By Jan Masila,
USA
THE ROLE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT (ICC)
Introduction:
We tend to think it was all in the past. Hitler said that he was going to wipe out the Jews. We saw what happened in Yugoslavia during the reign of Slobodan Milosevic; we saw what happened in Rwanda not so long ago where the ruling Hutu tribe sought to wipe out the minority Tutsi tribe. These society evils continue to be perpetrated by selfish leaders who only think about their survival in power and that of their cronies. Look at what is happening right now in Darfur; this is enough evidence that these evils are not about to go away. Having said that, I urge you to ask yourself what kind of monster can want to wipe out a generation of people? And my submission is that any one who seeks to wipe out another is a monster who needs to go to the ICC.
Today, I will give a speech concerning the role of the International Criminal Court (ICC). As I discuss this, I am going to talk about genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes which form the hallmark of the jurisdiction of the ICC.
Now, let me get to the main points
Crimes against humanity
Crimes against humanity are international crimes that cry out for justice.
What are crimes against humanity?
Crimes against humanity are crimes that are committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population.
They include acts such as:
• Murder
• Enslavement
• Deportation
• Forceful transfer of population
• Imprisonment
• Torture
• Rape
• Sexual slavery
• Enforced prostitution
• Forced pregnancy
• Enforced disappearance of persons
• The crime of apartheid
My next point will be war crimes
War crimes
War crimes are international crimes that cry out for justice; one would rightfully ask, what are war crimes?
War crimes are grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and other serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in armed conflicts.
The Geneva Conventions are international agreements defining the rules of war. They set international standards for the protection of the civilian population and the treatment of combatants in international and internal armed conflicts.
War crimes are committed in the context of armed conflict. Some war crimes are specifically linked to internal armed conflict – such as civil war – and others are linked to international armed conflict. But most war crimes can occur in both situations.
War crimes in international armed conflicts consist of acts such as:
• Willful killing
• Torture or inhuman treatment including biological experiments
• Willfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health
• Extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly
• Compelling a prisoner of war or other protected person to serve in the forces of a hostile power
• Willfully depriving a prisoner of war or other protected person of the rights of fair and regular trial
• Unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement
• Taking of hostages.
War crimes in internal armed conflicts include acts such as
• Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds
• Mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;
• Outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment
• taking of hostages
• conscripting and enlisting children under the age of fifteen years
In addition to the Geneva Conventions, other violations of the laws and customs of war can also be war crimes.
Examples include:
• Intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population;
• Intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects;
• Intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, material, units or vehicles involved in a humanitarian assistance or peacekeeping mission;
• Killing or wounding a combatant who, having laid down his arms or having no further means of defense, has surrendered..
Under international law, such acts can be war crimes even if they are not committed as part of a systematic or widespread attack on civilians.
However, if they are only rare or sporadic, the authority of the International Criminal Court is more limited.
My next point will be genocide
Genocide
Genocide is an international crime that cries out for justice; The question is, what is genocide?
This definition of genocide is based on the definition found in the 1948 U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which confirmed genocide as a crime under international law in the aftermath of the Holocaust.
Genocide occurs when acts are committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group. Such acts of genocide can be carried out by:
• Killing members of the targeted group;
• Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
• Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
• Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
• Forcefully transferring children of the group to another group.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I have talked about the scope and mandate of the ICC and its importance
Summary statement:
It is in this regard that I urge those of you who hold the view that the ICC is a court that does not serve the interests of the world community at large to change your attitude as it has been strongly in the fore front of trying and if found guilty punishing any one involved in crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide. This important court goes for the culprits without regard to color, gender or position in society. Before the ICC, all are treated equally
Concluding remark:
If this court was not in place, the perpetrators of these heinous crimes most of whom are presidents of dictatorial regimes, rebel leaders and senior military officers would go scot free as they would have no one to account their actions to.
