Transitional Justice Observatory Nº 11 - November 2013 International Criminal Court (ICC) ICC: UNSG urges ratification of the Rome Statute At the opening of the 12th Session of the Assembly of States Parties of the International Criminal Court (ICC), UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged member states to ratify the Rome Statute. Ban said that the Rome Statute must be universally accepted to be fully effective, but 43 countries have neither signed nor agreed to it yet and 31 have yet to ratify it. Other challenges faced by the organisation include delivering decisions and justice without undue delay, overcoming the lack of necessary resources and staffing shortages, dispensing justice impartially and in accordance with international human rights law and standards and being perceived as doing the same (UN, 20/11/13; Jurist, 21/11/13). LIBYA: ICC prosecutor encourages Libya to establish a comprehensive strategy that goes farther than its agreement with the Court International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda declared before the UNSC that her office has signed an agreement with Libya to share tasks to prosecute the suspected perpetrators of crimes committed in Libya since 15 February 2011. Thanks to this agreement, the ICC will mainly focus on suspects outside Libya, while Libyan judicial authorities will focus on those within the country. While Libya’s engagement with the ICC and the draft law that would make rape during armed conflict a war crime in Libya are steps in the right direction, some challenges remain, such as torture, the killing of detainees and tensions regarding the Tawergha minority. Bensouda has encouraged the Libyan government to establish a comprehensive strategy to address serious crimes committed in the country (ICC, 14/11/13; Hirondelle News, 15/11/13). CONGO, DR: Four arrested accused of falsifying evidence Police forces in Belgium, France, The Netherlands and the DR Congo have arrested Aimé Kilolo Musamba, Jean-Jacques Mangenda Kabongo, Narcisse Arido and Fidèle Babala Wandu, accusing them of corruptly influencing witnesses, tampering with evidence and knowingly presenting false evidence in the trial of Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo. Arrested in 2008, Bemba, who was formerly the Vice President of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Commander-in-Chief of the Movement for the Liberation of Congo, faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Central African Republic during 2002 and 2003 (ICC, Jurist 24/11/13; Europa Press, 25/11/13). Ad Hoc International Criminal Tribunals BALKANS: ICTY marks 20 years of work on war crime jurisprudence In celebration of its 20th anniversary, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) has highlighted its legacy in the former Yugoslavia, including its overall accomplishments and challenges, its contribution to the promotion of the rule of law in the region and the mechanisms of victim and witness protection and support in war crimes trials before national courts. Created by the UN in 1990 to judge crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, violations of the law and customs of war, as well as serious breaches of the Geneva Conventions, the ICTY has indicted 161 individuals and heard more than 4,500 witnesses to date. It currently has 25 proceedings pending. During the celebratory conference, the families of victims of the Bosnian Civil War accused the ICTY of being partial and ineffective, deploring the recent acquittal of several senior Serb officials because none were convicted of crimes committed in the conflict (TPIY, 18/11/13; EP, 27/11/13) (ICTY, 18/11/13). Transitional Justice Observatory Nº 11 - November 2013 BANGLADESH: Two given the death penalty will not be extradited The International Crimes Tribunal Bangladesh (ICTB) has sentenced Chowdhury Mueen Uddin and Ashrafuzzaman Khan, members of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, to death in absentia for abducting and murdering 18 people during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. Mueen Uddin, who lives in the UK, will not be extradited, as the UK does not extradite people facing the death penalty. US citizen Ashrafuzzaman Khan will not be extradited either, as there is no extradition treaty between the US and Bangladesh. The trials, described as flawed by Human Rights Watch, limited the number of defence witnesses. The ICTB also indicted Syed Mohammad Qaisar, Bangladesh's former State Minister for Agriculture, for 18 war crimes allegedly committed in 1971 and charged Jamaat-e-Islami leader Azharul Islam with six accounts of crimes against humanity in a massacre in Rangpur district in 1971 in which more than 1,200 people were killed (Jurist, 04, 11 and 12/11/13; BBC, 03 and 05/11/13; The Daily Star, 03/11/13). CAMBODIA: Extraordinary Chambers still face financial shortage A senior United Nations official has appealed to the international community to provide funding to the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), which is still facing financial problems. A hybrid court established in 2001 to try those most responsible for the crimes committed during the Khmer Rouge regime, the ECCC is funded by voluntary donations that have dropped off in recent years. After working without pay for months, the ECCC’s staff went on strike in September (UN, 07/11/13; Jurist, 08/11/13). Ordinary Justice and Traditional Justice Systems AFGHANISTAN – USA: Uncertainty over the inclusion of war crime investigations in the security deal with USA The consultative Loya Jirga assembly has debated a bilateral security agreement that sets the terms for the US military presence in Afghanistan after the end of 2014 and has asked Afghan President Hamid Karzai to sign it before the end of 2013. President Karzai said he will follow the assembly’s recommendation on the condition that US forces do not conduct house raids. Another matter of disagreement regards the jurisdiction for crimes committed on Afghan soil. Many Afghans would like to see an increase in accountability for cases prosecuted on US bases in Afghanistan. The USA is expected to maintain more than 10,000 troops in Afghanistan while criticism continues that US troops are killing civilians with impunity. Amnesty International had demanded more transparency and accountability for war crimes allegedly committed by US military forces in the country and has called for compensation to victim’s families (AI, 20/11/13; Europa Press, 21/11/13; CNN, 24/11/13). BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: Ten prisoners charged with war crimes released after appealing to the ECHR Ten prisoners accused of war crimes during the Bosnian Civil War have been released following a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Six of the prisoners had been convicted of genocide in the Srebrenica massacre, two others were high-ranking Serbian officials convicted of establishing and training paramilitary squads and the other two, General Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic, are currently on trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). The ECHR argued that the strict 2003 Bosnian Criminal Code was wrongly being used, rather than the 1976 code in force when the crimes were committed. The EU and the OSCE expressed their concern about this situation, which has led to the release of individuals responsible for heinous crimes (Jurist, 19/11/13; ICTJ 21/11/13). Transitional Justice Observatory Nº 11 - November 2013 COLOMBIA: Three guerrilla commanders indicted for war crimes The National Prosecution Unit for Justice and Peace has indicted guerrilla commanders for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Commander Elda Neyis Mosquera García of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (known as FARC, its acronym in Spanish) is accused of victimising 2,500 people as a result of her criminal activity. The FARC’s Eli Mejia Mendoza is charged with victimising 1,500 people directly and indirectly between 1998 and 1999 and Olimpo de Jesús Sánchez Caro, Deputy Commander of the demobilised Guevara Revolutionary Army (known as ERG, its acronym in Spanish) will be tried for 168 cases of forced disappearance, kidnapping, forced displacement, illegal recruitment and gender crimes allegedly committed between 1986 and 2008. These prosecutions are part of the plan of the National Prosecution Unit for Justice and Peace to give priority to those mainly responsible for war crimes (Europa Press, 11/24/13). CONGO, DR: 39 Congolese soldiers prosecuted for mass rape A military court has begun the trial of 39 government soldiers accused of murder, looting, mass rape and other acts of sexual violence against at least 103 women and 33 girls as soldiers retreated after a rebel offensive in Minova, south of Goma, in November 2012. The trial comes following months of international pressure after 12 officers were suspended but no soldiers tried. The UN then threatened to stop funding army units suspected of committing abuse. The trial has been criticised for prosecuting so few high-ranking officers and some victims have said that their alleged rapists are not among the 39 defendants (BBC, 20/11/13). DENMARK – RWANDA – ECHR: Rwandan citizen appeals to the ECHR to block his extradition to Rwanda Emmanuel Mbarushimana, a primary school inspector accused of participating in the Rwandan genocide, has challenged the Supreme Court of Denmark’s decision to extradite him to Rwanda, claiming to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) that he would not receive a fair trial if judged by a Rwandan court. While many Rwandan citizens have been prosecuted in different European countries for genocide in recent months, this is the first time that this allegation has been made to the ECHR and could block Denmark’s deportation for years (Jurist, 08/11/13, Hirondelle News, 09/11/13). FRANCE – RWANDA: Appeals Court approves extradition of two Rwandan genocide suspects For the first time in its history, the French Appeals Court has authorised the extradition of Claude Muhayimana and Innocent Musabyimana, wanted by Rwanda for their suspected participation in the 1994 genocide.