18 Jan 2017 - NPWJ News Digest on International Criminal Justice

Articles

Gambia elections: President-elect Adama Barrow's life story
By The BBC, 18 Jan 2017

Adama Barrow, a successful property developer who has never held public office, has defied the odds to score a shock victory in The Gambia's elections. His victory in the small West African nation's presidential poll is arguably an even bigger shock than that of fellow property mogul in the US, Donald Trump. Mr Barrow's opponent Yahya Jammeh, had ruled the country for more than two decades, but said if God willed it, his presidency could go on for "a billion years". He was born in 1965, the same year his country gained independence from British colonial rule, in a small village near the market town of Basse in the east of the country. Throughout his campaign, he pledged support for an independent judiciary, as well as increased freedom for the media and civil society. He described his opponent as a "soulless dictator" and promised to undo some of Mr Jammeh's more controversial moves. "We will take the country back to the Commonwealth and the International Criminal Court (ICC)," he said.
 

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Trial of ex-child soldier Dominic Ongwen to hear prosecution case
By The Guardian, 16 Jan 2017

Prosecutors at the international criminal court at The Hague are due to present their case on Monday against a child soldier turned militia leader from northern Uganda accused of committing war crimes including rape and murder. Dominic Ongwen, once a feared commander of the Lord’s Resistance Army, appeared last month before the court to plead not guilty, saying that as a child soldier taken by force from his home by the organisation he was a victim of its atrocities, not a perpetrator. The trial of is one of the most momentous in the ICC’s 14-year history, and raises difficult questions of responsibility and blame. Ongwen, who is 41, was abducted by the LRA at the age of 10. He is the first former child soldier to face trial at the institution and the first defendant to be both alleged perpetrator and victim of the same crimes. But Fatou Bensouda, who will lead the prosecution team, told the court at the earlier hearing that past victimisation as a child might be a mitigating factor in sentencing but was not a defence of Ongwen’s alleged decision to “wholeheartedly” embrace violence.
 

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Philippines' Duterte threatens martial law
By The BBC, 15 Jan 2017

Martial law could be imposed in the Philippines if the drugs problem worsens, President Rodrigo Duterte has said. The 71-year-old former state prosecutor said the aim would be "to preserve the Filipino people and the youth of this land". About 6,000 people have been killed in six months under Mr Duterte's anti-drugs crackdown. He says he is acting to prevent the country from becoming a narco-state. "If I wanted to, and it will deteriorate into something really very virulent, I will declare martial law if I wanted to. No one will be able to stop me," Mr Duterte said in a speech to businesspeople in the southern city of Davao on Saturday. Some human rights lawyers say Mr Duterte's support for a shoot-to-kill policy could make him vulnerable to prosecution for crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC).

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US lifts 20-year economic embargo on Sudan
By Al Jazeera, 14 Jan 2017

The United States has announced the end of a 20-year economic embargo on Sudan, lifting trade and financial sanctions in an effort to foster ties with the Sudanese government. The announcement made by outgoing President Barack Obama's administration on Friday comes after an executive order to permanently repeal a range of sanctions as a result of Sudan's efforts to improve security in the region. For the first time in two decades, Sudan will be able to receive imported goods and services from the US, as authorised by the US Department of the Treasury. However, some US sanctions tied to Sudan's "state sponsor of terrorism" title remain in place, including a ban on weapons sales and restrictions on Darfur-related sanctions remain in effect. Darfur has been engulfed in a deadly conflict since 2003, when ethnic minority tribes took up arms against the government, accusing it of marginalising the region. Washington's outreach will still be limited, as the US is unlikely to engage directly with Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir. Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity, which he denies.

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