A couple months ago the International Criminal Court (ICC) filed ten charges of war crimes against Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of murder. All this in the context of Darfur.
Here is some information on the ICC. It is located in The Hague, Netherlands. It is also known as the "World Court", not to be confused with the United Nations "World Court". It can exercise its jurisdiction only when national courts are unwilling or unable to investigate crimes. The types of crimes it handles are: genocide, crimes against immunity, war crimes, acts of aggression. 106 states are members of the court. 40 more states are in the process.
The United States "unsigned" itself from the ICC in 2002. The objections were that the court does not have appeals, denies American rights and American sovereignty. The United States went on to say that it would not, at its own discretion, give military aid to countries who signed up with the ICC. The United States also made agreements to water down the constituency of the ICC, and refused aid to those who didn't agree. The United States also threatened to veto the renewal of all United Nations peacekeeping missions unless its troops were granted immunity from prosecution by the Court.
Next week, I'm going to the Netherlands. The Hague will probably be close to where I am staying. Maybe I can go visit the International Criminal Court.
1 comment:
I would really like to do that.
Post a Comment