International Criminal Court Case 1: ICC vs. William Casey

The following is to be accepted as the basic facts of the case; additional research is required. These facts may not be challenged:

The Soviet-Afghan War (1979-1989) was of interest to the United States (US) during the Cold War. As tensions rose between the US and USSR, the US saw the Soviet-Afghan War as a way to weaken the Soviets.

On December 27th, 1979, Soviet troops entered Afghanistan because of a conflict between two different groups of the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). The PDPA, which is also known as the Afghan Communist Party, was split into the Khalq group and the Parcham group. When members of the Khalq group killed the leader of the PDPA, the Soviet Union created a new government run by a member of the Parcham group, Babrak Karmal. In response to the Soviet Union's decision, a group of Afghan soldiers founded a rebel group known as the Mujahideen.

When the US found out about the conflict in Afghanistan, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) decided to support the Mujahideen. The US believed that helping the rebels in Afghanistan would weaken the Soviet economy and the military. The US secretly gave the Mujahideen over $2 billion worth of money and weapons. This plan was known as Operation Cyclone.

William Casey was the director of the CIA during Operation Cyclone from 1981- 1987. As director, he was responsible for approving all parts of the plan. While Casey was director, the CIA gave the Mujahideen dangerous weapons like assault rifles, grenade launchers, and weapons to shoot down airplanes. The CIA also taught the rebels how to secretly move money, make bombs, and speak in coded messages.

During the war the Mujahideen attacked innocent people across Afghanistan, including members of the Parcham group because they supported the Soviets. It is not clear if William Casey knew what the Mujahideen were doing to the people of Afghanistan.

While the CIA was helping the Mujahideen, rumors spread that the CIA was also giving money to Osama Bin Laden and his group, Al Qaeda. Bin Laden came to Afghanistan to help the Mujahideen and he was trained by the CIA. Although the US says all of the rumors are false, it is possible that the CIA gave money to Bin Laden's group to help the Mujahideen.

In 1987, William Casey quit his job as director of the CIA because of medical issues related to a brain tumor. Operation Cyclone ended when the conflict in Afghanistan was over.

Charges Against Casey:

For his involvement in funding the Mujahideen, therefore allowing the Mujahideen to wage war in Afghanistan, the International Criminal Court is charging William Casey, director of the CIA, with the following:

Two (2) counts of Crimes Against Humanity: Article 7(1)(f): ; Article 7(1)(h): Persecution against any identifiable group or collectivity on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender as defined in paragraph 3, or other grounds that are universally recognized as impermissible under international law, in connection with any act referred to in this paragraph or any crime within the jurisdiction of the Court.

Two (2) counts of War Crimes: Article 8(a)(iv): Extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly; Article 8(b)(i): Intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population as such or against individual civilians not taking direct part in hostilities.

Notable Actors:

● People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA): The Communist Party of Afghanistan that split into two rival groups, Khalq and Parcham, leading to the Soviets entering Afghanistan. ● Khalq Group (pronounced “call-k”): One of the two rival groups within the PDPA The Khalq group did not support the Soviets. ● Parcham Group: The other rival group within the PDPA.The Parcham group were led by Babrak Kamal and did support the Soviets. ● Babrak Karmal (pronounced “bob-rock car-mall”): Leader of the Parcham group and ruler of Afghanistan until 1986. ● Mujahideen (pronounced “moo-jah-he-dean”): Afghan rebels that fought against the Parcham group and the Soviets. They were given money, weapons, and training by the CIA under Operation Cyclone. ● William Casey: The accused in this case— Director of the CIA from 1981-1987 who oversaw Operation Cyclone. ● Osama Bin Laden: Wealthy Saudi Arabian citizen who came to Afghanistan to help the Mujahideen. He may have received money and training from the CIA.

ICC Criminal Court Case 2: ICC vs.

The following is to be accepted as the basic facts of the case; additional research is required. These facts may not be challenged:

Saddam Hussein was the from 1979 to 2003. In September of 1980, President Hussein started a war with neighboring . The two countries argued often and Hussein was hoping to gain more power in his country and in the Persian Gulf region.

In July of 1982, President Hussein visited the city of Dujail, Iraq, in an effort to gain support for his presidency and the war. When Hussein was leaving Dujail, his motorcade was attacked by a group of men with guns. President Hussein was not injured but he took the attack very seriously. Hussein strongly believed that Iranian spies in Dujail were responsible. In response, Barzan Ibrahim, the Chief Intelligence Officer of Iraq, punished the people of Dujail.

The city of Dujail was put under control of the Special Republican Guard, a group of soldiers controlled by Barzan Ibrahim. In one week, 149 innocent residents of Dujail were captured, put in jail, and sentenced to death without a trial. Although Hussein claimed that only the people who tried to kill him were being punished, 1,500 people, including, innocent men, women, and children, were sent to jail. After years spent in horrible jail conditions, these people were sent to prison camps in the desert, where they died from torture, starvation, and a lack of hygiene. The Iraqi military destroyed the city of Dujail by burning down houses and breaking drinking water pumps.

The murders of the citizens of Dujail, along with the destruction of property, are known as the Dujail Massacre. Because President Hussein did not directly command the soldiers, it is not known if he knew what the soldiers were doing to the people of Dujail. There is also no written record of an order to take over Dujail.

Definitions: ● Persian Gulf: a body of water in the Middle East bordered by Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. ● motorcade: a long line of vehicles that protects and carries a person of importance

Charges Against Hussein:

The International Criminal Court is charging Saddam Hussein with the following, regarding his role in the Dujail Massacre:

Two (2) counts of Genocide: Article 6(a): Killing members of the group; Article 6(b): Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group.

Three (3) counts of Crimes Against Humanity: Article 7(1)(d): Deportation or forcible transfer of population Article 7(1)(e): Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law; Article 7(1)(f): Torture.

One (1) count of War Crimes: Article 8(iv): Extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly.

Notable Actors: ● Saddam Hussein (pronounced sah-dahm hoos-ain): The accused in this case— President of Iraq from 1979 to 2003, who may have verbally ordered Barzan Ibrahim to punish the city of Dujail. ● Barzan Ibrahim: Chief of Intelligence under Saddam Hussein, who oversaw the Special Republican Guard in Dujail. ● Special Republican Guard: Group of soldiers under the control of Barzan Ibrahim, who committed many crimes against the people of Dujail.

International Criminal Court Case 3: ICC v. Leopold II of Belgium

The following is to be accepted as the basic facts of the case; additional research is required. These facts may not be challenged:

Leopold II was the second King of Belgium, and ruled the nation for 44 years before he died in 1909. He was focused on getting more land for Belgium because he believed it would make Belgium stronger. At the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885, he was recognized as the ruler of an area in Africa called Congo. Today, Congo is known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

When Leopold II founded the colony of Congo, or the Congo Free State, he claimed that he wanted to improve the lives of the people living in the area. In truth, he took actions that made Belgium stronger and made money for himself. He restricted access to the Congo and forced the native population to work for him. Leopold II was focused on making money off of Congo's natural resources of ivory and rubber.

Leopold II divided the Congo Free State into many sections and gave each section a production quota. If a section did not reach their quota, the workers were beaten, killed, or had a body part mutilated or amputated. Leopold II used the Force Publique, a military group under his control that was officially formed to defend the Congo Free State, to carry out these actions. Many historians believe that the Force Publique was responsible for the deaths of about 10 million people, although some believe it could be more.

Many human rights groups criticized Leopold II for his actions, and he eventually turned over control of the Congo to the Belgian government.

Definitions: ● colony: a country or area that is under the political control of another, often distant country ● quota: a minimum number of items that must be produced ● mutilated: violently damaged ● amputated: cut off

Charges Against Leopold II:

The International Criminal Court is charging Leopold II of Belgium with the following for his role in the Congo Free State:

Two (2) counts of Genocide: Article 6(a) Killing members of the group; Article 6(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group.

Four (4) counts of Crimes Against Humanity: Article 7(a) Murder; Article 7(c) Enslavement; Article 7(e) Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law; Article 7(f) Torture.

Notable Actors: ● Leopold II: The accused in this case— ruler of Belgium for 44 years. ● Force Publique: Military group created for the protection of the Congo Free State that carried out discipline and punishment for areas that did not meet quotas.