It will forever suffer “virus of illegitimacy”
By Carolyn Bennett (incl. news editing)
The rule of law cannot exist until and unless all without
exception submit to the rule of law
Exhibit A: Charles Taylor at the ICC viewed
by Robtel Neajai Pailey
 |
| ICC Pre-trial chamber |
“What Charles Taylor’s verdict signifies for me is the need
to reconfigure Africa’s domestic systems of justice so that we don’t have to
rely on the West to judge when, where, and under what circumstances we can
punish for transgressions that we deem unacceptable,” the Liberian scholar, Robtel
Neajai Pailey, wrote yesterday at Pambazuka News.
“If a mob can stealthily execute an alleged rogue for stealing a loaf of bread from a local market anywhere on the continent, then surely we can channel that kind of misappropriated anger and violence to constructively tackle the most egregious criminals who break the public trust.
Surely we can ensure that wielding money and power and influence cannot cloak a common criminal from facing the full weight of the law, no matter who she or he is.”
“If a mob can stealthily execute an alleged rogue for stealing a loaf of bread from a local market anywhere on the continent, then surely we can channel that kind of misappropriated anger and violence to constructively tackle the most egregious criminals who break the public trust.
Surely we can ensure that wielding money and power and influence cannot cloak a common criminal from facing the full weight of the law, no matter who she or he is.”
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| International Criminal Court |
The
International Criminal Court (ICC) is the first permanent international
judicial body capable of trying individuals for genocide, crimes against
humanity and war crimes when national courts are unable or unwilling to do so.
Yesterday the Court found former
Liberian president Charles Taylor guilty of aiding and abetting acts of
terrorism, murder, violence to life, health or physical well being of persons,
rape, sexual slavery, outrages upon personal dignity, violence to life, health
and physical or mental well being of persons, other inhumane acts, a crime
against humanity, conscripting or enlisting children under the age of 15 years
into the armed forces, enslavement, and pillage. At the end of May, the Court will
announce Taylor’s sentence and he will be moved to a prison in Britain.
 |
| Former
UK and U.S. (Blair-G.W. Bush) heads of state Malaysian tribunal found Bush and Blair guilty of committing crimes against humanity during the Iraq war |
Russia, China and the United States
never ratified the International Criminal Court because they were concerned
that their nationals could be held accountable for crimes committed in other
countries.
In May 2009, backed by India, Russia
and a majority of Asian, African and Latin American member states, Sri Lanka
successfully organized a counter resolution [and] a UN resolution accused the
administration of war crimes.”
Exhibit B: criminal West,
convenient allies
Lawlessness, impunity, ‘select justice,’
refusal to submit to rule of law
In early April, according to a Press TV report, the International
Criminal Court announced its refusal “to investigate the Israeli regime’s war
crimes in the Gaza Strip during Tel Aviv’s December 2008-January 2009 offensives
against the populated enclave.” The reasons reportedly given by the Court were
that Palestine was not an official state and the ICC had no jurisdiction over
the Palestinian territories.
That December-January Gaza War executed by the Israelis “killed
more than 1,400 Palestinians and inflicted a damage of more than $1.6 billon on
the already impoverished people of the Gaza Strip.” The Palestinian Authority
has persisted in its plea to the ICC for justice. Some major human rights
groups have accused Israel of committing war crimes during the invasion.
“… It is not enough,” Pailey says, “for the likes of Taylor, Bashir, Kony
and other Africans to be called before an international tribunal.” As argued by Charles Taylor’s lawyer, Courtenay Griffiths, “all who commit atrocities
around the world deserve the same kind of justice — from the former Prime
Minister of the UK, Tony Blair, to former President of the United States,
George W. Bush, for their participation in an illegitimate war in Iraq.” It
will likely be “a long time indeed before three Africans in black robes sit in
judgment of the likes of [former U.S.Vice President] Dick Cheney and [former U. S. Defense Secretary] Donald Rumsfeld for their endorsement
of torture, or [Russian Federation President] Vladimir Putin for his war in Chechnya, or Chinese officials for
their actions in Tibet.”
A news article at the blog on international justice, iLawyer,
reported that at the end of oral arguments in the Taylor trial, Alternate
Judge Malick Sow of Senegal attempted to voice his dissenting opinion and was effectively
silenced. Judge Sow reportedly said this before is microphone was silenced.
Under any mode of liability,
under any accepted standard of proof, the guilt of the accused from the
evidence provided in this trial is not proved beyond reasonable doubt by the
Prosecution and my only worry is that the whole system is not consistent with
all the principles we know and love, and the system is not consistent with all
the values of international criminal justice.
I’m afraid the whole system is under grave danger of just losing all credibility…
I’m afraid the whole system is under grave danger of just losing all credibility…
U.S. allied with Taylor
Al Jazeera reported in a January that Charles Taylor
had been used as an “asset” to U.S. officials.
The Pentagon’s spy arm, DIA or Defense Intelligence Agency, “confirmed” without revealing details that “its agents and CIA agents worked with Taylor in the 1980s.” A former investigative campaigner in West Africa with the NGO Global Witness, Alexander Yearsley, reportedly told Al Jazeera “Taylor was DIA asset” in 1989 when he (Taylor) led a rebel army invasion of Liberia from the Ivory Coast that left took control of most of Liberia and killed thousands of people.
When George W, Bush assumed the U.S. presidency in 2001, Al Jazeera reported, he discovered that Taylor was on the CIA payroll and “put a stop to it.”
The Pentagon’s spy arm, DIA or Defense Intelligence Agency, “confirmed” without revealing details that “its agents and CIA agents worked with Taylor in the 1980s.” A former investigative campaigner in West Africa with the NGO Global Witness, Alexander Yearsley, reportedly told Al Jazeera “Taylor was DIA asset” in 1989 when he (Taylor) led a rebel army invasion of Liberia from the Ivory Coast that left took control of most of Liberia and killed thousands of people.
When George W, Bush assumed the U.S. presidency in 2001, Al Jazeera reported, he discovered that Taylor was on the CIA payroll and “put a stop to it.”
U.S. drone murders (update)
Press TV reports today, “A U.S. assassination drone attacked
Somalia’s southwestern region of Gedo. The attack left 22 (est.) people dead
and caused injuries to dozens of people.
Washington’s unmanned aircraft have attacked several
countries in addition to Somalia. Among them are Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, and
Yemen. These CIA-run attacks the United States claims aim at ‘militants.’ Local
authorities’ witness reports and figures in these countries show the attacks have
caused “massive civilian deaths.” The United Nations has repeatedly condemned
the use of U.S. assassination drone strikes, saying they pose a challenge to
international law. Instead of ending these attacks, the current government in
Washington has increased this lawlessness against the region, the countries and
their people.
Is there any surprise then that a new opinion poll deems the
United States “the biggest threat to global security”? This latest negative
response by half of Spain’s population indicates a drop in U.S. popularity in
that country.
Exhibit C: Root of impartial adjudication
Pailey concludes with thoughts on the consequences of the
status quo and what must happen to arrest the capriciousness of power, strengthen
the rule of law to which all peoples and nations submit, and ensure access for
all peoples to justice without prejudice.
 |
| Eleanor Roosevelt Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 |
“If we are serious
about the idea that basic human rights belong to all people on Earth, no matter
where they live — a principle enshrined
in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights — then a
justice system that can cross national boundaries is essential.”
The former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
and former prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for Yugoslavia
and Rwanda, Louise Arbour, said in 2010 —
 |
| Louise Arbour |
Sources and notes
“One man, two wars, one guilty verdict — Charles Taylor
judgment reveals selective international justice” (Robtel Neajai Pailey). April
26, 2012, Issue 582, http://pambazuka.org/en/category/features/81694
Monrovia, Liberia-native Robtel Neajai Pailey is a Mo
Ibrahim Foundation scholar currently pursuing a doctorate in Development Studies
at the University of London’s School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)
Pailey notes continued: “Much has changed since I covered the
first day of Charles Taylor’s trial for Pambazuka News on June 4, 2007. That
day, he failed to show up to court, calling the case against him a ‘farce.’
Today, he was in full view, stoic, resolute and somber. As I sat in the public
gallery of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon building at The Hague, peering at
the man portrayed as the most notorious African warlord in contemporary
history, Taylor’s fate was solidified by one word: ‘GUILTY.’…
“It is clear, however, that the decision to convict him was
not unanimous. After Taylor’s verdict was announced, Judge Malick Sow disagreed
with the judgment openly while being rebuffed by colleagues, who stormed out of
the court: ‘I disagree with the findings and conclusions of the other
judges…the guilt of the accused from the evidence provided in this trial is not
proved beyond a reasonable doubt by the prosecution.’ Judge Sow, like others
before him, had argued that Taylor did not make or break the war in Sierra Leone…
“Regardless of the dissenting judge, Taylor’s sentence will
be announced on May 30, two weeks after the prosecution and defense have given their
oral arguments in a hearing. He will be transferred thereafter to a British
prison to serve whatever sentence he is given. Again, another non-African
prison will hold Taylor for crimes committed in Africa.
“Lest we have selective amnesia, Taylor walked out of a
Plymouth prison in Massachusetts while undergoing extradition charges to
Liberia in 1985. That was the beginning of Liberia’s tragic epic. Presumably it
was also the beginning of Sierra Leone’s.”
Pambazuka’ in Kiswahili means the dawn or to arise as a verb
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The International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is the first
permanent international judicial body capable of trying individuals for
genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes when national courts are
unable or unwilling to do so. http://www.iccnow.org/?mod=court
“Justice Sow’s Statement/Dissent at the Charles Taylor
Judgment” (Shannon Torrens), April 27, 2012 by http://ilawyerblog.com/justice-sows-statementdissent-at-the-charles-taylor-judgment/
iLawyer: a blog on international justice
As Alternate Judge Malick Sow made this statement, the other
three Judges walked out of the room. Court technicians cut off an in-house
video feed to reporters, turned off the Judge’s microphone and closed the
public gallery. Mr. Taylor’s Lead Defense Counsel Courtenay Griffiths Q.C.
later quoted from the Judge’s speech at a press conference. An Alternate Judge does
not have a vote or a right to dissent but sought to publicly state his concerns
that the evidence against Mr. Taylor did not reach the threshold necessary for
conviction. Justice Sow made his statement as Justice Lussick, Justice Doherty
and Justice Sebutinde rose and prepared to leave the court at the conclusion of
the verdict.
Also:
Former Liberian leader, Charles Taylor, convicted at
international court, •Length: 4:59 minutes (4.57 MB), •Format: MP3 Mono 44kHz
128Kbps (CBR), News Segments
Thursday April 26, 2012
Former Liberian
President Charles Taylor has been found guilty on eleven counts of aiding and
abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity during the civil war in Sierra
Leone. The decision came at an international criminal court in The Hague.
Taylor is the first former head of state to be convicted by an international
court since the Nuremberg trials, and was the first sitting head of state ever
to be indicted by an international court. Although human rights groups are
calling the decision historic, some are questioning the court’s verdict and the
court’s credibility. FSRN’s Hermione Gee reports., http://fsrn.org/audio/former-liberian-leader-charles-taylor-convicted-international-court/10204
“Accused war criminal Taylor worked with CIA’ — Liberia's
ex-president, now on trial in The Hague, worked with U.S. intelligence
agencies, officials admit” (Chris Arsenault), January 21, 2012, http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/01/2012120194243233526.html
“Decision on former Liberian leader is first ever judgment
of a former African head of state by an international court,” April 27, 2012,
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2012/04/201242693846498785.html
“U.S. drone attack in SW Somalia kills at least 22,” April
27, 2012, http://www.presstv.ir/detail/238376.html
“Spaniards say U.S. biggest threat to global security:
Survey,” April 26, 2012, http://www.presstv.ir/detail/238274.html
“ICC declines to probe into Israel’s war on Gaza,” April 4,
2012, http://www.presstv.ir/detail/234632.html
Former United Nations high commissioner for human rights and
former prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for Yugoslavia and
Rwanda, Louise Arbour is president of the International Crisis Group, which in
2010 released the report “War Crimes in Sri Lanka.”
Images:
credit ICC International Criminal Court premises. Credit:
ICC-CPI
An empty courtroom at the temporary ICC headquarters in The
Hague. Credit: ICC-CPI
Louise Arbour, former High Commissioner for Human Rights
http://www.jdslanka.org/2010_06_09_archive.html
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