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 | 1987: U.S.: Federal law: The U.S. federal government passed the
Genocide Convention Implementation Act of 1987, (a.k.a.
The Proxmire Act). This is a federal law which targets genocidal acts,
if "the offense is committed within the United States"; or "the
alleged offender is a national of the United States." Fines for up to 1
million dollars can be levied. Imprisonment for life is possible in the case
of murder, or up to 20 years otherwise. The law does not cover advocacy of genocide, as in the case of a Baptist pastor in Texas during the year 2000 who allegedly advocated that the U.S. Army round up and napalm Wiccans. |
| 2001: Cambodia: Genocide: The lower house of the
Cambodian government unanimously passed a law authorizing their courts
to try leaders of the Khmer Rouge -- the group responsible for the
extermination of almost a third of people in their country. |
| 2002: International Criminal Court (ICC): The ICC was established
under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. It
was signed on 1998-JUL-17 after years of negotiation. The court
commenced operation on 2002-JUL-01 when the 60th country ratified the
treaty. It is authorized to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes
against humanity, and war crimes. Crimes of aggression may be added in the
future. As of 2008-JUL, 106 countries are members of the court. Suriname is scheduled to join in OCT-01. Australia, Canada, almost all European countries, most of sub-Sahara Africa, all of South America and a few other countries are members. China, Russia, most predominately Muslim countries, and the United States are notable by their absence. The ICC is pattered after the Nuremburg court that heard a series of Nazi war crime trials after World War II. Its jurisdiction is limited to individuals from all countries who are accused of genocide, war crimes, and other gross human rights violations. Only those cases which are not actively pursued in the country where the crimes occurred will be heard by the international court. If properly implemented, this court will dispense punishment to the perpetrators of genocide and bring justice to the victims. But its main effect may be to make every potential perpetrator of genocide feel insecure. If they know that they will likely be hunted down and imprisoned for a long time in the future, they will be less likely to commit genocide now. Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC) drafted a bill to prevent the United States from having anything to do with the court, and to punish any country that ratifies the treaty or cooperates with the court. He helped pass legislation that would protect American service personnel from being prosecuted by the ICC. |
| 2005-JUL and SEP: Uganda: The ICC issued arrest warrants against five leaders of The Lord's Resistance Army. This group was founded in Uganda during 1989 is the successor to the Holy Spirit Movement. Their goal was to overthrow the Ugandan Government and replace it with a regime that will implement the LRA's brand of Christianity, which is based on the Ten Commandments. They are accused of widespread human rights violations, including murder, abduction, mutilation, sexual enslavement of women and children, and forcing children to participate in hostilities. The arrest warrants were the first ones issued by the ICC. Human Rights Watch reported that the regional Government of Southern Sudan had ignored previous ICC warrants for the arrest of four of LRA's top leaders, and instead supplied the LRA with cash and food as an incentive to stop them from attacking southern Sudanese citizens. Two or three of the five leaders have since been killed. The rest remain at large. |
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| 2006-MAR-11: Serbia: Slobodan Milosevic died during his
trial in the Netherlands. He had served as the
President of Serbia from 1989 to 2006. His detractors called
him the "butcher of the Balkans" and accused him of having started four
wars. His supporters refer to him as "a
democratically-elected peacemaker" who did "everything
in his power to avert war and put a stop to the violence."
The Hague war crimes tribunal charged him with crimes
against humanity, violating the laws or customs of war,
grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and genocide for
his role during the wars in Croatia, Bosnia, and Kosovo.
Milosevic conducted his own defense. The trial ended without
a verdict because he died during the proceedings.
1 |
| 2006: Liberia: Dictator Charles Taylor: He was on
Interpol's Most Wanted list, for "crimes against humanity, [and] grave
breaches of the 1949 Geneva Convention" in connection with his activities
during the civil war in neighboring Sierra Leone. He was arrested in
Cameroon and handed over to the UN to face an indictment by the Special
Court for Sierra Leone. His trial -- the first for a former African head of
state -- started on 2007-JUN-04 in The Hague,
Netherlands. 4 As of
2009-MAR, the trial was still underway. A website has been established to
cover the trial. 5 |
| 2006: Chilean crimes under dictator Pinochet: Horrendous levels
of human rights abuses occurred under General Agusto Pinochet of Chile from
the mid 1970s until 1990. He was arrested during 1998-OCT while visiting the
UK for medical treatment. This was the first time in history that a dictator
was arrested on the principle of universal jurisdiction. Pinochet's arrest
was ordered on 2006-OCT-27; he died on 2006-DEC-10. During 2008-MAY, the
arrest of almost 100 former Chilean secret police and soldiers was ordered. |
| 2007-JUN: Sierra Leone: Conviction for crimes during their civil war:
The Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) convicted three
defendants of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) -- Alex
Tamba Brima, Santigie Borbor Kanu and Brima Kamara -- of terrorism;
collective punishments; extermination; murder - a crime against humanity;
murder - a war crime; rape; outrages upon personal dignity; physical
violence - a war crime; conscripting or enlisting children under the age of
15 years into armed forces or groups, or using them to participate actively
in hostilities; enslavement; and pillage. This was the first time in history
that an international court ruled on charges related to child soldiers or
forced marriage. It was the first time that an international court delivered
a guilty verdict for the military conscription of children. 2 |
| 2007-AUG: Sierra Leone: Additional convictions: Two
leaders of the Sierra Leone Civil Defense
Forces (CDF),
Allieu Kondewa and
Moinina Fofana, were convicted of murder, cruel treatment, pillage and
collective punishments. Kondewa was further found guilty of use of child
soldiers. Some of these convictions were overturned by the Appeals Chamber,
but new convictions were also entered for murder and inhumane acts as crimes
against humanity. 2 |
| 2008-JUL: Sudan: ICC prosecutor requested an arrest warrant for Omar
al-Bashir, the president of Sudan. Under his dictatorship over the
previous two decades, hundreds of thousands of Sudanese have been killed or
maimed; 2.5 million have been displaced. A warrant was issued on 2009-MAR-4,
charging him with masterminding attacks of the Darfur region, "... murdering,
exterminating, raping, torturing and forcibly transferring large numbers of
civilians and pillaging their property." In total, he received five counts of
crimes against humanity and two of war crimes. Prosecutors attempted to also
charge him with genocide because of his attempts to exterminate three non-Arab
groups: the Fur, Marsalit and Zaghawa peoples in Sudan. However, this charge was rejected
by the judges. This is the first time in history that an active head of state has
been charged with such crimes. Bashir's government responded by expelling 13 humanitarian groups from Darfur, thus exacerbating the situation and
increasing suffering of the people by reducing their access to water, food,
and health care. The government accused the groups of feeding information
about government oppression to the court and media, an of stealing from the
people. 3 |
| 2009-MAY-23: Canada: Rwandan militia leader found
guilty of genocide by Canadian court: The Quebec Superior Court
tried Rwandan militia leader Desire Munyaneza, 42, under Canada's Crimes
Against Humanity and War Crimes Act. He was found guilty of seven counts,
including genocide and crimes against humanity, for rapes murder and torture
during 1994. This was a time when about 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were
massacred.
Prosecutor Pascale Ledoux told reporters that: "The case was very
challenging as it involved events dating back 15 years in a foreign country,
Rwanda." |
| 2009-JUL-24: North Korea: Kim Jong II:
The Investigative Commission On Crime Against Humanity is seeking a
method by which it could have North Korean dictator Kim charged at the
International Criminal Court with crimes against humanity. The Associated
Press reports that: "Activists claim that such atrocities -- including
murder, kidnap, rape, extermination of individuals in prison camps -- cannot
take place in North Korea without Kim's knowledge or direction as he wields
absolute power. 7 |
| 2009-OCT-29: Canada: Rwandan gets life sentence for war crimes: A
man from Rwanda became the first person to be convicted under Canada's War
Crimes Act -- a law
that allows individuals in Canada to be tried for war crimes committed outside
of the country. He is Desire Munyaneza, 42, a Hutu, who was found guilty in 2009-MAY
of seven charges including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
About 800,000 Tutus and moderate Hutus were massacred by Hutus in Rwanda
during 1994 while the world stood by and ignored the slaughter. Justice Andre Denis said:
He received a life sentence without eligibility for parole for 25 years. 8 |
| 2009-NOV: Bosnia-Herzegovina: Radovan
Karadzic has been charged with 11 counts of genocide, war crimes and crimes
against humanity for his role in the 1992-1995 war in which 100,000 people
were killed and 2.2 million displaced. One of the main charges was the
slaughter of over 7,000 Muslim men and boys by Christians at Srebrenica in
1995-JUL. His trial has been temporarily stalled because Karadzic, who is
conducting his own defense, refuses to attend his trial. He claims that he has
not had time to properly prepare his case.
|
| 2010-FEB-03: Sudan: Appeals judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have ordered the court to reconsider its earlier decision to not charge Sudah's president, Omar al-Bashir, with genocide. The ICC chief prosecutor has implicated al-Bashir in the deaths of 35,000 persons. He said that a genocide charge would make certain that "... the world knows what happened [in Sudan]. I believe it is important for the victims. That is why I am pursuing these charges." 10 |
| 2010-JUL-09: Sudan: According to Amnesty International USA, two Darfuri rebel leaders surrendered to the International Criminal Court at the Hague. Outstanding warrants for three other high-profile individuals have been issued. However, Ahmad Harun and Ali Kushayb remain at large after being charged with 51 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Also, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, the world's first sitting head of state to ever be issued an arrest warrant by the ICC, continues to be welcomed as a guest in other countries and given full presidential treatment. 11 |
| 2011-APR-13: Egypt: Laaska News reports that: Egypt’s prosecutor general has ordered the detention of former President Hosni Mubarak for 15 days. Earlier his sons Alaa and Gamal have also been detained. ... Mubarak ruled the country for 30 years and stepped down on the 11th of February at people’s demand. Mubarak is suspected of criminal offences and misappropriation of money. 12 |
| 2011-JUN-24: Rwanda: Pauline Nyiramasuhuko, the former minister for women and family affairs in Rwanda, became the first woman to be convicted by the United Nations tribunal, seventeen years after the genocide. During 1994 she presided over a brutal trick in her hometown, Butare. Tutsis were lured into a stadium by promising them Red Cross assistance. They were then slaughtered.13 |
| 2011-SEP-24: Libya: News Daily reports that: "Interpol said it had issued arrest warrants for Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam, and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi, who are all wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for suspected crimes against humanity. |
References:
- "Slobodan Milosevic," Wikipedia, at: http://en.wikipedia.org/
- "Special Court for Sierra Leone," Wikipedia, at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
- Olivia Ward, "Sudan's president wanted for war crimes, The Toronto Star, Page B1, 2009-MAR-05.
- Paul Reynolds, "Charles Taylor - the trial begins," BBC News, 2007-JUN-04, at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/
- "The trial of Charles Taylor: International Criminal Justice in the Making," at: http://charlestaylortrial.org/
- Yuka Royer, "Court finds Rwandan leader guilty of genocide," AFP, 2009-MAY-23, at: http://www.france24.com/
- "Another woman said arrested, tortured," Associated Press, 2009-JUL-24, at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/
- "Rwandan gets life sentence for war crimes," Associated Press, 2009-OCT-29, at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/
- "Karadzic will boycott genocide trial on Monday: legal aide," AFP/Google News, 2009-OCT-29, at: http://www.google.com/
- "Bashir genocide charge under review," Aljazeera, 2010-FEB-03, at: http://english.aljazeera.net/
- "More than 7 years of rape, murder and pillaging have gone unpunished. Demand justice for war crimes in Darfur," Email, Amnesty International USA, 2010-JUL-09. See also: http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/
- Alexander Vatutin, "Egypt’s former leader Mubarak and sons detained for 15 days," Laaska News, 2011-APR-13, at: http://laaska.wordpress.com/
- "Former Rwandan Women’s Minister Convicted Of Genocide," Jezebel, 2011-JUN-24, at: http://jezebel.com/
- "Gaddafi men fleeto Niger, hunt for leader goes on," News Daily, 2011-SEP-09. at: http://www.newsdaily.com/
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Copyright © 2001 to 2010 by Ontario Consultants on Religious
Tolerance
Originally written: 2001-JAN-1
Latest update: 2011-JUN-24
Author: B.A. Robinson
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