Inhuman crimes

Inhuman crimes

Inhuman crimes have dangerous and long-lasting effects in any community. Offenses such as genocide, war crimes, aggression, and crimes against humanity require a collective effort to eradicate. Over two decades, the international community aspired to create a permanent court to deal with inhumanity. In the twentieth century, nations reached an agreement on the definitions of war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is the first global court established to help end impunity in society.  In April 2002, ten nations formally approved the Rome Statute of the ICC, which brought the total approvals to more than sixty. These nations activated the United Nations treaty on an international court of last resort. However, the ICC is an independent global agency and not part of the UN system. Today, the court has 123 member nations and has headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands. The core role of the ICC is to complement the individual judicial system in countries on two occasions; when national courts are ineffective in pursuing criminals and in case UN or member states refer events to the court. Therefore, the ICC strengthens the rule of law and universal human rights at the country level by presiding over crimes under international law.

Origin of ICC

            After the Second World War, the allied powers established the Nuremberg Trials, first international war crimes assembly, to prosecute top Nazi members. In addition, another tribunal, Tokyo War Crimes Trial, was created to punish German physicians and leaders in the Hitler regime as well as Japanese war criminals who united forces with Germany (Welch and Watkins 927). The hostility of the Second World War led to the creation of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.  This UN assembly defined genocide as a crime under international law and permitted the International Law Commission (ILC) to create a foreign body to try individuals for such offense. The commission consisted of 34 members nominated and elected by the UN. While the ILC explored and gathered information on genocide crimes, the Cold War limited its focus. According to Njoku and Ejiogu, Russia, the United States, and other nations developed a state of distrust among each other, leading to a power struggle (710). This disagreement between countries forced the UN assemblies to fail in delivering their goals.

Until the late 1980s, the ILC was unable to make progress concerning the creation of an international court with governments of UN member nations. In 1989, the UN general assembly requested the commission to resume work on the development of international jurisdiction that included drug trafficking (Welch and Watkins 928). While the ILC continued with the goal of creating a global court, UN security established two more tribunals that continued to influence the world’s nations. They included the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (1993) and International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (1994). Although the international support for these assemblies was strong, they became too costly hence less appealing to the UN general assembly. According to Fry, the high financial costs of the two tribunals gave further evidence for the creation of an international court to combine efforts and funds (210). In 1995, the ILC finished gathering information and submitted recommendations to the UN general assembly who debated the potential court.

During the negotiations of creating an international court of justice, four significant issues arose. The matters included the roles of the UN Security Council, the prosecutor’s independence, the method by which nations accept the court’s power, and preconditions for the court to exercise its jurisdiction (Fry 218). Several countries, including the US, remained unsatisfied with the powers granted to the international court. The Rome statute completed in 1998, which created the jurisdiction and established its governance. However, the ICC commenced operations in July 2002 as several countries delayed the confirmation of the international legislative body. According to Schabas, the court needed signatures from at least 60 nations, which happened in April 2002 (769). Over the next twelve months, the ICC elected its judges, registrar, and prosecutor. In addition, the international court received approximately €50 million to cater for all the financial costs. The Statute offers the court to try people who violate international law through genocide, war crimes, crimes of aggression, and crimes against humanity.

Process of ICC

With its headquarters in the Netherlands, the ICC has several field offices in several countries across the globe. According to Sofia, the court has 18 judges, each from a different member nation, and voted in by members (16). In addition, the ICC seeks a gender-balanced representation, and the judicature must include a representative from Africa, Asian-Pacific, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Western Europe. The ICC has three ways to receive a situation for investigation. (1) State party of the Rome Statute refers an event to the prosecutor, (2) UNSC requesting an investigation of an event in any UN member country, and (3) through the office of the prosecutor’s program where he or she seeks authorization from the pre-trial chamber.

After satisfying the three conditions to an investigation, the prosecutor applies to the pre-trial chamber for summons or warrant of arrest of suspected individuals. These people must fall under the categories of crimes relating to genocide, war crimes, crimes of aggression, and crimes against humanity. Sofia observes that once the pre-trial chamber issues summon or arrest warrant, the ICC hopes the wanted person will appear voluntarily where it confirms the charges (17). Once verified, the case moves to the Trial Chamber, where the prosecutor hopes to prove the accused guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The defendants may challenge decisions of the ICC throughout the pre-trial and trial stages, subject to review by the appeals chamber. Notably, the accused persons can take part in the proceeding directly or through legislative representation. If convicted, the ICC offers a sentence which includes reparation of imprisonment of the suspects.

Roles of the ICC

The ICC has jurisdiction over the most serious crimes clearly defined by the Rome Statute under specific procedures and conditions. According to Sofia, the overall mission of the court is to try people for crimes within its jurisdiction and without the need for a special authorization from the UN (18). Through this role, the ICC fosters compliance with international humanitarian regulations.

Genocide

The ICC plays a crucial role in ensuring persons who perpetrate genocidal situations receive a fair hearing. Polish Lawyer Lemkin formed the word ‘genocide’ to denote the various Nazi policies that systematically murdered Jews during the Holocaust (Brehm 38). In addition, the term indicated responses to previous events and targeted actions aimed at the killing of particular groups of people. Brehm notes that the UN general assembly recognized genocide as a crime under international law in 1946, after the Second World War (39). The international body enacted the crime in the Genocide Convention in 1948. As of January 2018, the convention had been approved by 149 UN member states. The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court defines genocide in the same terms as held initially in the 1948 convention. Consequently, most nations criminalized the crime in their respective domestic laws.

The ICC prosecutes genocide as it falls in the category of the most serious crimes in international law. According to Brehm, the Rome statute defines genocide as actions “committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group” (38). These crimes include killing members of a particular group or causing serious harm to the members. In addition, the ICC categorizes actions that deliberately inflicts the destruction of a group, imposes steps to prevent new births, or forcibly transports children out of the group (Sofia 30). Examples of events that fall under the genocide category include The Haiti Massacre (1804), The Dzungar Massacre (18th century), and Ethnic Cleansing of Circassia (19th century). Others include Civil War in Rwanda (1990), Cambodia (1975), and the Holocaust (1933). However, the ICC has the authority to prosecute such crimes committed after the ratification in July 2002. Notably, the court has indicted individuals responsible for the Sudanese Civil War that commenced in 2003. In addition, the ICC issued warrants of arrest against two members of the Sudanese government. In 2008, the court filed three charges of genocide of the then president, Omar al-Bashir.

War crimes

Although the ban of a specific behavior in military conflict traces back centuries ago, the idea of war crimes developed at the beginning of the twentieth century. According to Chukwuma and Ubong, The Hague conventions in 1899 and 1907 led to the adoption of the international humanitarian law of armed conflicts by prohibiting parties from using specific methods of warfare (64). Since then, several other treaties have been adopted but focus on the protection of persons not taking part in the fighting. However, no document organizes all the war crimes in a single code. Chukwuma and Ubong note that the list of war crimes can be found in treaties that reflected international humanitarian, criminal, and customary laws. Notably, all UN member states approved the Geneva Convention (1949) of all actions that constitute war crimes.

The Rome Statute considers war crimes as serious breaches of international humanitarian and customary law against enemies or civilians in an armed conflict. The ICC holds perpetrators criminally liable on an individual basis. Leman argues that international law considers war crimes applicable to armed conflicts to include willful killing, torture, taking hostages, inhumane treatment, and unlawful deportation (328). Other categories of the punishable offenses include biological experiments, destruction of property, compelling services, and denial of fair trials. Some of the charged individuals by ICC include Bahr Abu Garda (Sudan), Omar al-Bashir (Sudan), Jean-Pierre Bemba (CAR), Germain Katanga (DRC), Bosco Ntaganda (DRC), and Joseph Kony (Uganda). Under international law, any act can be a war crime even if not performed as a widespread or systematic attack on humans. However, the authority of the ICC is limited to actions in respect of armed conflicts committed as a plan of large-scale warfare.

Crimes against humanity

Several scholars believe the context of ‘crimes against humanity’ originated in the late eighteenth century. The circumstance of the development referred to slavery and slave trade events. Renzo believes crimes against humanity arose to define the cruelty and inhumane actions taken by Europeans while colonizing other countries such as Africa and Latin America (443). Others believe the context of the crimes originated in 1915 when Russia, Britain, and France condemned the mass murder of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. The notion of the atrocities continued to evolve under international customary law and through the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, and the ICC (444). Unlike genocide and war crimes, no dedicated treaty of international law codifies the crimes against humanity. However, the ICC and national governments consider actions similar to genocide to fall under this category.

The Rome Statute that instituted the ICC considers several actions as part of the crimes against humanity. According to Lambert, they include systematic or widespread attacks against any civilian population, such as murder, extermination, deportation, and enslavement (708). Other related crimes include torture, imprisonment through violation of international law, rape, enforced prostitution, and other sexual violence. Renzo notes apartheid, enforced disappearance of persons, and persecution of any identifiable social group as part of crimes against humanity (445). In contrast to genocide, this category does not have to target a specific community, but the victims can be any civilian population. The ICC has charged several individuals with crimes against humanity, including Laurent Gbagbo (Ivory Coast), Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya), Tohami Khaled (Libya), and Dominic Ongwen (Uganda). In contrast to war crimes, crimes against humanity may occur during war or peacetime and can be part of a government policy.

Crimes of aggression

During a review conference of the Rome Statute in Uganda (2010), the assembly defined crimes of aggression as events falling in the ICC’s jurisdiction. According to Sofia, the ICC member states agreed on the definition of the atrocities to include “the planning, preparation, initiation or execution of an act of using armed force by a State against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of another State” (25). In addition, the crimes involve military occupation, blockade of ports, invasion, and unity by force. The Statute declares a perpetrator of crimes of aggression as any individual who is in a position to exercise control or direct military action of a country. The acts constitute a manifest violation of the UN charter. Fry states that ICC has jurisdiction of governments or militaries that uses the military to disturb the independence, integrity, and peace of another state (220). To date, the ICC has not yet charged any individual found violating this part of international law.

In many conflicts around the globe, governments, armies, rebel groups, and individuals may attack other people to commit inhumane actions and other human rights abuses. Often, the domestic courts fail to punish the persons who perpetrate these crimes. However, since July 2002, the international community enjoys a court dedicated to prosecuting the actions. The Rome Statute established the ICC as a permanent international tribunal with the role of pursuing individuals who commit genocide, crimes of aggression, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The goal of the court is to oversee international statutes, customary laws, and international criminal laws. A crucial concern of the ICC is combining universal criminal justice and ensuring communication of domestic needs for justice.