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Courting History: The Landmark International Criminal Court's First Years

This Human Rights Watch report examines the ICC's accomplishments and shortcomings since it began operations in 2003. The court was created to bring justice to the victims of gross human rights violations; so far the court has issued arrest warrants against suspects in four countries, though none have yet been tried.

http://hrw.org/reports/2008/icc0708/icc0708webwcover.pdf

(Added: Mon Jul 14 2008   Hits: 12)

Still Waiting: Bringing Justice for War Crimes, Crimes against Humanity, and Genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina's Cantonal and District Courts

This Human Rights Watch report details the numerous practical and political problems impeding these trials. The obstacles include that prosecutors' offices lack sufficient staff and generally do not specialize in one type of crime. Cooperation between prosecutors and police and between police across entity lines continues to be problematic. Witness protection measures are rarely, if ever, employed, and witness support services are generally not available. Prosecutors often fail to make use of available sources of evidence and do not take steps necessary to secure suspect attendance at trial. Defense attorneys generally lack access to training in relevant areas of law and are often inadequately, or not at all, compensated for their work. Some cantonal and district courts have yet to try a single case.

http://hrw.org/reports/2008/bosnia0708/bosnia0708webwcover.pdf

(Added: Fri Jul 11 2008   Hits: 20)

Britain 'blocking peace deal' for Uganda

President Yoweri Museveni's government and Lord Resistance Army representatives have signed a truce hailed as a major step towards a permanent ceasefire. But any conclusive deal is threatened by the continued absence from the talks of the LRA leader Joseph Kony and three of his top commanders. They fear arrest under warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has indicted them on charges including murder, rape and abducting and conscripting 25,000 children. In a bid to secure peace Uganda has promised full amnesty to them - but Britain and others oppose this, instead supporting the ICC. (Xan Rice, The Guardian, 28 August 2006)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1859638,00.html

(Added: Tue Aug 29 2006   Hits: 62)

Justice for a Lawless World? Rights and reconciliation in a new era of international law

Could the increasing power of global mass media and international criminal courts mean this is the beginning of a new era of human rights and international justice? To answer this question, IRIN looks at the development of international justice since World War II, interviews top human rights and political frontiners and academics such as Noam Chomsky, Samantha Power and Juan Mendez, presents articles from the frontlines of countries experiencing impunity, and provides links to further information. (IRIN, June 2006)

http://www.irinnews.org/webspecials/RightsAndReconciliation/default.asp

(Added: Thu Aug 17 2006   Hits: 131)

War and Justice in Northern Uganda: an assessment of the international criminal court's intervention (pdf)

In Northern Uganda the government and rebel forces have been at war since the 1980s. Massacres and abductions are common and human suffering immense. Several thousands live in refugee camps. Since 2003, this situation is being investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC). This 100 page report looks at what progress has been made towards ending the war. (Tim Allen, Crisis States Research Centre, London School of Economics, 2005)

http://www.crisisstates.com/download/others/AllenICCReport.pdf

(Added: Fri Jul 21 2006   Hits: 62)

The International Criminal Court and Sudan: Access to Justice and Victims' Rights

One year after the referral by the UN Security Council to the International Criminal Court (ICC) of the situation in Darfur, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), its partner organisation SOAT (Sudan Organisation Against Torture) and the Khartoum Center for Human Rights and Environmental Development (KCHRED) are publishing their report. It finds, among other things, that there are difficulties for victims wanting to participate in the Court and there is almost no money being provided for victims' legal aid; that it is the responsibility of the Government of Sudan to remedy violations and to provide full reparation in line with international standards; and that Sudanese laws are neither substantively nor procedurally fit to address crimes of rape and sexual violence. (31 March 2006)

http://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/SudanICC441-EN.pdf

(Added: Thu May 04 2006   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 71)

Sudan : who will answer for the crimes (PDF)

Amnesty International, January 2005. To ensure an end to impunity for the worst crimes committed in conflicts in the Sudan, the The UN Security Council needs to refer the situation in the Sudan, including Darfur, to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in order to ensure an end to some of the worst crimes committed during conflicts. The UN Security Council has repeatedly emphasized concern at the failure of Sudan to end impunity and must now act to remain coherent. The International Criminal Court would, however, only try a handful of those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The UN Security Council and the international community must also support a comprehensive reform of the Sudanese justice system so as to enable it to bring to justice perpetrators of serious crimes under international human rights and humanitarian law.

http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAFR540062005

(Added: Thu Sep 29 2005   Modified: Thu Aug 31 2006   Hits: 70)

U.S. Punishes 35 Countries for Signing Onto Int'l Court

Jim Lobe, IPS, 2 July 2006. Raising its war against the International Criminal Court to a new level, the administration of President George W. Bush (news - web sites) Tuesday cut off military aid to 35 friendly countries in retaliation for their support of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and refusal to exempt U.S. soldiers from the ICC's jurisdiction. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that have supported the ICC immediately denounced the cuts, which will affect mostly countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, East and Central Europe, and sub-Saharan Africa. Most of the countries are democratic and firmly allied with the U.S. and the West, more generally.

http://www.oneworld.net/article/view/62820/1/

(Added: Tue Jul 08 2003   Modified: Fri Aug 25 2006   Hits: 188)

White House Hobbles International Criminal Court, World Security

By Harpinder Athwal and Maggie Gardner, July 1, 2003 (Foreign Policy in Focus). The current U.S. administration has a near-religious aversion to the new, permanent International Criminal Court (ICC). The court, now with 90 member countries, was established to ensure that the rule of law prevails in places where the only alternative is impunity for the most gut-wrenchingly vicious crimes against humanity. Its opponents in the administration, however, claim that the court will become a forum for politicized prosecutions. In fact, they are so sure that the court is out to persecute U.S. citizens that they are willing to undermine some of the most basic foundations of international security to protect against this perceived, but nonexistent, threat.

http://www.fpif.org/commentary/2003/0307icc.html

(Added: Tue Jul 08 2003   Modified: Tue Dec 06 2005   Hits: 108)

'New Justice' vs. Impunity - The International Criminal Court

International Herald Tribune June 18, 2003. By Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch. " Unlike the old justice of impunity that allowed the likes of Augusto Pinochet and Pol Pot to go unpunished, the new justice of the international court, known as the ICC, reflects a growing global determination to bring the worst human rights criminals to justice. Yet the Bush administration continues its campaign against the court, although it is increasingly isolated in its opposition."

http://www.hrw.org/editorials/2003/icc061803.htm

(Added: Thu Jun 19 2003   Modified: Tue Dec 06 2005   Hits: 187)

USA for the International Criminal Court

In 1998, the nations of the world agreed to create the International Criminal Court (ICC) to hold accountable and bring to justice individuals responsible for mass murder, genocide, and war crimes. Building American support for the International Criminal Court is the primary mission of USAforICC.org. The International Criminal Court will bring the perpetrators of the most heinous crimes to justice when nations will not or cannot. The site was created to generate grassroots support for the ICC and make it easy for supporters to communicate with their elected officials.

http://www.usaforicc.org/index.html

(Added: Fri Apr 11 2003   Modified: Tue Dec 06 2005   Hits: 165)

Milestone in international justice

by Sebastiaan Gottlieb, 11 March 2003, Radio Netherlands. The swearing in of 18 judges at the International Criminal Court in The Hague marks the court's official inauguration on Tuesday. Many of the 139 signatory states sent delegates to the ceremony, attended by Queen Beatrix and UN Chief Kofi Annan. Noticeably absent was the United States, which has boycotted the tribunal and left the bill for its running with European and other Western nations.

http://www.rnw.nl/hotspots/html/icc030311.html

(Added: Wed Mar 12 2003   Modified: Tue Dec 06 2005   Hits: 130)

Coalition for the International Criminal Court.

This site is the primary NGO provider of online information about the International Criminal Court. The International Criminal Court (ICC) will be a permanent court for trying individuals accused of committing genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Following the Rome Statute of the ICC entry into force on 1 July 2002, the Court is expected to be fully functional by mid-2003.

http://www.iccnow.org/

(Added: Mon Oct 21 2002   Modified: Tue Dec 06 2005   Hits: 139)

International Criminal Court

One of the primary objectives of the United Nations is securing universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms of individuals throughout the world. In this connection, few topics are of greater importance than the fight against impunity and the struggle for peace and justice and human rights in conflict situations in today's world. The establishment of a permanent international criminal court (ICC) is seen as a decisive step forward.

http://www.un.org/law/icc/

(Added: Thu Sep 05 2002   Modified: Tue Dec 06 2005   Hits: 143)

States parties to International Criminal Court treaty open first session at UN

3 September :States parties to the International Criminal Court (ICC) - the world's only permanent tribunal for prosecuting individuals responsible for war crimes - today began their first session at United Nations Headquarters in New York aimed at finalizing practical arrangements for the ICC's functioning. "This is an historic day for the United Nations and the whole international community," UN Legal Counsel Hans Corell told the gathering. "We see the dawn of a new age in the pursuit of justice." (UN News Centre).

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=4605&Cr=icc&Cr1=

(Added: Thu Sep 05 2002   Modified: Tue Dec 06 2005   Hits: 138)

International Criminal Court - Human Rights Watch

At the end of the bloodiest century in human history, the international community adopted a treaty creating the world's first independent and permanent International Criminal Court. That court is now becoming reality. The International Criminal Court (ICC) will be able to investigate and prosecute those individuals accused of crimes against humanity, genocide, and crimes of war. The ICC will complement existing national judicial systems and step in only if national courts are unwilling or unable to investigate or prosecute such crimes. The ICC will also help defend the rights of those, such as women and children, who have often had little recourse to justice. Includes: 'An Open Letter to the Human Rights Watch Community', Basic Fact Sheet, Questions and Answers About the ICC, 'Countdown to the International Criminal Court' a list of countries that have ratified the Rome Statute, and 'Making the International Criminal Court Work: A Handbook for Implementing the Rome Statute'.

http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/icc/facts.htm

(Added: Thu May 09 2002   Modified: Thu Jan 18 2007   Hits: 145)