sin" and had no mandate for its investigation.
The authorities in Gaza and the West Bank did co-operate with the UN mission, but Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, has also dismissed the report as "political, unbalanced and dishonest". Ismael Radwan, a senior Hamas official in Gaza, was quoted by AFP news agency as saying it "puts on the same level those who perpetrate crimes and those who resist". Mr Goldstone rejected such allegations, and told the BBC that "fair minded people" should read the report and "at the end of it, point out where it failed to be objective or even-handed". The 574-page document recommends that authorities in both Israel and Gaza be required to investigate the allegations and report to the UN Security Council within six months.
The Israeli military insists troops acted lawfully during the conflict. The government says it has carried out more than 100 investigations into allegations of abuses by its forces - most were dismissed as "baseless" but 23 criminal investigations are still pending. It reiterated that it was "committed to acting fully in accordance with international law and to examining any allegations of wrongdoing by its forces".
The full report - which is based on 188 interviews, more than 10,000 pages of documentation and 1,200 photographs and other material - will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council at the end of this month. Eight months after the conflict, very little reconstruction has taken place in Gaza because of the strict Israeli-imposed blockade which bans all but essential supplies from entering the enclave. The stated aim of the blockade is to weaken Hamas's leadership but aid agencies say it serves only to punish the civilian population.
Source: BBC
A copy of the report can be found here.
Friday, July 31, 2009
South Africa's commitment to the International Criminal Court
The director general in the International Affairs and Cooperation Ministry, Dr. Ayanda Ntsaluba, reiterated South Africa's commitment to the International Criminal Court and stated that South Africa would respect its obligation to cooperate with the ICC, including in carrying out arrest warrants for sitting Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir.
As the leading African democracy, South Africa remains well placed to play a positive role in encouraging fellow African Union states that are party to the Rome Statute of the ICC to maintain their support for effective international justice. African and international civil society also looks to South Africa to challenge those African states that continue to push the continent to cease cooperation with the ICC.
The notes following the Briefing of Department International Relations and Cooperation’s Director- General, Ayanda Ntsaluba, can be found here.
Source: Human Rights Watch
As the leading African democracy, South Africa remains well placed to play a positive role in encouraging fellow African Union states that are party to the Rome Statute of the ICC to maintain their support for effective international justice. African and international civil society also looks to South Africa to challenge those African states that continue to push the continent to cease cooperation with the ICC.
The notes following the Briefing of Department International Relations and Cooperation’s Director- General, Ayanda Ntsaluba, can be found here.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Omar Hassan al-Bashir
On June 30, 1989, Lieut. Gen. Omar Hassan al-Bashir, a military leader in Sudan, seized power in a bloodless coup backed by Islamists. He assumed the presidency in 1993.
He has been accused of genocide by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and has been vilified throughout the world as an incorrigible mass murderer bent on slaughtering his own people in the conflict-riddled region of Darfur.
He has stayed in power, appealing to national pride and causing deep-seated fears that the nation could tumble into Somalia-like chaos if he were removed.
In February 2009, judges at the International Criminal Court approved a warrant for his arrest. According to court lawyers and diplomats, the judges rejected diplomatic requests to allow more time for peace negotiations in Darfur.
The criminal court judges took more than seven months to examine the evidence on Mr. Bashir before charging him, on March 4, 2009, with five counts of crimes against humanity, including murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture and rape. The two counts of war crimes were for attacks against a civilian population and for pillaging. In their statement, the judges said the court did not recognize immunity for a head of state and called for the cooperation of all countries - not just the 108 nations that are members of the court - to bring Mr. Bashir to justice.
The question of whether genocide was being committed in Darfur has been divisive, and was so among the judges, who said 2-to-1 that the prosecutor had not provided sufficient evidence of the government's intent, the key issue in determining genocide. The Bush administration and other governments, as well as some human rights activists, have called the attacks on civilians government's actions genocide. The United Nations has stopped short of doing so.
It is the first time the court has sought to detain a sitting head of state, and it could further complicate the tense, international debate over how to solve the Darfur crisis.
In announcing his request for a warrant, the prosecutor in the case, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said that Mr. Bashir had "masterminded and implemented" a plan to destroy three main ethnic groups in Darfur, the Fur, the Masalit and the Zaghawa. The prosecutor said that the president, responding to attacks by rebel groups seeking greater autonomy, had used government soldiers and Arab militias and had "purposefully targeted civilians" belonging to these groups, killing 35,000 people "outright" in attacks on towns and villages.
Although there has been sporadic fighting in Darfur for decades, the conflict significantly intensified in 2003, when the rebel groups attacked Sudanese forces. The Arab-led government responded with a ferocious counterinsurgency campaign, which the prosecutor called a genocidal strategy against Darfur's black African ethnic groups.
The Sudanese forces and government-sponsored militias swept the countryside. They burned down villages, raped countless women and drove hundreds of thousands of people off their land, all part of an effort to put down the rebellion. Mr. Moreno-Ocampo has accused Mr. Bashir of being the mastermind of this strategy, the one with "absolute control."
There is broad concern that removing Mr. Bashir from power could threaten a landmark peace treaty between the Sudanese government and other rebels in the southern part of the country. The treaty was signed in 2005 to end a civil war in which 2.2 million people died, far more than in Darfur.
Source: New York Times
He has been accused of genocide by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court and has been vilified throughout the world as an incorrigible mass murderer bent on slaughtering his own people in the conflict-riddled region of Darfur.
He has stayed in power, appealing to national pride and causing deep-seated fears that the nation could tumble into Somalia-like chaos if he were removed.
In February 2009, judges at the International Criminal Court approved a warrant for his arrest. According to court lawyers and diplomats, the judges rejected diplomatic requests to allow more time for peace negotiations in Darfur.
The criminal court judges took more than seven months to examine the evidence on Mr. Bashir before charging him, on March 4, 2009, with five counts of crimes against humanity, including murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture and rape. The two counts of war crimes were for attacks against a civilian population and for pillaging. In their statement, the judges said the court did not recognize immunity for a head of state and called for the cooperation of all countries - not just the 108 nations that are members of the court - to bring Mr. Bashir to justice.
The question of whether genocide was being committed in Darfur has been divisive, and was so among the judges, who said 2-to-1 that the prosecutor had not provided sufficient evidence of the government's intent, the key issue in determining genocide. The Bush administration and other governments, as well as some human rights activists, have called the attacks on civilians government's actions genocide. The United Nations has stopped short of doing so.
It is the first time the court has sought to detain a sitting head of state, and it could further complicate the tense, international debate over how to solve the Darfur crisis.
In announcing his request for a warrant, the prosecutor in the case, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said that Mr. Bashir had "masterminded and implemented" a plan to destroy three main ethnic groups in Darfur, the Fur, the Masalit and the Zaghawa. The prosecutor said that the president, responding to attacks by rebel groups seeking greater autonomy, had used government soldiers and Arab militias and had "purposefully targeted civilians" belonging to these groups, killing 35,000 people "outright" in attacks on towns and villages.
Although there has been sporadic fighting in Darfur for decades, the conflict significantly intensified in 2003, when the rebel groups attacked Sudanese forces. The Arab-led government responded with a ferocious counterinsurgency campaign, which the prosecutor called a genocidal strategy against Darfur's black African ethnic groups.
The Sudanese forces and government-sponsored militias swept the countryside. They burned down villages, raped countless women and drove hundreds of thousands of people off their land, all part of an effort to put down the rebellion. Mr. Moreno-Ocampo has accused Mr. Bashir of being the mastermind of this strategy, the one with "absolute control."
There is broad concern that removing Mr. Bashir from power could threaten a landmark peace treaty between the Sudanese government and other rebels in the southern part of the country. The treaty was signed in 2005 to end a civil war in which 2.2 million people died, far more than in Darfur.
Source: New York Times
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo arrested for crimes allegedly committed in the Central African Republic
Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, alleged national of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), about 45 years old, was arrested today by the Belgian authorities following a warrant of arrest issued under seal by the International Criminal Court.Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, President and Commander in Chief of the Mouvement de libération du Congo (MLC), is alleged to be criminally responsible for four counts of war crimes and two counts of crimes against humanity committed on the territory of the Central African Republic from 25 October 2002 to 15 March 2003. On 23 May 2008, Pre-Trial Chamber III issued a sealed warrant of arrest for Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo. The warrant remained under seal until today.
Pre-Trial Chamber III found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that in the context of a protracted armed conflict in the Central African Republic from about 25 October 2002 to 15 March 2003, MLC forces led by Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo carried out a widespread or systematic attack against a civilian population during which rape, torture, outrages upon personal dignity and pillaging were committed in, but not limited to, the localities of PK 12, Bossongoa and Mongoumba. Pre-Trial Chamber III also found that there are reasonable grounds to believe that Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, as President and Commander in Chief of the MLC, was vested with de facto and de jure authority by the members of the MLC to take all political and military decisions.
According to the warrant of arrest for Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, he is criminally responsible, jointly with another person or through other persons, within the meaning of article 25(3)(a) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, on:
* two counts of crimes against humanity: rape - article 7(1)(g), torture ‑ article 7(1)(f);
* four counts of war crimes: rape ‑ article 8(2)(e)(vi), torture - article 8 (2(c)(i), outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment - article 8(2)(c)(ii), pillaging a town or place ‑ article 8(2)(e)(v).
Source: International Criminal Court
Saturday, July 18, 1998
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (often referred to as the International Criminal Court Statute or the Rome Statute) is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). It was adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome on 17 July 1998 and it entered into force on 1 July 2002. As of October 2009, 110 states are party to the statute,and a further 38 states have signed but not ratified the treaty. Among other things, the statute establishes the court's functions, jurisdiction and structure.
The treaty can be found here.
The jurisdiction of the Court shall be limited to the most serious crimes of concernto the international community as a whole. The Court has jurisdiction inaccordance with this Statute with respect to the following crimes:
(a)The crime of genocide;
(b)Crimes against humanity;
(c)War crimes;
(d)The crime of aggression.
The Court shall exercise jurisdiction over the crime of aggression once a provisionis adopted in accordance with articles 121 and 123 defining the crime and setting out the conditions under which the Court shall exercise jurisdiction with respect to this crime. Such a provision shall be consistent with the relevant provisions of theCharter of the United Nations.
Source: Wikipedia; International Criminal Court (ICC)
The treaty can be found here.
The jurisdiction of the Court shall be limited to the most serious crimes of concernto the international community as a whole. The Court has jurisdiction inaccordance with this Statute with respect to the following crimes:
(a)The crime of genocide;
(b)Crimes against humanity;
(c)War crimes;
(d)The crime of aggression.
The Court shall exercise jurisdiction over the crime of aggression once a provisionis adopted in accordance with articles 121 and 123 defining the crime and setting out the conditions under which the Court shall exercise jurisdiction with respect to this crime. Such a provision shall be consistent with the relevant provisions of theCharter of the United Nations.
Source: Wikipedia; International Criminal Court (ICC)
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