For the first time in nearly eight years, the United States will participate in a conference with members of the International Criminal Court, a decision that signals growing U.S. support for a war crimes tribunal the Bush administration once shunned.

Stephen J. Rapp, the U.S. ambassador at large for war crimes, told reporters in Nairobi on Monday that the “United States will return to engagement with the ICC.” But he said that the United States has no intention of joining the court in the forseeable future and that it will not allow an international prosecutor to try American personnel.

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10.22.09

Bloombery, By Peter S. Green

Oct. 14 (Bloomberg) — The International Criminal Court is investigating possible war crimes in the African nation of Guinea after government troops allegedly shot as many as 135 people and sexually assaulted others during a pro-democracy demonstration last month.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the court’s prosecutor, confirmed he’s examining the situation in Guinea, his office said in an e- mailed statement today. Earlier today, the European Commission called for Moussa Dadis Camara, the leader ofGuinea’s ruling military junta, to step down and face trial for war crimes over the shootings.

Soldiers opened fire near the stadium in Conakry, capital of the west African nation, on Sept. 28 after demonstrations by opposition supporters over Camara’s intention to run in Jan. 31 presidential elections. Guinea’s opposition contends more than 200 people were killed and 150 women were raped by members of the military during the crackdown.

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10.22.09-

The LA Times, By Paul Richter.

Reporting from Washington - The White House on Monday unveiled a Sudan policy that seeks a middle ground between punishing the country for its actions in Darfur and appeasing it, a step away from the get-tough policy advocated by President Obama during his election campaign.

The announcement of the new policy came after seven months of debate within the administration. It was cautiously welcomed by advocates of stringent measures to end the violence in Darfur, who expressed relief that the White House did not adopt a more conciliatory approach.

The administration wants Khartoum to end the fighting between Darfur rebels and government-backed militias. But it also is trying to persuade President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir’s government to cooperate in fighting terrorism, and in implementing a 2005 agreement that ended a civil war between the country’s northern and southern regions.

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Reuters

Oxford Transitional Justice Research (OTJR) invites you to read six new essays for analysis from commentators and scholars of Kenya, transitional justice, and violence.

The highlight from the recent contributions comes from Prof. Yash Ghai, the former Chair of the Kenya National Constitutional Conference and a former Special Representative for the UN Secretary General. Prof. Ghai argues that, although many blame the lack of a new constitution for Kenya’s current troubles, a robust constitutional text is not a sufficient guarantee against political violence. The absence of ethical and moral standards in politics means that even the most robust constitutional text will ‘not make a difference’, until Kenyans themselves imbue governing institutions with the appropriate values and principles. Another important contribution comes from Chidi Odinkalu of the Open Society Justice Initiative. Responding to the broader controversy about the ICC’s role in Africa, Odinkalu observes that the debate on international criminal trials in the African context has degenerated to a contest between ‘supposed imperialists and alleged impunity apologists’, neglecting important political concerns. He concludes with a number of suggestions on how to constructively move forward.

Other recent contributions focus on transitional justice in Kenya: Godfrey Musila’s essay explains how a power struggle within Kenya’s governing coalition has polarized and ethnicized  the debate on justice, resulting in an incoherent transitional justice agenda; Chris Huggins makes a case for the centrality of land reform in the economic mandate of Kenya’s Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC); Charlie Khamala describes recent efforts by the Law Society of Kenya to strengthen the Kenyan judiciary; and Ndung’u Wainaina and Pamela Chepng’etich advocate for a Special Tribunal in Kenya.

You can also read and comment on the first round of essays: Dr. Daniel Branch asserts that blaming elites for Kenyan violence ignores a bigger problem of normalized violence; Daniel Waweru argues why the  majimboist strand of the 2008 violence makes reform and accountability incompatible; Dr. Gabrielle Lynch lists a number of policy priorities to complement the fight against impunity; Dr. Tim Murithi explains why former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan handed over to the ICC the names of those suspected of the violence; Dr Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg links forcible male circumcision during the violence to the feminization of ethnicity; and  Susule Musungu explains why scenario-building exercises are important in allowing Kenyans to move forward.

New York Times, August 6 2009

NAIROBI, Kenya — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton toughened her message to Kenya on Thursday, saying that if the Kenyan government refused to set up a tribunal to prosecute the perpetrators of last year’s election-driven bloodshed, the International Criminal Court at the Hague would get involved.

“I have urged that the Kenyan government find the way forward themselves,” she said, “But if not, then the names turned over to the I.C.C. will be opened, and an investigation will begin.”

She was referring to a list of prime suspects that the former United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, handed to the International Criminal Court in a sealed envelope in July. The court itself has also recently threatened to intervene if Kenyan leaders decide to continue the country’s stubborn history of impunity.

The American government and Kenyan human rights groups have been pressing Kenya’s leaders to establish a local tribunal, saying it will be far better for Kenya to handle these issues at home. But one glaring problem is that several of the top suspects are widely believed to be high-ranking ministers who have blocked any effort that might lead to their own prosecution.

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Kenya’s Position on the Tribunal:

Reuters

BBC

Telegraph

By Delia Robertson, Johannesburg 15 July 2009-VOA News

Prominent South African individuals and civil society groups have urged President Jacob Zuma to publicly state that he respects the country’s constitution and treaty obligations. The call follows an African Union decision not to honor the arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for Sudan President Omar al-Bashir.

The call on President Zuma comes from 17 of the country’s prominent civil society groups, including the constitutionally mandated Human Rights Commission. Individuals supporting the call include Nobel Peace Laureate Desmond Tutu and Richard Goldstone, former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia and Rwanda.

In a statement, the organizations and individuals said the decision by the African Union to withhold cooperation from the ICC with respect to the warrant for Mr. al-Bashir represents the most serious challenge to the struggle against impunity and lawlessness on the African continent.

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BBC Thursday July 16 09

Mr Bashir, wanted on an international arrest warrant for war crimes, had been invited to a development summit.

But a Ugandan minister’s suggestion he could be arrested, followed by a retraction, made the trip less likely. Mr Bashir has managed to visit several African countries despite the warrant for his arrest, issued in March.

But unlike those countries, Uganda is a signatory to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which issued the warrant for Mr Bashir’s arrest. Prosecutors accuse him of organising attacks on civilians in the Darfur region of Sudan.

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) — Uganda said Monday it would arrest Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir if he enters the country, an unusual stance after a summit of African leaders denounced the international arrest warrant against al-Bashir.

Henry Oryem Okello, Uganda’s minister for international affairs, spoke after meeting with the International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo, in Kampala.

Police “will ensure that he is arrested” if al-Bashir arrives, Okello said.

Ocampo added: “It is a legal obligation for Uganda to arrest Bashir if he comes to Uganda.”

Earlier this month at an African Union summit, Africa’s leaders criticized the International Criminal Court and refused to extradite al-Bashir, who has been indicted for crimes against humanity in Darfur.

Sudan welcomed the move, and other Africans said it was a signal that the West should not impose its ways on Africa. But several African leaders appeared to strongly disagree with the AU statement, and Benin Foreign Minister Jean-Marie Ehouzou said Sudan’s neighbor and antagonist, Chad, objected to the wording.

Heads of state at AU summits reach decisions by consensus behind closed doors, not from a vote, and it was not clear how the measure was approved.

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Posted in News Updates ]]> http://iccobservers.wordpress.com/2009/08/06/bashir-cancels-trip-to-uganda-fears-of-possible-arrest-for-icc-warrant/feed/ 0 iccobservers http://iccobservers.wordpress.com/2009/07/16/torture-and-death-recounted-at-cambodian-trial/ http://iccobservers.wordpress.com/2009/07/16/torture-and-death-recounted-at-cambodian-trial/#comments Thu, 16 Jul 2009 06:17:50 +0000 iccobservers http://iccobservers.wordpress.com/?p=930 ]]>

By Seth Mydans, New York Times, 14 July 2009

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — “Where were you tortured and when?”

For the past two weeks, judges and lawyers in the trial of a Khmer Rouge prison chief have probed for details about the suffering of victims of a regime that caused the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million people between 1975 and 1979.

As personal stories of terror and brutality fill the courtroom for the first time, even the defendant, Kaing Guek Eav, or Duch, has at times dropped his hard mask and broken down in tears.

“I send my respects to the soul of your wife,” he told one witness, Bou Meng, whose wife died in the prison and whom Duch (pronounced DOIK) had come to know when he pulled him from a row of shackled prisoners and put him to work as a painter.

Bou Meng put his face in his hands. Duch, his lips quivering, turned his back on the courtroom, and both men wept.

Duch, 66, is the first of five central figures from the Khmer Rouge regime to be tried here in a United Nations-backed tribunal. He faces charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes as commandant of Tuol Sleng prison, where at least 14,000 people were tortured and sent to their deaths.

Duch has taken responsibility for the torture and killings at the camp, and he expressed “heartfelt sorrow” when he took the stand. But he has also placed himself within a chain of command where disobedience often meant death.

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(CNN) July 14 09 — Former Liberian President Charles Taylor took the stand Tuesday as the first defense witness at his trial on war crimes charges at The Hague in the Netherlands. Taylor, 61, is accused of fueling a bloody civil war in neighboring Sierra Leone that led to widespread murder, rape, and mutilation. The conflict ended in 2002.

He has pleaded not guilty to 11 counts, including murder, sexual slavery, terrorism and torture. In his first statement to the court Tuesday, Taylor responded to accusations that he is a murderer and a terrorist.

“It is quite incredible that such descriptions of me would come about. Very, very, very unfortunate that the prosecution — because of this information, misinformation, lies, rumors — would associate me with such titles or descriptions,” he said.

“I am none of those, have never been, and will never be, whether they think so or not. “I am a father of 14 children, grandchildren, with love for humanity,” Taylor said.

“[I] have fought all my life to do what I thought was right in the interest of justice and fair play.

“I resent that characterization of me. It is false, it is malicious, and I stop there.”

The war in Sierra Leone, which involved riches from the diamond trade, was fought largely by teenagers who were forced to kill, given addictive drugs to provoke violent behavior, and often instructed to rape and plunder.

Taylor is charged with five counts of crimes against humanity, including murder, sexual slavery and violence, and enslavement. He also faces five counts of war crimes, including acts of terrorism and torture, and one count of other serious violations of international humanitarian law.

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allAfrica.com, 06 July 2009

Rwanda has criticized Switzerland’s refusal to extradite former Rwandan Minister for Environment, Gaspard Ruhumuriza, wanted by the justice of his country for his alleged role in the 1994 genocide, reports Hirondelle Agency.

Quoting Rwanda’s Prosecutor General, Martin Ngoga, Izuba Rirashe (The Rising Sun), a tri-weekly newspaper, reported Monday that the source of the refusal was the position of the judges of the Arusha-based International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), trying key suspects of the 1994 genocide, who have constantly rejected the UN Court’s Prosecutor’s requests to transfer some of the accused to Kigali to face trials.

The judges have rejected the applications on grounds that the suspects may not get a fair trial in Rwanda.

Bern announced its refusal last week because of strong human rights code in place.

However, Rwanda has the possibility of requesting Switzerland to try Ruhumuriza for criminal prosecution.

Ngoga added that ICTR’s continued transfer rejections only served as a pretext for certain countries “to refuse to send us persons accused of participation in the genocide perpetrated against ethnic Tutsis”

Ruhumuriza is wanted by the Rwandan authorities for genocide and war crimes and he is the subject of a wanted notice on the Interpol website.

Full article.