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23 June 2021 - NPWJ News Digest on international criminal justice
Articles
Hague Tribunal Leaves Uncertain Legacy as Last Trial Nears End
Balkan Insight, 23 Jun 2021
In May 1996, Bosnian Serb Army soldier Drazen Erdemovic became the first person to confess to the judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, ICTY in The Hague that he had participated in the murders of captured Bosniak men and boys from Srebrenica. Erdemovic told the UN war crimes tribunal that he only agreed to shoot the Bosniaks because he had been threatened: “When I refused to do that, they told me: ‘If you feel sorry, stand there next to them, so we can kill you too.’”
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Ecocide must be listed alongside genocide as an international crime
The Guardian, 22 Jun 2021
An international team of lawyers co-chaired by Philippe Sands QC and Dior Fall Sow has presented the outcome of its work announced in November last year to develop a legal definition of ecocide. This is a crucial step towards adding ecocide to the list of other major offences recognised by the international criminal court (ICC), including crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide.
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Justice is Unfinished Business in Rwanda
Human Rights Watch, 21 Jun 2021
French president Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Rwanda underscored the importance of facing up to responsibilities for past crimes, regardless of how long it takes. Those who bear responsibility for atrocities, whether genocide or war crimes, should take note. Macron’s trip came after years of tense relations between the two countries. Asking for forgiveness, Macron vowed to turn over a new leaf. Last week, Kigali approved France’s choice for its next ambassador to Rwanda – the first to hold this post since 2015.
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Iran: Stop imminent execution of young man arrested and tortured at 17
Amnesty International, 21 Jun 2021
Responding to the Iranian authorities’ plans on 28 June to execute 20-year-old Hossein Shahbazi, who was convicted of a murder that took place when he was just 17 years old based, in part, on “confessions” obtained through torture, Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, Diana Eltahawy, said: “Iran’s authorities must immediately halt the execution of Hossein Shahbazi scheduled for 28 June. Using the death penalty against someone who was a child at the time of the crime is prohibited under international human rights law and violates Iran’s international obligations. Going ahead with this execution would be an abhorrent assault on children’s rights and would make an absolute mockery of justice.
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Switzerland Finds Liberian Rebel Leader Guilty of Wartime Atrocities
The New York Times, 18 Jun 2021
A former Liberian warlord was found guilty of war crimes including murder, cannibalism and the use of child soldiers in Switzerland’s criminal court on Friday — the first conviction specifically for atrocities in Liberia’s back-to-back civil wars between 1989 and 2003 in which a quarter-million people are thought to have died. The court found the former warlord, Alieu Kosiah, 46, guilty on 21 of the 25 charges against him, including ordering the killing of 13 civilians and two unarmed soldiers, the murder of four other civilians, as well as rape, cruel treatment of civilians and using a child soldier in armed hostilities. Mr. Kosiah, a former commander of the United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy, or ULIMO, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, the maximum sentence allowed under Swiss law.
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UN: New resolution against violence in Myanmar must prompt global arms embargo
Amnesty International, 18 Jun 2021
All countries must stop selling arms to Myanmar following the adoption of a resolution by the UN General Assembly condemning the use of lethal force and violence in the country, Amnesty International said today. The resolution, passed by an overwhelming vote of 119 to 1 with 36 abstentions, calls on member states to prevent the flow of arms into the country. It strongly condemns the worsening crackdown on peaceful protesters and civil society, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of arbitrary detainees and an end to restrictions on freedom of expression.
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Ivory Coast's ex-President Gbagbo returns home after ICC acquittal
BBC, 18 Jun 2021
Mr Gbagbo has been living in the Belgian capital Brussels since his release from detention three years ago. His successor and rival President Alassane Ouattara invited him back. He was the first former head of state to go on trial at the ICC but was acquitted of all charges. The 76-year-old was charged after his refusal to accept defeat in a 2010 election triggered a civil war that left 3,000 people dead. He always denied all the allegations.
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