21 Sep 2016 - NPWJ News Digest on International Criminal Justice

Articles

U.N. Burundi inquiry identifies crimes against humanity suspects
By Reuters, 20 Sep 2016

 U.N. investigators looking into the alleged torture and murder of government opponents in Burundi have drawn up a list of suspects who should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity, they said on Tuesday. The U.N. has verified 564 executions in the central African nation since April 2015 when President Pierre Nkurunziza sparked protests by saying he would seek a third term, the investigators said, calling that "clearly a conservative estimate". The government called the report, by the U.N. Independent Investigation on Burundi (UNIIB), biased and politically motivated and denied all its allegations. The investigators said they had received evidence of rapes, disappearances, mass arrests as well as torture and murder, and that there were probably many thousands of victims. "UNIIB found that the large majority of victims have been identified as people who were opposed or perceived to be opposed to the third mandate of President Nkurunziza or of members of opposition parties," it said, adding: "There are worrying signs of a personality cult being built around the president." The list of suspects will be handed to the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights and be available in the event of any prosecutions.

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Syria conflict: UN suspends all aid after convoy hit
By BBC, 20 Sep 2016

The strikes, which witnesses say came from the air, came hours after Syria declared a week-old US-Russia brokered cessation of hostilities at an end. Russia and Syria have both insisted that their forces were not involved. But UN chief Ban Ki-moon launched a stinging attack on the Syrian government, saying it had killed the most civilians in the civil war. In unusually blunt language, Mr Ban said "powerful patrons... feeding the war machine, also have blood on their hands". US Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking alongside his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, insisted the ceasefire deal was "not dead", following talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on New York on Tuesday. UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura also said there was still hope but said delegates from the Syria Support Group had agreed the truce deal was in danger. The attack at Urum al-Kubra destroyed 18 of 31 lorries and killed about 20 civilians, including a senior local official of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, named as Omar Barakat. The UN would not confirm what type of attack took place, saying "we are not in a position to determine whether these were in fact air strikes".

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Congo-Kinshasa: Critical Considerations Regarding Reparations in the Thomas Lubanga Case At the ICC
By All Africa, 19 Sep 2016

 On August 7, 2012, Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a decision on the reparations due to victims in the case of the prosecutor against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo. This chamber, having previously noted the insolvency of the convicted person, directed the Trust Fund for Victims (Trust Fund) to gather proposals from the victims regarding reparations so that they could be presented to a future trial chamber. The Trust Fund was also ordered to propose the implementation plan of the said reparations. The chamber agreed that victims would be awarded collective reparations. These should be paid to the victims using Trust Fund resources allocated for that purpose. In formulating its decision, the position of the trial chamber appeared to suggest that it was the Trust Fund that was obliged to pay instead of the convicted person, who was not recognized as financially liable for reparations, given that he had previously been declared indigent. Following an appeal presented by Lubanga and the victims, the Appeals Chamber, while confirming the trial chamber's decision on the collective nature of the reparations, adopted a different position in its approach to reparations. It held that Lubanga was financially liable for the reparations that had been granted to the victims. Regarding the obligation of payment, the Appeals Chamber found that the convicted person remains liable to pay for the harm suffered by victims, and the intervention from the Trust Fund does not exonerate the person from paying back those funds. The ICC deserves a lot of credit for its declaration that Lubanga is personally liable for the crimes with which he was charged. The appeal decision highlights the place of victims in the trial before the court, which since the announcement of its creation, has received a lot of praise. Nevertheless, we cannot help but take note of the weaknesses contained in the substance of the Appeals Chamber decision in light of its impact. In fact, this decision can be appreciated for its historical value, on the one hand, and for its challenges, on the other.

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ICC widens remit to include environmental destruction cases
by The Guardian, 15 Sep 2016

Environmental destruction and landgrabs could lead to governments and individuals being prosecuted for crimes against humanity by the international criminal court following a decision to expand its remit. The UN-backed court, which sits in The Hague, has mostly ruled on cases of genocide and war crimes since it was set up in 2002. It has been criticised for its reluctance to investigate major environmental and cultural crimes, which often happen in peacetime. In a change of focus, the ICC said on Thursday it would also prioritise crimes that result in the “destruction of the environment”, “exploitation of natural resources” and the “illegal dispossession” of land. It also included an explicit reference to land-grabbing. The court, which is funded by governments and is regarded as the court of last resort, said it would now take many crimes that have been traditionally under-prosecuted into consideration. The ICC is not formally extending its jurisdiction, but the court said it would assess existing offences, such as crimes against humanity, in a broader context. 

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