[Peace-discuss] The International Criminal Court Begins (fwd)

Fri Aug 1 09:32:35 CDT 2003

This months Moveon.org Bulletin is about the International Criminal Court
-Paul P.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 01 Aug 2003 05:16:59 -0700
From: "Eli Pariser, MoveOn.org" <moveon-help at list.moveon.org>
To: Paul Patton <ppatton at uiuc.edu>
Subject: The International Criminal Court Begins

THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT BEGINS

MoveOn Bulletin
Friday, August 1, 2003
Noah T. Winer, Editor
noah.winer at moveon.org

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GRASSROOTS INTERVIEW WITH LUIS MORENO-OCAMPO

This week's grassroots interview is with Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the first
Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court. Elected by the
ratifying countries in April of this year, Mr. Moreno-Ocampo has tried
criminal and human rights cases involving the extradition of a former
Nazi officer from Argentina, political bribery, journalists'
protection, and the military junta during Argentina's dictatorship and
"dirty war."

Moreno-Ocampo, an Argentine lawyer, has also been a visiting professor
at Stanford University and Harvard University in the United States.
His acceptance address and his announcement last month of the Court's
first examination are in this week's bulletin.

It is a great honor to have Mr. Moreno-Ocampo respond to five of the
top questions posed by MoveOn members. Post and rank questions by
Tuesday, August 5 at:
http://www.actionforum.com/forum/index.html?forum_id=xxx

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CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. One Link
3. Out of War, Justice
4. Terrorism and the Rule of Law
5. United States and ICC
6. The Court Is Born
7. First Examination
8. Credits
9. About the Bulletin

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INTRODUCTION
The International Criminal Court (ICC), envisaged since the 1948
Genocide Conventions and formally described in the 1998 Rome Statute,
is now a reality.

Based on the model of universal human rights, the ICC was created from
a recognition that states are often so decimated or intimidated by
mass criminal acts that they are unable to respond with the
enforcement of justice. Supporters of the ICC have crafted an
international mechanism to hold individuals accountable for genocide,
crimes against humanity, and war crimes when their national judicial
system is either unable or unwilling to do so.

 Despite resistance from the United States, the Rome Statute has been
ratified by the requisite number of states in half the time
anticipated. Since the ICC came into effect in July 2002, the
ratifying states have elected a lead prosecutor and a panel of judges
from around the world. Two weeks ago, the prosecutor announced the
focus of his office's first examination.

As the resolution of conflicts between states continues to take place
outside the rule of law, we take a close look at the ICC's development
into a mature international institution.

------------------------------

ONE LINK
"Too many atrocities have been committed by ruthless leaders who
calculated that they could get away with mass murder. They have
reasoned, quite accurately, that a bit of violence and intimidation is
all it takes to shut down any possibility of national prosecution.
That impunity stood as an invitation to much of the death and
suffering of our time. The International Criminal Court will help
break that deadly logic."
   -- Kenneth Roth, Executive Director, Human Rights Watch
http://hrw.org/campaigns/icc/docs/ken-icc0909.htm

------------------------------

OUT OF WAR, JUSTICE
This timeline describes how the impetus for the ICC came out of two
world wars and the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials, and how its creation
was delayed by the Cold War.
http://www.iccnow.org/html/timeline.htm

This resource from Amnesty International includes the Rome Statute
that created the ICC.
http://web.amnesty.org/pages/int_jus_icc

Questions answered by Human Rights Watch, a strong supporter of the
ICC.
http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/icc/qna.htm

------------------------------

TERRORISM AND THE RULE OF LAW
Some of you may recall an earlier MoveOn bulletin on how the ICC could
be used to prosecute the September 11 criminals. At the time, the
Court still needed to be ratified by eight more countries to become a
reality. For thoughts on the ICC's potential use in the war on
terrorism, take a(nother) look at our previous bulletin.
http://peace.moveon.org/bulletin15.php3

------------------------------

UNITED STATES AND ICC
The United States played a central role in the precursors to the ICC:
the Nuremberg trials, the international tribunals for the former
Yugoslavia and for Rwanda, and the Sierra Leone court. Yet the U.S.
government always demanded a high degree of control over the Court and
resisted its authority to prosecute U.S. military and government
officials. President Clinton authorized signing -- but not ratifying
-- the Rome Statute on December 31, 2000, just before leaving office
and on the deadline set by the statute.

In May 2002, a new position emerged as the Bush administration
nullified the United States' signature on the Rome Statute. In so
doing, the administration withdrew U.S. support for the creation of
the ICC and asserted the exclusion of U.S. citizens from the ICC's
jurisdiction. The American NGO Coalition for the ICC describes and
responds to the Bush administration's concerns.
http://amicc.org/usinfo/administration.html

USAforICC.org goes on to explain why the "unsigning" sets a bad
precedent domestically and internationally.
http://usaforicc.org/facts_unsigning.html

After unsigning the Rome Statutes, the U.S. government passed domestic
legislation withholding military aid from countries that ratify the
ICC unless they agree not to turn over U.S. citizens or employees to
the Court. The legislation also authorizes the U.S. President to use
"all means necessary and appropriate" to free U.S. personnel detained
by the ICC.
http://www.wfa.org/issues/wicc/article98/article98home.html

In June of this year, the U.S. insisted the UN Security Council extend
immunity from ICC prosecution for its peacekeeping forces.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2986086.stm

The Victims Trust Fund is asking U.S. citizens to send a $5 check to
the ICC to alert elected officials that international justice is a
priority for them.
http://www.victimstrustfund.org/

------------------------------

THE COURT IS BORN
After gaining the required 60 ratifications in April 2002, the ICC
came into force on July 1 of the same year. This color-coded world map
shows which countries have signed or ratified the Rome Statute as of
May, 2003.
http://www.isc-icc.org/signedlist.html

The Court can consider genocide, crimes against humanity, or war
crimes which occurred after this date and which are not being tried in
a national court. The ICC is independent of the United Nations and is
funded by the ratifying states. The Court is housed at The Hague in
the Netherlands.
http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/2002/world06302002.html

In February 2003, the Assembly of States Parties -- composed of
representatives from each of the ratifying countries -- elected the
ICC's first panel of 18 judges using a transparent voting process.
http://www.wfa.org/issues/wicc/asp/aspfeb03.html

In April, Luis Moreno-Ocampo was named as the first Chief Prosecutor
for the ICC. An Argentine lawyer, Mr. Moreno-Ocampo successfully
prosecuted leaders of that country's military dictatorship in the
1980s. His comments upon the occasion can be found on the ICC website.
http://www.icc-cpi.int/php/news/persbericht_details.php?id=5

An interview on Radio Netherlands discusses Moreno-Ocampo's
qualifications for the job.
http://www.rnw.nl/hotspots/html/icc030422.html

------------------------------

FIRST EXAMINATION
Two weeks ago, on July 16, Moreno-Ocampo announced the ICC's Office of
the Prosecutor will gather information on the situation in Ituri,
Democratic Republic of Congo, resulting from ethnic strife, HIV/AIDS,
starvation, landmines, and the exploitation of natural resources. If a
formal investigation follows, criminal charges could include summary
executions, systematic torture, unlawful arrests and detention of
individuals, abductions, mass rape, ritual cannibalization,
large-scale displacement of civilians, and the forced recruitment of
child soldiers. There are also alleged links to the activities of
African, European, and Middle Eastern companies and the international
banking system.
http://www.icc-cpi.int/docs/news/pids009_2003-en.pdf (requires Acrobat
Reader)

The BBC reports on the announcement.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3071331.stm

Don't forget that you can pose and rate questions for Mr.
Moreno-Ocampo in this week's grassroots interview.
http://www.actionforum.com/forum/index.html?forum_id=260

------------------------------

CREDITS
Research team:
Lita Epstein, Sarah Parady, and Jesse Rhodes.

Editing team:
David Taub Bancroft, Barbara Burt, Melinda Coyle, Nancy Evans, Judy
Green, and Mary Anne Henry.

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