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For more details you can contact us civilmarchforaleppo gmail. This march is what we can do about the situation in Syria right here and right now. Beyond the Hague is excited to welcome Dr. The SCC also excluded the applicability of joint criminal enterprise III, finding that at the time the crimes were committed criminal liability based on making a contribution to the implementation of a common criminal purpose was limited to crimes that were actually encompassed by the common purpose.
This blog post seeks to provide a brief overview of the background to this judgment and some comments on its findings.
The case originally involved four accused. However, Ieng Thirith , the former Minister of Social Affairs during the Khmer Rouge, was found unfit to stand trial in November , while the case against her husband Ieng Sary , the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, was similarly dropped on 14th March following his death the same day.
These incidents brought into sharp relief the risks associated with pursuing justice for crimes perpetrated over forty years ago, and a decision was made to sever the substantial case against the remaining defendants into a series of sub-trials. The initial Trial Judgment was released on the 7 th of August The Chamber found that this common purpose was implemented through policies to forcibly displace people from cities and towns and between rural areas, and a policy to target former Khmer Republic officials. Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan were thus found to have committed the crimes against humanity of murder, political persecution and other inhumane acts comprising forced transfer, enforced disappearances and attacks on human dignity during the movements of the population, and murder and extermination through executions of Khmer Republic officials.
This judgment was not without its critics. As a result, despite finding that there was evidence of Khmer Republic officials being murdered, it was found that the liability of the accused had not been proven, and the convictions were reversed.
This appeal judgment is an important contribution to the legacy of the ECCC. While delivering accountability for the grave crimes perpetrated during the Khmer Rouge is an important goal, the legitimacy of the Court depends on judgments being well reasoned and fair. An English version is available here. Simone Gbagbo at opening hearing of trial for crimes against humanity photo: Currently, a total of victims are admitted to participate in the trial, scheduled to begin in December.
Why were of these victims denied legal aid? Have they failed to prove their indigence? Have their lawyers failed to meet the standards of quality and cost efficient representation? Importantly, their choice has been approved by the Court as being without prejudice to the effectiveness of proceedings. This decision strikes a blow to meaningful victim participation, it is based on a mid-reading of the rules and is inconsistent with previous practice of the Court.
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The consideration of rape as torture and as genocide: Some implications for group theory. The trend of recurrence rape in our society today constitutes a serious phenomenal threat to the human existence and dignity.
Some implications for group theory. How well have international and regional media succeeded in reporting the prosecution of war crimes committed during the conflicts in Bosnia, Croatia and Kosovo? Witnesses and victims have described being treated with a lack of sensitivity due in part to lack of communication with victims and witnesses and inadequate follow-up. Cases of mid-level perpetrators and cases where there are numerous perpetrators bearing significant responsibility, as in many post-conflict situations, are unlikely to be fully addressed by the ICC. This essay proposes a perspective of the road ahead in light of both the successes of the recent past and current obstacles to further progress. It also ruled that in order to compel testimony and to issue subpoenas, there must be sufficient evidence the testimony is important to determine a key issue and that the same evidence cannot be obtained elsewhere. There are other technical obstacles in the region.
This paper also examined selected statutes which prohibit rape. It further examined rape in the War rape comes in many forms, is perpetrated for many reasons, has multiple victims and multiple culpable perpetrators. This chapter examines war rape, asks whether Just War Theory JWT can tackle the specific challenges posed by the reality of sexual violence during wartime, and suggests that it might actually have an important conceptual framework to offer to philosophical analyses of the Gender, sexualized violence, and the prevention of genocide.
In the past two decades, sexualized violence during conflict has gained the attention of international judicial bodies, policymakers, and international organizations. Media coverage in the region is a bit more regular, albeit not always objective. Karadzic has a high profile in the region too and the media has been following very closely all proceedings since the beginning of the tribunal.
However, it is unfortunate that the media follow these cases selectively, depending on which country they come from. It is often the case that the media in one of the countries of the former Yugoslavia only follow those cases in which the accused belong to their nation or ethnicity, while ignoring the cases which address the crimes committed over the victims from that country or nation. This is selective journalism and very dangerous, as it paints an inaccurate picture and gives the citizens an impression of selective justice which is not true.
There are other technical obstacles in the region. Court reporting is particularly labour-intensive and not all media agencies in the region have the resources to do so on a regular basis. In light of this, the tribunal has endeavoured to make its work more transparent and accessible to the media, and especially that of the region.
The court records database , for example, is an online database that holds all public filings from up to today, representing hundreds of thousands of records. The media office sends out dozens of court filings on daily basis.
This tribunal has actually pioneered changes in judicial transparency by making all its public court filings available immediately after receiving it. At the same time, most exhibits presented during a case are also available to public. This means millions of pages of documents, from military orders to minutes from meetings, to procurement of fuel and food are available to public because the ICTY obtained access to them and made them public.
The tribunal has also recently launched a YouTube channel and Twitter account in an effort to further increase its visibility and bring its activities closer to the public. As part of its outreach programme, the tribunal has organised many visits for journalists from the region to help them gain insight into the work and procedure of the tribunal, meet officials in person and establish contacts with them.
How important are journalists in terms of upholding the rule of law and holding people in power to account? However much effort the tribunal has put into cementing its legacy by developing the capacities of the local courts, the legacy of the ICTY will not have any real long-term impact without a public debate on its work and that of the local courts. Without such a debate, the risk is that the crucial work of the ICTY and the local courts will have a limited impact within the affected communities of the former Yugoslavia.
By holding individuals to account and conducting trials, the tribunal and local courts have not only fought perceived and actual impunity from justice and consolidated the rule of law across the region, but also established facts on the conflicts. Facts are the mightiest weapon against denial and revisionist agendas.
They contribute to the building of a healthy, stable and peaceful society. It is therefore crucial that these facts are disseminated within the affected communities of the region so that they can feed into the debates on the past. Journalists play a crucial role in ensuring that this happens, and the local courts must work closely with them to ensure that their work is communicated to the people in a manner which is impartial, complete and accurate.
Only then will a healthy debate, and a stable society, thrive. This does not mean that any court is free from or above criticism — we should all be open to public scrutiny, but this should be done in a responsible manner rather than to simply to continue the status quo of mistrust and fear between different nations. The Balkan Fellowship for Journalistic Excellence programme topic is justice, click here for more details and to download an application form.
The deadline for applications in March 1, Transitional justice goes far beyond the court room, as its fundamental goal is to build sustainable, peaceful democracies through truth and reconciliation efforts. Contact the Balkan Transitional Justice team if you have any queries, recommendations, or concerns about the project. Interviews 18 Feb 11 Media and the Past.
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