Today is International Criminal Justice Day. The Assembly of the States Parties of the International Criminal Court (ICC) adopted this date during the Review Conference of the Rome Statute held in Kampala, Uganda in June 2010. It marks the anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute, the treaty that founded the ICC. The treaty also defines the types of international crimes that individuals can be charged with committing: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the recently defined crime of aggression. The day aims to promote awareness and to generate support for global justice and the fight against impunity.
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Category Archives: Human Rights
Death Row and International Law
The Obama administration, UN officials, and foreign leaders are asking Texas Governor Rick Perry and/or the U.S. Supreme Court to stay today’s execution of a Mexican citizen on death row in Texas for a crime he committed in 1994. At issue is not his guilt or innocence, the legality of the death penalty, or whether he was given adequate due process guaranteed under the Texas Criminal Code or the U.S. Constitution. Rather, at issue is a treaty violation. When Texas authorities arrested Humberto Leal Garcia Jr., a Mexican national, they failed to inform him of his right to consular notification, thereby violating Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963, which the United States accepts as legally binding under international law.
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Rwanda Prime Minister Kambanda First Head of State to Plead Guilty to Genocide
On this day in 1994, Jean Kambanda became the Prime Minister of Rwanda. During the 100-day campaign, he incited genocide on the radio by announcing, “Genocide is justified in the fight against the enemy.” He became the first head of state to plead guilty to genocide since the adoption of the Genocide Convention and was sentenced to life imprisonment by the ad hoc International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). His sentence was upheld on appeal on October 19, 2000. He currently is in prison in Bamako Central Prison, Mali. In memory of those known and unknown who died . . .
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Bassiouni “Quite Doubtful” International Criminal Court Will Succeed — The Failures, Challenges, and Future of International Criminal Law
After dedicating much of his career to the establishment of the International Criminal Court, M. Cherif Bassiouni — often called the “father” of international criminal law — startled an audience at an international law conference in Washington, D.C. on Thursday when he called some international criminal tribunals shams and declared others to be mired in bureaucratic failures. He asserted that there really is no political will by States to have an independent international criminal justice system. Experience has shown that States can create obstacles to justice and international accountability by intentionally underfunding some efforts, making access to data difficult, supporting tribunals premised on little more than window-dressing, and creating overly bureaucratic international criminal systems. He never blatantly said the ICC will dissolve, but he implied its current overly bureaucratic framework is leading to the Court’s irrelevancy. Whereas his quixotic dream has been to build an international criminal system to stop national politicians from determining who gets prosecuted, the hero of international criminal justice now implies that his vision is unachievable, at least within any foreseeable future. As such, Bassiouni predicts that there will be a transformation of international law and its institutions. “International criminal justice will take another turn,” he said. “And maybe it’s a turn for the best.” Specifically, we likely will see a shift from supranational criminal courts to national courts, which he said will be more successful in prosecuting the guilty. The challenge he put forth to the lawyers and soon-to-be international lawyers in the room is how to use international law both to connect the national courts and to provide for effective domestic prosecutions of international crimes.
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ASIL Keynote Highlight: U.S. Legal Adviser Harold Koh Asserts Drone Warfare Is Lawful Self-Defense Under International Law
Last night, U.S. State Department legal adviser Harold Koh outlined, for the first time, the Obama administration’s legal justifications under international law for the targeted killings of non-state actors using remotely piloted aircraft, often referred to as “drones.” He inserted the topic of drones into his keynote at the American Society of International Law 104th Annual Meeting at the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, D.C. The United States has used drones since at least 2001 to kill high-level terrorist operatives abroad, particularly in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen. The Obama administration has significantly increased the number of targeted drone killings, according to various non-governmental organizations and media outlets. In this posting, I look at the specific legal reasoning and standards put forth by Koh, the reactions by international law experts, and a few unanswered questions under international law.
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California Supreme Court Hears Death Penalty Appeals Based on International Law
Two weeks ago, the California Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a death penalty appeal. The defendant’s legal arguments included, in part, that the death sentence must be vacated because the death penalty violates international law and that international law is binding on the California state court. Specifically, the defendant contends that the California death penalty statute violates the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and evolving global norms against capital punishment. The Court has not yet ruled on the case and will be hearing similar legal arguments in another death penalty appeal before the Court on November 4, 2009. Should international human rights instruments and customary international law influence the Court’s analysis of the death penalty statute, the defendant’s due process rights, and what constitutes “cruel and unusual” punishment?
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UN Commission on the Status of Women Seeks Reports of Violations of Women’s Rights
The UN Commission on the Status of Women invites any individual, non-governmental organization, group, or network to submit accurate and detailed information to the Commission relating to the promotion of women’s rights in political, economic, civil, social, and educational fields in any country anywhere in the world. The Commission is particularly interested in receiving any information relating to alleged violations of human rights that affect the status of women. The Commission will use this information to analyze emerging trends and patterns of injustice and discriminatory practices against women. This analysis informs the Commission’s policy process, including the formulation of the best strategies to promote gender equality. The author’s name will not be made known unless the author provides explicit permission. Submissions will be accepted until 14 August 2009.
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The Evil Dictator’s Guide to Genocide: Deliberate Infectious Disease Spread
One year ago, I wrote a small booklet, “The Evil Dictator’s Guide to Genocide: Deliberate Infectious Disease Spread,” to accompany a presentation I gave on possible criminal culpability for intentional infectious disease spread. “The Evil Dictator’s Guide to Genocide” provides Machiavellian guidance on the benefits, risks, and possible legal consequences of using infectious diseases as weapons against targeted or vulnerable populations. The recent swine flu outbreak, along with my post yesterday discussing the lack of the World Health Organization’s enforcement authority, reminded me again of the ease by which an evil leader could take advantage of this latest disease outbreak. Back by popular demand, you can download a copy of the booklet for free. Circulation to evil dictators is prohibited by law.
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ABA Section of International Law Panel Discussion: Re-Shaping the Human Rights Agenda: Opportunities in the New Obama Administration
Jeffrey L. Bleich, Special Counsel to President Barack Obama in the White House, moderated a discussion on human rights in the new administration with four panelists: Santiago Canton, the Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States (OAS); William Davis, the Director of the United Nations Information Center in Washington, D.C.; Ambassador Karen Stewart with the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor at the U. S. Department of State; and Chip Pitts, an international attorney with Amnesty International. The panel was part of the 2009 ABA Section of International Law Spring Meeting, held 14-18 April 2009 in Washington, D.C. The panelists provided reflections and recommendations with respect to the Durban Review Conference, the Human Rights Council, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the International Criminal Court, the Alien Tort Claims Act, China, Sudan, Cuba, and actions for the Obama administration to take within the next 30 days.
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