In 2010 as might be expected, justice was brought to some and impunity enjoyed by others.
The Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court opened preliminary investigations into possible war crimes involving the March sinking of the South Korean warship, Cheonan, and the November artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island by North Korea; religious and ethnic clashes in Jos, Nigeria; attacks against opposition supporters by forces loyal to president Gbagbo in Cote d’Ivoire; and the violence following the coup in Honduras that overthrew president Zelaya.
The first International Criminal Court review conference was held in Kampala, Uganda in June. Major outcomes of the conference include the adoption of a resolution of draft elements for the crime of aggression, and an extension of Article 124 of the Rome Statute which allows new state parties to exclude ICC jurisdiction for seven years.
Violence in Kyrgyzstan in June that killed hundreds and displaced hundreds of thousands, mostly ethnic Uzbeks, has resulted in only a small number of sentences imposed on Uzbeks with few charges brought against perpetrators that are members of the majority Kyrgyz ethnicity. The crimes have gone uninvestigated at the international level as Kyrgyzstan is not a party to the Rome Statute.
Argentina sentenced its ‘last dictator’, Reynaldo Bignone, to 25 years in prison in April. The 82 year old was convicted in 56 cases involving torture, illegal detention and other crimes committed at the military base where he was a commander prior to his presidency in 1982-83.
The ‘Merchant of Death’, Viktor Bout, was arrested during a sting operation in Thailand. Undercover American officers posing as Colombian FARC rebels had arranged the purchase of illegal weapons for use against Americans in Colombia through Bout. Bout has participated in illicit arms smuggling in conflicts throughout the world from Afghanistan to Angola. His story was portrayed in the American film ‘Lord of War’ starring Nicholas Cage.
—————————————————————————————————————
International Criminal Court
Central African Republic
The trial of MLC (Mouvement de Liberation du Congo) commander Jean-Pierre ‘Bemba’ Gombo commenced in November marking the first trial at the ICC addressing command responsibility. Bemba faces five charges for actions committed in CAR by troops under his command – three counts of war crimes for rape, pillage and murder and two counts of crimes against humanity for rape and murder. The ‘Bemba’ trial is also particularly important in establishing jurisprudence for rape and sexual violence as war crimes. Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo in his opening remarks declared that Bemba through his soldiers“… is a hundred times more dangerous than any single rapist.”
Democratic Republic of Congo
The Lubanga trial was stayed in August and Lubanga was ordered released from ICC custody after Prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo failed to comply with an order to disclose the identity of a prosecution witness to the defense. The prosecution appealed and the decision was reversed in light of the fact that sanctions against the prosecuting attorneys were not instated first. Lubanga is charged with conscripting and forcing child soldiers under the age of fifteen into combat.
Alleged commander of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, Callixte Mbarushimana, was arrested in October in Paris for crimes committed in eastern DRC in 2009 including mass rapes and mass killings. Earlier in the year a UN official designated the DRC as the rape capital of the world. France has approved the extradition of Mbarushimana to the ICC in The Hague but genocide survivors in Rwanda want to see him tried in Kigali or at the ICTR in Arusha, Tanzania for his role in the Rwandan genocide.
Sudan
Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir traveled Africa with impunity even after the ICC added the charge of genocide to his indictment this year for crimes perpetrated in western Sudan in the Darfur region. Two new defendants, rebel leaders Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain (Banda) and Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus (Jerbo), voluntarily appeared at the ICC in June to face war crimes charges. This came following the decision by the ICC in April declining to confirm charges against Sudanese rebel leader Bahar Idriss ‘Abu’ Garda who was charged with similar crimes and also appeared before the court voluntarily.
Kenya
The prosecution brought charges against six Kenyan leaders, including the current Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology regarding the post-election violence of 2007-2008. “The post election attacks left more than 1,100 people dead, 3,500 injured and up to 600,000 forcibly displaced. During 60 days of violence, there were hundreds of rapes, possibly more, and over 100,000 properties were destroyed in six of Kenya’s eight provinces.”
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
The ICTR found five Rwandan military and business leaders guilty of genocide this year; Gaspard Kanyarukiga ordered the demolition of Nyange church by bulldozers, killing the 2,000 Tutsis that were confined inside. Kanyarukiga was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Yussuf Munyakazi recruited, trained, provided weapons, food, transportation and support to Interahamwe members and personally took part in attacks that killed over 5,000 Tutsis. Munyakazi was sentenced to 25 years. Dominique Ntawakulilyayo promised sanctuary at Kabuye hill to thousands of Tutsis that were fleeing from attacks in April of 1994 and then transported soldiers to the hill to massacre them. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Ephram Setako former head of legal affairs in the Ministry of Denfence, ordered the killing of around 50 Tutsis in Mukamira military camp. Setako was sentenced to 25 years in prison. Idelphonse Hategekimana was sentenced to life in prison for ordering and participating in the rape and murder of a convent of nuns and other gathered refugees at Ngoma.
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
Testimony in the trial of the former world’s most wanted war criminal, Radovan Karadzic, began in March at the ICTY. The Karadzic trial was suspended briefly in November to give the defense time to review potentially exculpatory documents that the prosecution failed to disclose. Karadzic’s claim that the Markale market massacres were staged by planting dummies and corpses at the massacre site was refuted by graphic video of the aftermath showing dead and dying victims of the shelling campaign. The Karadzic trial is expected to continue through 2014.
Two Bosnian Serb military officers, Vujadin Popovic and Ljubisa Berea were convicted of genocide for the 1995 massacre at Srebrenica. These are the only two standing genocide convictions from the ICTY as Radislav Krstic’s 2001 conviction was reduced to aiding and abetting genocide upon appeal. (Krstic’s throat was slit in an attack by fellow prisoners in a British jail earlier this year). Karadzic and Zdravko Tolimir are currently on trial facing charges of genocide. Popovic “…was one of the central figures who helped to plan and organize the killing operation, separating men, organizing convoys and showing up at the major killing sites.” Berea, the most senior security officer ranked above Popovic, “(h)ad the clearest overall picture of the massive scale and scope of the killing operation. He organized logistics and became the massacre’s ‘driving force.’ He located detention and execution sites and recruited people to help with the killing and the digging of mass graves.” Over 8,000 Muslims were murdered at Srebrenica in the largest mass killing in Europe since World War II. Popovic and Berea were each sentenced to life in prison.
Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia
Kaing Guek Eav the former director of Tuol Sleng prison was found guilty of war crimes and crimes against humanity and sentenced to 30 years in prison. Eav, better known as ‘Duch’, was the first Khmer Rouge member tried by the ECCC and oversaw the torture and murder of over 12,000 Cambodians at Tuol Sleng. Duch began the trial by taking full responsibility for the heinous acts committed at Tuol Sleng: “Sometimes we have to do a job we do not like. I would like to emphasize that I am responsible for the crimes committed at S-21, especially the torture and execution of the people there. I would like to express my regret and my heartfelt sorrow and loss for all the crimes committed by the CPK [Communist Party of Kampuchea] from 1975 to 1979.” But his apparent remorse was impeached at the conclusion of the trial when Duch requested, unsuccessfully, an acquittal and dismissal of all charges.
Four Khmer Rouge leaders were indicted on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in September and will face trial at the ECCC. Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith, Khieu Samphan and Nuon Chea were senior officials in the Democratic Kampuchea regime under Pol Pot which caused the death of between 1.7 and 2.2 million people, over 800,000 through violence.
Special Court for Sierra Leone
The trial of Charles Taylor drew closer to completion this year with the defense closing its case in November. The Taylor trial was the source of spectacle in August when the prosecution called British model Naomi Campbell and American actor Mia Farrow as witnesses. The prosecution alleged that Taylor had his entourage present Campbell with a gift of diamonds at a party in South Africa hosted by Nelson Mandela. Campbell admitted receiving a gift of ‘very small, dirty looking pebbles’ but denied knowing if they were diamonds and denied knowing who they came from. Farrow, also a guest at the party, testified that Campbell disclosed to her that she had received a large diamond from Charles Taylor. The prosecution elicited this witness testimony in order to contradict Taylor’s previous testimony that he had not been in possession of diamonds and therefore could not have traded diamonds for weapons to be used to commit war crimes in Sierra Leone. The trial is expected to conclude early in 2011.
————————————————————————————————————————–
Person of the Year: John Prendergast
Prendergast’s success has yet to be measured, but his work for the prevention of war crimes in Southern Sudan is unprecedented and inspiring. Prendergast is a human rights advocate that has spent the year working to prevent human rights violations in Southern Sudan after the upcoming referendum on Southern Sudan secession. His work has ranged from local organizing and outreach in Sudan, to publicity campaigns, to international diplomacy. He has enlisted American popular culture figures in his cause and has brought awareness to countless people of the threat of an impending genocide that the international community has the power to prevent. Prendergast has demonstrated what can be done by one individual to attempt to prevent the worst kinds of atrocities in the world.
The Year Ahead: In what is beginning to be a running theme at War Crimes; the arrest of Ratko Mladic is imminent. In a departure from last year’s prediction, Charles Taylor will be found guilty of war crimes at the SCSL and will receive a lengthy sentence. Sri Lankan war crimes will continue to go uninvestigated as long as president Rajapaksa is in power. Southern Sudan will peacefully secede from the north and in exchange, via backroom diplomacy, charges against Bashir and other Sudanese government officials will be dropped, which unfortunately means that genocide in Darfur will continue.
