10 April 2019 - NPWJ News Digest on International Criminal Justice

Articles

Call to Eliminate Japan’s “Hostage Justice” System by Japanese Legal Professionals
Human Rights Watch, 10 Apr 2019

The long-term detention in the Carlos Ghosn case has triggered surprise and criticism overseas, leading to doubts about Japan’s integrity as a democratic nation that guarantees human rights.

Read More

ABA says decision of revoked war crimes prosecutor’s visa should be reversed; no US honeymoon for this lawyer
ABA Journal, 10 Apr 2019

The United States has revoked the visa of the chief prosecutor to the International Criminal Court because she has requested an investigation into war crimes in Afghanistan that could examine U.S. abuse in detention centers overseas. The office’s statement said Bensouda would continue to do her job “with utmost commitment and professionalism, without fear or favor.”
 

Read More

International Criminal Court is only solution Zambia violence
Zambian Watchdog, 08 Apr 2019

The February 23 statement by Amos Chanda, President Edgar Lungu’s spokesman, in which he publicly confirms that president Lungu has instructed Justice Minister Given Lubinda to invite the ICC to Zambia to investigate allegations that president Lungu is funding a military group, is the most important step yet towards addressing political violence in the country. All political parties and civil society organisations interested in peace in the country should oversee the immediate implementation of this directive by government.

Read More

How the courage of a few Rwandan women changed the world
Al Jazeera, 07 Apr 2019

Over a few short months in 1994, up to a million people were killed primarily on the basis of their ethnicity. Soldiers and militia raped thousands of women. Though rape had been defined as a war crime, it had never been prosecuted. Like looting, rape was considered a spoil of war. It was accepted as inevitable and not recognised as the weapon of war it was. That was about to change. 

Read More