Amnesty International urges the UNSC not to defer the ICC trial of Kenyan President

Source: JURIST

" Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] on Wednesday urged [press release] the UN Security Council not to defer the International Criminal Court (ICC) trial [materials] of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta despite mounting political pressure. A draft resolution seeking the deferral was circulated earlier this month by Rwanda, a Security Council member, and will be put to a vote on Friday. In response to the call from the African Union (AU) [official website] to suspend the trial of Kenyatta in view of his official status as president of Kenya, AI has compiled a series of recommendations [text, PDF] which will be given for the twelfth session of the Assembly of States Parties [materials] beginning on November 20. At the request of the AU, the Assembly will include a special segment to discuss the indictment of sitting political leaders and possible consequences on peace and stability. In its recommendation, AI has stated that state parties should insist that Kenyatta's trial proceed without political interference and urge the AU not to employ threats of non-cooperation as a tactic. Tawanda Hondora, Deputy Director of law and policy at AI, stated that the victims of the post-election violence should not be forced to wait any longer for justice and that "it would be a shame if Security Council members prioritized the personal interests of political leaders over those victims of crimes against humanity." He went on to express the concern that deferring the trial would set a dangerous precedent for international justice, allowing political interests to impact future trials.

Kenyatta is charged as an indirect co-perpetrator with five counts of crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Kenya during the 2007-2008 post-election violence, which led to the deaths of at least 1,100 people and the displacement of more than 600,000. The changes include murder, deportation or forcible transfer, rape, persecution and other inhumane acts. In October Kenyatta applied for a permanent stay of the proceedings [JURIST report] in his case before the ICC, claiming that the prosecution's corrupt witnesses and intermediaries would make a fair trial impossible and requesting that the Trial Chamber hold an evidential hearing before the start of his trial. Also in October the ICC ruled that the president would not need to be present for his whole trial, prompting the prosecutor for the ICC to request [JURIST reports] that the court either reconsider its decision or allow the Office of the Prosecutor to appeal the trial chamber's decision up to the appeals chamber. The upcoming trial prompted Kenya's National Assembly in September to approve a motion [JURIST report] to leave the ICC, an action scholars say, if taken, could be detrimental [JURIST op-eds] to the African people."

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ICC prosecutor encourages Libya to end the impunity gap

Source: JURIST

"International Criminal Court (ICC) [official website; JURIST backgrounder] Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda [official profile] on Thursday urged [statement] the government of Libya to address serious crimes committed in the country and encouraged the international community to end the impunity gap in Libya. Bensouda welcomed gains in Libya's legal system that would eliminate rape but voiced concern for detainees in the country. She stated:

Libya has come a long way since the 2011 uprising, which paved the way for the Libyan people to rebuild their country towards a more promising future. The new Libya has had notable successes, including the holding of the first democratic elections in half a century, but the country still faces formidable challenges. The security situation in Libya remains volatile and precarious as marked by car bombings, abductions and assassinations of public and security officials. This unfortunate fact has understandably hampered my Office's ability to operate in Libya in furtherance of its investigative activities. We hope that the security situation in Libya will improve to enable my Office to effectively follow up and intensify its investigations. My Office welcomes initiatives aimed at helping to rebuild Libya's military and law enforcement agencies to reinforce security for Libya and all Libyans. We call upon all States to assist Libya in its efforts to become a fully-fledged, secure, democratic society that adheres to the highest standards of justice. The Libyan people deserve no less.

Bensouda also urged Libya's government to surrender Saif al-Islam Gaddafi [BBC profile, JURIST news archive] to the ICC and encouraged Libya to ensure that Abdullah al-Senussi [BBC profile; JURIST news archive] receives a fair, impartial trial in Libya. She also stated that there are other criminals inside Libya who continue to destabilize the country and that neither the ICC nor Libya could investigate and prosecute all perpetrators. Bensouda stated that joint complementary efforts of Libya and the ICC, supported by other nations, would be crucial to ending that impunity.

Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and al-Senussi have also faced charges of crimes against humanity before the ICC. About 30 aides to Muammar Gaddafi [BBC obituary], including Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, were indicted in late October by a Libyan court for a list of offenses allegedly committed during the 2011 revolt [JURIST backgrounder] in the country. The charges levied against them include murder, kidnapping, complicity in incitement to rape, plunder, sabotage, embezzlement of public funds and acts harmful to national unity. Last month the ICC ruled [JURST report] that the case against al-Senussi was inadmissible before the ICC and could only be heard by domestic courts in Libya, but noted that the decision did not affect the issue with regards to the charges against al-Islam Gaddafi. The ICC's decision marked the most recent development in a legal battle between Libya and the ICC [JURIST op-ed] regarding al-Senussi and al-Islam Gaddafi. The two men were also charged with murder [JURIST report] by Libya's prosecutors in August. A month earlier, the ICC rejected [JURIST report] the country's request to suspend an order to hand over al-Islam Gaddafi to face the international charges. In June al-Islam Gaddafi's lawyer accused Libyan officials [JURIST report] of defying the ICC by announcing that his domestic trial would begin in August despite the ICC's attempts to have him extradited. The order demanding Libya to extradite al-Senussi [JURIST report] to face charges of crimes against humanity was made by the ICC in February."

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UN Human Rights Council’s Annual report released

Source: JURIST

"The President of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) [official website], Remigiusz Henczel [official website], on Wednesday presented the annual report [text, PDF] to the UN General Assembly (UNGA) [official website], claiming [press release] that the UNHRC has achieved significant progress in the last year despite inadequate financial resources. Henczel stated that the UNHRC adopted [UN News Centre report] "107 resolutions, decisions and President's statements" within the last year, and the council's budget has not kept pace with the increasing number of mandates stemming from these decisions. The UNHRC continued to focus on the human right violations in Syria [BBC backgrounder] and placed new focus on the protection of human rights in Belarus, North Korea, Eritrea, Iran and Myanmar [BBC backgrounders].

In September the UNHRC reported widespread human rights violations occurring in North Korea [JURIST report]. In May the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights criticized the crimes against humanity occurring in Syria [JURIST report]. The Syrian Civil War [JURIST backgrounder] has been ongoing since 2011 when opposition groups first began protesting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad  [BBC profile]. In March 2012 UN human rights experts reported to the UNHRC their concern for the human rights violations occurring in Iran and Myanmar  [JURIST reports]. In June 2012 the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights condemned Eritrea [JURIST report] for its failure to address its human rights violations."

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New article in the International & Comparative Law Quarterly

Article

CONNECTION AND COHERENCE BETWEEN AND AMONG EUROPEAN INSTRUMENTS IN THE PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW OF OBLIGATIONS

Elizabeth B Crawford, Janeen M Carruthers
International & Comparative Law Quarterly / FirstView article(s)
doi: 10.1017/S0020589313000365 (About doi) Published Online on 14th November 2013

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Election of the Human Rights Council by the UNGA

Source: JURIST

"The UN General Assembly (UNGA) [official website] on Tuesday elected 14 countries [press release] to a three-year term on the Human Rights Council (UNHRC) [official website] beginning January 1. The assembly chose Algeria, China, Cuba, France Maldives, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Vietnam, Russia and the UK via a secret ballot election. The UNHRC, created by UNGA Resolution 61/251 [text] in 2006, is an inter-governmental body of the UN responsible for promoting and protecting human rights around the world. It is also tasked with making recommendations for specific human rights violations. Its 47 members are mandated to be made up of 13 seats for African States,13 seats for Asian States, eight seats for Latin American and Caribbean States, seven seats for Western European and other States, and six seats for Eastern European States. A spokesperson for US Secretary of State John Kerry [official website] expressed concern [press briefing] over some of the election winner's human rights record, but emphasized the desire to work with them moving forward.

Notably, countries such as Cuba, Russia and China were elected despite ongoing concerns with their human rights record. Earlier this week a European rights body urged [JURIST report] Russia to reform its judiciary. Last month China defended its human rights record in relation to a report [JURIST reports] issued by human rights experts the week before. In August Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] urged [JURIST report] Cuba to release the 'prisoners of conscience'. Cuba has a history of suppressing political dissent [HRW backgrounder] through the holding of prisoners of conscience or criminal prosecutions. Also in August Chinese writer, lawyer and human rights advocate Yang Maodong, commonly known by his pen-name Guo Feixiong [HRIC profile], became the second leader of the New Citizens movement to be arrested [JURIST report] on suspicion of disrupting the peace. In June the UN released a letter from human rights experts voicing their concern [JURIST report] that two Russian non-governmental organizations have been charged by Russian prosecutors following their involvement with the UN Committee against Torture [official website]."

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