Citizens for Global Solutions

INTERNATIONAL LAW AND JUSTICE | Archives 2004

Bush Signs Economic Fund Sanctions

December 8, 2004 -- The President has signed the Appropriations bill including the Nethercutt Amendment depriving ICC State Parties of Economic Support Funds.

+ READ ABOUT THE ESF FOR BIA DEMAND

Burundi Support from U.N. Includes ICC Reference

December 2, 2004 -- The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously in favor of a resolution extending U.N. peacekeeping efforts as well as 'international support, as appropriate."

UN Panel Calls for ICC Ratifications

December 2, 2004 -- The UN panel has urged that all nations ratify the Rome Statute among the many recommendations from the HLP report released today.

+ READ ABOUT UN HIGH LEVEL PANEL RECOMMENDATIONS

Civil Rights Leaders Urge the Senate to Scrutinize the Record of Attorney General Nominee Alberto Gonzales
Citizens for Global Solutions is alarmed by President Bush’s selection of White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales to succeed John Ashcroft to the post of Attorney General and urges the Senate to oppose his nomination.
_{+ PRESS RELEASE} +READ ORGANIZATIONAL LETTER TO PRESIDENT BUSH ABOUT GONZALES' NOMINATION

UN Commission on Human Rights
November 29, 2004 -- Citizens for Global Solutions provides detailed analysis of the structure and organization of the Commission on Human Rights and offers some recommendations for how to improve its effectiveness.
+ ANALYSIS OF UN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

Appropriations Bill Delayed

November 29, 2004 -- The House has voted to delay action on the final amendment that is currently keeping the budget restricting Economic Support Funds.

+ READ ABOUT THE ESF FOR BIA DEMAND

Nethercutt to Pass in Budget Legislation

November 23, 2004 -- The Nethercutt Amendment to the Foreign Appropriations bill is expected to pass tomorrow. The amendment pulls Economic Support Funds from parties to the Rome statute that refuse to sign immunity agreements with the U.S.

+ READ ABOUT ECONOMIC SUPPORT FUND RESTRICTIONS

OTP Welcomes New Deputy Prosecutor
November 1, 2004 -- The ICC Office of the Prosecutor welcomed Fatou Bensouda to the Court as a new Deputy Prosecutor during a ceremony at the Hague on 1 November. Her achievements as Attorney General and Solicitor General in The Gambia and as Legal Adviser at the ICTR were highlighted for making her a terrific addition to the team.

Fact Sheet on Darfur & Possible Security Council Referral to the ICC
November 1, 2004 -- Citizens for Global Solutions supports the UN Commission of Inquiry for Darfur and recommends Security Council referral to the International Criminal Court if the Commission finds evidence that widespread crimes against humanity or genocide have taken place.
+READ FACT SHEET

Kerry Spells Out Position on ICC

October 5, 2004 -- Noting that his primary concern is still protecting service members, Senator Kerry rolled out a distinctly more receptive approach to the ICC than the current administration.

+ READ MORE

Bush Alleges Unaccountability of ICC During Debate

October 1, 2004 -- Saying he was not out to win any world popularity contests, Bush accused Kerry during the Presidential debates of wrongly supporting the International Criminal Court. He said the UN court was a tribunal “where unaccountable judges and prosecutors could pull our troops, our diplomats up for trial.” + READ MORE

Half of World has Joined ICC; Burundi and Liberia Ratify Rome Statute
September 27, 2004 -- With Guyana's ratification of the ICC's treaty, the number of States Parties has risen to 97 -- more than half the countries in the world and a remarkable achievement for a treaty that is only 6 years old.
+ READ MORE

Nethercutt Amendment Update
September 23, 2004 -- The full Senate passed by voice vote today the FY 2005 Foreign Operations Appropriations bill without any language sanctioning countries that join the ICC. The House version of the bill still contains the worrisome Nethercutt Amendment, but the amendment is likely to be removed in the conference committee to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the bill.
+ PREVIOUS ARTICLE ON NETHERCUTT AMENDMENT

Third Assembly of States Parties Meets in the Hague
September 6-10, 2004 -- Assembly makes key decisions on budget, Deputy Prosecutor, President of ASP; The Prosecutor announces his expectations for trials and investigations in the next year.
+ READ MORE

Assembly of States Parties Meeting
September 6-10, 2004 -- The Assembly elected a new deputy prosecutor, approved the budget, elected a new President of the ASP and approved the UN-ICC relationship agreement. The Prosecutor announced his expectations for trials and investigations in the next year.
+ READ MORE

Court Jesters: Remember the International Criminal Court? House Republicans Sure Do
The American Prospect, September 1, 2004
Mark Goldberg discussed US policy towards the ICC. The article focuses mainly on the Nethercutt Amendment, what may be the US Congress' "most aggressive attempt to limit the court."
+ READ MORE

ICC Launches Ugandan Investigation
July 29, 2004 -- The ICC Prosecutor announced the launch of a full investigation into ongoing human rights atrocities in Uganda, an ICC member country. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni referred the 18-year-old conflict to the ICC in December 2003. The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) has been accused of abducting more than 20,000 children and forcing them to fight, carry out hard labor, and serve as sex slaves to commanders. The Ugandan army has also been accused of abuses.
+ READ MORE

House Passes Amendment to Sanction Pro-ICC Countries
July 15, 2004 -- The House today passed an amendment to the Foreign Operations appropriations bill that would cut further assistance to International Criminal Court (ICC) member countries. The amendment, introduced by Rep. George Nethercutt (R-WA), would cut Economic Support Fund assistance from ICC countries that have not signed a bilateral immunity agreement with the U.S. Countries that could potentially be sanctioned include Jordan, South Africa, and Ireland.
+ READ MORE

U.S. Withdraws Peacekeepers
July 1, 2004 -- The U.S. announced today that it would be withdrawing nine personnel from two UN peacekeeping missions, following the non-renewal of Security Council resolution 1487. This move has little impact, however, as the ICC already had no jurisdiction over the personnel.
+ READ MORE

The Trial of Saddam Hussein
June 30, 2004 -- Just two days after the handover of Iraq, the U.S. also handed over legal custody of Saddam Hussein and eleven other high up members of his regime. Hussein will be tried as a criminal defendant subject to the Iraqi criminal code, although his trial may not begin for many more months.
+ READ MORE

U.S. Withdraws Demands for Peacekeeping Exemption
June 23, 2004 -- The U.S. withdrew today its request at the UN Security Council to renew Resolution 1487. Resolution 1487 (2003), itself a renewal of Resolution 1422 (2002), exempted from the ICC's jurisdiction all current and former officials and personnel from non-ICC countries (like the U.S.) serving in UN missions. It expires June 30, 2004.
+ READ MORE

ICC Announces First Investigation: D.R. Congo
June 23, 2004 -- ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo announced the formal initiation of an investigation into alleged atrocities committed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
+ READ MORE

In Uncharted Waters: Seeking Justice Before the Atrocities Have Stopped
June 23, 2004 -- Citizens for Global Solutions launches new report on the International Criminal Court in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
+ EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
+ FULL REPORT: PDF FORMAT

Fact vs. Fiction: Security Council Members Never Intended Renewal to Become Automatic
June 22, 2004 -- Faced with growing opposition to its demands for continued exemption of UN peacekeepers from the ICC, the Bush administration has started claiming that Security Council members intended for the resolution to be automatically renewed each summer. This, however, contradicts what the Security Council members themselves have said.
+ READ MORE

ICC Update: January - May 2004
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U.S. Abuse of Prisoners and the Need for International Law
May 17, 2004 -- The U.S. has helped build up international law for a reason: it makes the world safer, for our friends and for ourselves. Nothing embodies this benefit more than the law regulating warfare. The four Geneva Conventions of 1949 outline protections for soldiers, the wounded, and civilians during times of conflict. These standards are basic and in line with established U.S. values and practice. By upholding them ourselves, we help ensure that American POWs (prisoners of war) are treated humanely by enemy forces.
+ READ MORE

Panel - War Crimes in Uganda: Seeking Peace through Accountability
May 12, 2004 -- Citizens for Global Solutions sponsored a panel on Capital Hill to discuss the ongoing war in Uganda and the recent referral of related atrocities to the International Criminal Court. Panelists included Rory Anderson, Africa Policy Advisor, World Vision; Susanna Sa'Couto, Executive Director, War Crimes Research Office at American University Washington College of Law; and David Scheffer, Georgetown Law Professor and former U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues.
+ EVENT TRANSCRIPT (PDF)

Burkina Faso and Congo (Brazzaville) Join ICC
May 3, 2004 -- Burkina Faso and Congo (Brazzaville) recently deposited their ratifications of the ICC's Rome Statute at the UN, bringing the total number of ICC States Parties to 94.
+ LIST OF ICC MEMBER STATES

ICC's Victims Trust Fund's Board of Directors Holds Inaugural Meeting; Citizens for Global Solutions Presents Campaign Results
April 23, 2004 -- The Board of Directors of the ICC's Victims Trust Fund - a revolutionary mechanism to provide reparations to victims of atrocities - met for the first time in The Hague, the Netherlands, April 20-21, 2004. Citizens for Global Solutions presented the work of the U.S. Victims Trust Fund Campaign to the eminent members of the Board, which includes Nobel Peace Prize recipients Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and Dr. Oscar Arias Sanchez. The campaign has raised more than $10,000 for the Trust Fund from U.S. citizens, largely in $5 and $10 donations, and generated thousands of letters to U.S. Senators in support of the ICC.
+ READ MORE

U.S. Renews Demand for ICC Exemption for UN Peacekeepers
(June 22, 2004) For a third year in a row, the U.S. is demanding a Security Council resolution that would exempt from the ICC's jurisdiction all current and former officials and personnel from non-ICC countries (like the U.S.) who serve in UN missions. While introduced on May 19th and scheduled for a vote the 21st, action on the resolution has been indefinitely delayed. The U.S. might not have enough votes to secure passage, in part because many Security Council members have linked U.S. rejection of the ICC and international law with alleged prisoner abuse in Iraq.
+ READ MORE

D.R. Congo Makes Referral to the ICC
(April 19, 2004) The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), an ICC member state, has referred atrocities allegedly committed anywhere within the DRC to the International Criminal Court. The ICC's Prosecutor has been closely monitoring on-going grave human rights abuses in north-eastern DRC, in the Ituri district, and was preparing to launch an investigation with the approval of the three-judge Pre-Trial Chamber. The government's referral and commitment of cooperation, however, will greatly facilitate the work of the Office of the Prosecutor. The Prosecutor now has to determine whether there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation.
+ READ MORE

Genocide and International Criminal Tribunals
(April 19, 2004) The Appeals Chamber for the International Criminal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) upheld its decision that genocide occurred in Srebrenica. The court reduced the sentence of General Radislav Krstic by reinterpreting his involvement in the specific crime. Krstic's crime was reduced to aiding and abetting the genocide of more than 7,000 Muslim men and boys in 1995.

However, the Appeals Chamber rejected his assertion that genocide did not occur. This ruling is significant as it creates a strong international precedent that genocide does not require the elimination of all men and women in a targeted group, only that some were killed due to their group membership. This ruling could have an impact in the ICTY trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic. It may also serve as a precedent that the International Criminal Court can refer to as it begins its first cases this year.
+ BBC story on genocide appeal
+ ICTY press release on Appeals Chamber finding

"Religious Visions of Justice and U.S. Foreign Policy"
(March 9, 2004) Citizens for Global Solutions cosponsored with the Bahá'ís of the U.S. a roundtable discussion on global justice from a faith-based perspective. Panelists included Marie Dennis, Director for Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns and Vice President of Pax Christi International, and Victor Scheffers, Executive Director of the Center for Justice and Reconciliation in the Hague and General Secretary of the Netherlands Commission Justicia et Pax.

Ugandan President Makes First Referral to the ICC
(January 29, 2004) President Museveni formally referred the war in northern Uganda to the ICC, making it the first ICC member state to send a case to the Court. The Lord's Resistance Army in northern Uganda has allegedly abducted 20,000 children since June 2002, forcing them to carry out gruesome crimes, do hard labor, and serve as sexual slaves to commanders. NGO observers have also reported abuses by the Ugandan national army.
+ READ MORE

ICC President, Judge Philippe Kirsch, Speaks at the Council on Foreign Relations in DC
(January 16, 2004) President Kirsch spoke about the purpose and structure of the ICC, provided an update on the current work of the Court, and answered audience questions.
+ TRANSCRIPT

ICC Update: September-December, 2003
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President Bush Issues Partial Waiver to Some Allies; 25 Countries Still Without Military Assistance
(November 21, 2003) President Bush has released most of the military assistance to Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Slovakia, even though they have not yet sign bilateral immunity agreements (BIAs) with the U.S. This is a shift in the administration's policy and marks a growing recognition of the high cost of sanctioning U.S. military allies over the ICC. However, this leaves 25 U.S. allies that belong to the ICC whose U.S. military assistance continues to be withheld, totaling more than $40 million.
+ READ MORE

ICC Update: June-September, 2003
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