1 July 2015 - NPWJ News Digest on international criminal justice

NPWJ press release

UN / Geneva: NPWJ and NRPTT convene Side Event on "Syria after tyranny: achieving a democratic and pluralistic future"
by NPWJ, 25 Jun 2015

On the occasion of the 29th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, No Peace Without Justice and the Nonviolent Radical Party, Transnational and Transparty (NRPTT), together with the Euro-Syrian Democratic Forum, are convening a Side Event on "Syria after tyranny: achieving a democratic and pluralistic future", which will be held on 25 June 2015 (from 13h00 to 15h00, Palais des Nations, Room XXI). The meeting is co-sponsored by the Governments of Belgium, France, Germany, Netherlands, Qatar, Turkey, USA and the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces. Panelists of the meeting, to be co-Chaired by Niccolò Figà-Talamanca, Secretary General No Peace Without Justice and Hussein Sabbagh, Secretary General of Euro-Syrian Democratic Forum, include Hisham Marwah, Vice President of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolution and Opposition Forces, Bassma Kodmani, Arab Reform Initiative, Amir Kazkaz, Violations Documentation Center in Syria, Imad Al-Din Al-Rashid, Chair of the Political Bureau, Syrian National Movement, Alison Smith, Legal Counsel andDirector of the International Criminal Justice Program of No Peace Without Justice.

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Articles

Appeals Court Rejects Travel Ban Imposed on Genocide Prosecutor
by the International Justice Monitor, 30 Jun 2015

On Friday, an appeals court unanimously rejected a travel ban which had been imposed on the lead prosecutor in the 2013 genocide trial of former Guatemalan head of state Efraín Ríos Montt. Prosecutor Orlando Lopez had not been indicted and did not face any criminal charges, yet Judge Darwin Porras had imposed a travel ban (arraigo) against him on April 13. Such actions are taken to prevent the risk of flight from the country during an investigation, though Judge Porras had not sought any evidence that the prosecutor was a flight risk. The flight ban had been in response to a February 22 criminal complaint by Ricardo Mendez Ruiz, son of former Rios Montt’s interior minister and current president of the Guatemalan Foundation Against Terrorism. Mendez Ruiz accused Lopez of various crimes related to public statements Lopez made in an event commemorating the one year anniversary of the historic genocide verdict.

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South African Democracy and the International Criminal Court
by Council on Foreign Relations, 30 Jun 2015

For this outsider, the parliamentary and judicial response to the Zuma administration’s failure to detain Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and turn him over to the International Criminal Court (ICC) provides a window in to the state of South African democracy. To me, it is clear that the Zuma government broke both South African and international law by not only failing to hold al-Bashir, though specifically ordered to do so by the South African judiciary, but also facilitated his clandestine departure. South African law is relevant because the South African government at the time incorporated the ICC treaty into its own legal system. Neither the judiciary nor the parliament is taking the Zuma administration’s violation of the law quietly. The Pretoria high Court has “invited” the National Director of Public Prosecutions to look into how South Africa violated a court order to hold al-Bashir. Judge President Dunstan Mlambo said, “A democratic state based on the rule of law cannot exist or function if the government ignores its constitutional obligations.”

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ICC prosecutor pleads for U.N. Security Council act on Darfur case
by Reuters, 29 Jun 2015

Amid worsening violence in Sudan's Darfur region, a frustrated International Criminal Court prosecutor pleaded on Monday for the United Nations Security Council to take action to ensure justice "for the long-suffering victims of atrocity crimes." "It is long overdue for you to heed the cries of the victims of rape and sexual abuse, torture, mass displacement and other inhumane suffering Darfurians continue to endure," said ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda. The United States, Britain and France have said the suffering in Darfur was at its worst level in a decade. "Innocent civilians continue to bear the brunt of insecurity and instability, in particular as a result of what appears to be an ongoing government campaign to target them," Bensouda said. "The people alleged to be most responsible for these ongoing atrocities are the same people against whom warrants of arrest have already been issued," she said. The Hague-based court issued an arrest warrant for Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who is accused of crimes including alleged genocide in the country's western Darfur province, in March 2009. Yet Bashir, who rejects the court's authority, has traveled within Africa and not been arrested.

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“Prevention of international crimes requires support of global community”: ICC President commemorates International Criminal Justice Day
by ICC, 26 Jun 2015

Today, 26 June 2015, the President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Judge Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi emphasized the importance of global support for justice and accountability during a seminar to commemorate the Day of International Criminal Justice organised by the Embassy of the Republic of Poland and the Embassy of the Plurinational State of Bolivia in The Hague (Netherlands). The Day of International Criminal Justice marks the anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the ICC, on 17 July 1998. Calling on everyone to join in celebrations of International Criminal Justice Day, ICC President Fernández de Gurmendi also stressed that "the prevention and sanction of international crimes require not only the support and cooperation of governments but also of the global community". "The ICC is here to address atrocious crimes committed against our fellow human beings. And our job is to make sure that this is sound, meaningful justice that has a real impact in helping to restore and maintain a stable peace".

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