tagged w/ ICC
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GENEVA — The U.N. human rights office called Friday for an investigation into the death of ousted Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, noting that his death robbed his victims of a chance at "cathartic" justice in the courts.
Gadhafi was captured alive Thursday in his hometown of Sirte before shaky amateur footage showed rebel fighters standing over his bloodied body.
"We believe there is a need for an investigation," said Rupert Colville, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights. "More details are needed to ascertain whether he was killed in some form of fighting or was executed after his capture."
"The two cell phone videos that have emerged, one of him alive, and one of him dead, taken together are very disturbing," he told reporters in Geneva.
A Libyan official said Friday that the burial of Gadhafi has been delayed until his death can be examined by the International Criminal Court – though it was not immediately clear if he was referring to a look at the dictator's body or a probe into what led to his death.
The U.N. Human Rights Council established an independent panel earlier this year to investigate abuses in Libya, and Colville said it would likely examine the circumstances of the 69-year-old leader's death.
He said it was too early to say whether the panel – which includes Canadian judge Philippe Kirsch, the first president of the International Criminal Court – would recommend a formal investigation at the national or international level.
"The dust hasn't settled yet," Colville told The Associated Press when asked if Libya was capable of conducting an independent probe into the death.
"You can't just chuck the law out of the window," he added. "Killing someone outside a judicial procedure, even in countries where there is the death penalty, is outside the rule of law."
Colville said the victims of Gadhafi's despotic 42-year-rule deserved to see proper judicial procedures followed and perpetrators of abuses brought to trial. "It can be a rather cathartic exercise as well as being a fundamental tenet of rule of law," he said.
"Of course there are many others apart from Col. Gadhafi, so there may at least be some kind of court proceedings where we do all learn what happened and who is responsible."GENEVA — The U.N. human rights office called Friday for an investigation into... more
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A group representing victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests is asking the International Criminal Court to investigate Pope Benedict XVI and three senior cardinals for alleged crimes against humanity.
A New York-based legal charity says they failed to prevent child abuse.
A Vatican lawyer called the case a "ludicrous publicity stunt".
The Roman Catholic Church has been rocked by a series of sex abuse cover-up scandals in recent years.
The Centre for Constitutional Rights (CCR), which is filing the complaint, says it has submitted more than 20,000 pages of evidence of crimes committed by Catholic clergy against children and vulnerable adults to the Hague-based court.
Continue reading the main story
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Start Quote
In this case, all roads really do lead to Rome”
Pam Spees
Attorney for Centre for Constitutional Rights
It is being supported by abuse victims in the United States, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.
"Crimes against tens of thousands of victims, most of them children, are being covered up by officials at the highest level of the Vatican," said the CCR's lawyer, Pam Spees.
"In this case, all roads really do lead to Rome."
The International Criminal Court was set up nine years ago to deal with serious international crimes. It lists rape and sexual violence as crimes against humanity.
But neither the US nor the Vatican was a party to the original treaty setting up the court.
Lawyer Jeffrey Lena, who represents the Vatican in US sex abuse cases, told the Associated Press the request for the ICC to investigate was a "misuse of international judicial processes".
The BBC's David Willey in Rome says the question as to whether the court has jurisdiction in this case will have to be determined by the ICC's chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo.
Pope Benedict has in the past expressed shame and sorrow over the clerical sex scandal and has called on bishops around the world to come up with common guidelines against paedophile priests by May 2012.
http://tinyurl.com/66xxz49A group representing victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests is asking the... more
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On Thursday morning, Serbian police found one of the most wanted fugitives in the world: Ratko Mladic. DNA tests have confirmed the identity of the former military chief, and it was Serbian President Boris Tadic, who appeared on television to confirm the facts. Boris Tadic stated that Mladić had been arrested on Serbian territory without futher details on the location. In a self-congratulatory statement, he said: 'Today we close a chapter in the history of our region that will lead to full reconciliation'.
General Mladić had been indicted for the massacre of over 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica in 1995. At the time, he headed the Bosnian Serb forces was indicted in 1996 for genocide for his role in the Srebrenica massacre, war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
Continue reading on Examiner.com Ratko Mladić arrested in Serbia: historic day for international justice - National Foreign Policy | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/foreign-policy-in-national/ratko-mladic-arrested-serbia-historic-day-for-international-justice#ixzz1NTDji6StOn Thursday morning, Serbian police found one of the most wanted fugitives in the... more
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Chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno-Ocampo has announced that he plans to recommend that ICC pre-trial judges issue arrest warrants against Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam and Libya’s head of intelligence, Abdullah Al Senussi.
Ocampo told the United Nations Security Council on May 5th, 2011 that the warrants sought are for crimes against humanity. This came about as a result of pressure from France and the UK, with the tacit backing of the United States, exerted in February on the UN to conduct an investigation. Charges are expected to include murder, unlawful detention, the use of cluster bombs and employing rape as a weapon of war. Additionally, a list of 88 names has been prepared by the opposition of Libyan officials which should appear on the Security Council Resolution 1970 sanctions list.
Continue reading on Examiner.com: ICC to issue arrest warrants for Qaddafi and son Saif - National Foreign Policy | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/foreign-policy-in-national/icc-to-issue-arrest-warrants-for-qaddafi-and-son-saif#ixzz1LtXsRtRMChief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno-Ocampo has announced... more
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U.S. continues Bush policy of opposing ICC prosecutions | Salon
It has been widely documented that many of the worst atrocities on behalf of Libyan leader Moammar Gadaffi have been committed by foreign mercenaries from countries such as Algeria, Ethiopia and Tunisia. Despite that, the U.N. Security Council’s sanctions Resolution aimed at Libya, which was just enacted last week, includes a strange clause that specifically forbids international war crimes prosecutions against mercenaries from nations which are not signatories to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which protects many of the mercenaries Gadaffi is using. Section 6 of the Resolution states that the Security Council:U.S. continues Bush policy of opposing ICC prosecutions | Salon
It has been widely... more
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knows former India wicketkeeper Kiran More A member of India's World Cup campaigns in 1987 and 1992, More was rated as the best wicketkeeper of his generation.knows former India wicketkeeper Kiran More A member of India's World Cup... more
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International condemnation of the violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Libya has escalated, with the European Union pushing for a UN-led probe into human rights abuses.
A draft proposal by the 27-nation bloc on Wednesday spoke out against "extremely grave human rights violations committed in Libya, including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, detention and torture of peaceful demonstrators," and said they could "amount to crimes against humanity".
The bloc has also agreed to prepare possible sanctions on Libya. Experts will now draw up a list of proposed measures, which could include visa bans, asset freezes, an arms embargo and other restrictions, before EU governments agree when to impose them.
The agreement came after Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president, urged the EU to impose "concrete sanctions" on Libya, and David Cameron, the British prime minister, called for a full United Nations Security Council resolution on the issue.
Peru has also said it is suspending diplomatic relations with Libya and would ask the Security Council to establish an exclusion zone in Libyan airspace "to prevent the use of that country's warplanes against [its] population".
And the Libyan embassy in Austria has joined several other missions distancing themselves away from Gaddafi's government, condemning the use of "excessive violence against peaceful demonstrators".
Gaddafi support 'crumbling'
The EU's draft resolution comes two days ahead of an emergency meeting at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, over the situation in Libya.
If approved by a majority of the council's 47 members it would be the first time the body has acted against one of its own, as Libya gained a seat on the council last year.
African and Asian countries often block criticism of abusive governments except when it has been directed at Israel, but the call for Friday's meeting was signed by Jordan, Qatar and the Palestinian Authority, indicating traditional support for Muammar Gaddafi is crumbling.
The African Union on Wednesday also condemned
"the disproportionate use of force against civilians" in Libya and expressed regret at the loss of life there
The International Criminal Court has said it cannot prosecute any alleged crimes against humanity in Libya without an order from the UN Security Council, or a request from Libya itself.
"The decision to do justice in Libya should be taken by the Libyan people,'' Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the Hague based court's chief prosecutor, said on Wednesday.
Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, had previously said the attacks against civilians could amount to crimes against humanity.
European leaders are said to be discussing imposing sanctions on Libya at a meeting on Wednesday. Sarkozy said the bloc should move swiftly "so that all those involved in the ongoing violence know that they must assume the consequences of their actions".
"I would also like to be examined the suspension until further notice of economic, commercial and financial relations with Libya," he said on Wednesday, adding that the international community could "not remain a spectator to these massive violations of human rights".
His comments came after Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, said she would be in favour of sanctions against Libya if it did not halt violence against its own people.International condemnation of the violent crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in... more
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