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Date: April 30, 2024 Tue
Time: 3:18 am
Time: 3:18 am
Results for war crimes
5 results foundAuthor: Dana, Shahram Title: Blood Diamonds and Mass Atrocities: Cutting a New Paradigm from Coarse Jurisprudence Summary: 150,000 human beings dead; 200,000 women raped; thousands of limbs amputated; countless children forced to kill their own parents, forced into sexual slavery, and forced into the battlefields; and 2.6 million persons displaced. These are just some of the facts and figures of the 10 year war in Sierra Leone. There is another number of significance: Nine. That is the number of individuals held criminally responsible for these atrocities. After more than 10 years and 300 million dollars, the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) convicted and sentenced just nine men. With the work of the court near complete, we are afforded an opportunity to evaluate its work and legacy. While writers have reviewed the work of international tribunals from a variety of perspectives, an examination of their sentencing legacy has been largely ignored or discounted. This article fills that lacuna in scholarship by advancing an innovative sentencing framework for international trials and articulating a new theory on atrocity sentencing that is both explanatory and instructive. My theory and framework both have general applicability to all international criminal tribunals, including the International Criminal Court (ICC). The article also contributes to the development of international law and legal scholarship in other ways. It is the first law review article to provide a comprehensive critique of all sentencing judgments of the SCSL. In addition to filling that gap, this article goes further to systematize the sentencing jurisprudence, identify key contributions, provide a normative assessment, link sentencing narratives to broader ones about the Sierra Leone conflict and atrocities, and advance an original theory and legal framework that breaks new ground on international sentencing and punishment. Consequentially, the article has immediate legal significance because, inter alia, the theory advanced herein speaks to punishing and sentencing Heads of State, an issue currently on appeal. Beyond its immediate impact, the article makes an enduring contribution by, inter alia, its legal and normative analysis that orders and illuminates ICL and develops a sentencing framework of general applicability. Parts II and III provide, respectively, a background to the Sierra Leona decade long war and a legal analysis of the cases and sentencing jurisprudence. Part IV offers an assessment of the SCSL's sentencing legacy by identifying its key contributions to the ICL sentencing law and linking its sentencing discourse to narratives about the conflict, just war, legitimacy, justice, and Sierra Leonean society. Part V develops a normative assessment of the court's judgments and sentencing practice. I argue that the judges at the SCSL have adopted punitive model for international criminal justice and that this reorientation is a positive development. I also criticize the court's failure to develop a sentencing framework capable of implementing the punitive model. Part VI contributes an original theory and sentencing framework to international law and ICL scholarship. Here, I also re-conceptualize concepts at the heart of ICL and its sentencing practice, such as gravity, modes of liability, and the role of the accused. My theory pulls together these three major outcome determinative sentence variables to effectuate their harmonized consideration for the purpose of sentence allocations and just distribution of punishment among actors responsible for atrocity crimes. l call this theory "enabler responsibility" or "enabling atrocity." I argue that enabler responsibility influences the sentence, especially of atrocity perpetrators at the very top of the hierarchy, even if unarticulated as a factor. The "enabler responsibility" theory closes the explanatory gap in sentencing judgments, including Charles Taylor's punishment. Details: Unpublished paper, 2014. 78p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 28, 2014 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2244391 Year: 2014 Country: Sierra Leone URL: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2244391 Shelf Number: 132198 Keywords: Blood DiamondsCrimes Against HumanityInternational Criminal CourtPunishmentSentencingWar Crimes |
Author: Legal Aid Network (LAN) Title: Justice Delayed, Justice Denied. Seeking Truth about Sexual Violence and War Crime Case in Burma. ((With a Special Focus on the Kawng Kha Case, in Kachin Land) Summary: Despite the so-called democratic transition taking place since 2010, Burma1 remains constitutionally under the control of the Armed Forces. However, our national democratic icon, democratic forces, some ethnic armed organizations, many NGOs -- especially GONGOs - and most of the international community are siding with or exercising a policy of appeasement with the power holders, without scrutinizing whether the source of their power emanates from the genuine will of the various ethnic nationalities and/or indigenous peoples. As a result, terms such as human dignity, human value, and particularly human rights have become empty rhetoric. Accountability is merely a political slogan, used by the incumbent President Thein Sein, the chairperson of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), since coming to office in 2011, but never implemented by any government institution in practice. The vicious circle of impunity continues, and, for the time being, seeking justice is an unpopular concept, voiced only by victims' communities. Against this background, a heinous crime against two young ethnic Kachin female volunteer teachers was committed on January 19, 2015, allegedly by the Myanmar soldiers of the ruling regime. Despite the fact that it has been almost ten months now, the perpetrators are still at large and no suspect has been identified by the police. Investigations carried out by the authorities have not focused on the victims, but have been one-sided, benefitting the perpetrators. The lack of reparative and restorative justice has led to delay and finally a denial of justice. The ominous silence around this case will become a catalyst for recurrence of gross human rights violations in the future. This preliminary report attempts to uncover the truth about this case, relating it to similar past incidents of war crimes, particularly sexual violence. It is also examined as to whether the state is held accountable for failure to provide protection for such heinous crimes and reparations to the victims, due to official state passivity. The government is also reminded of its obligations under domestic and international law. The victims of rape have commonly been non-Burman ethnic females, such as Shan, Karen, Kachin, Karenni, Palaung, etc. As such, the crimes can be categorized as having an ethnic nature. In many previous cases, even though victims were raped, they were not murdered. And even if they were murdered, they were not tortured. However, the Kawng Kha war crime case highlighted in this preliminary report is quite distinct. The victims were not only raped but also murdered. Worse, it was not an ordinary rape but a gang-rape. In addition, the victims were inhumanely and brutally tortured before they were murdered. As of now, nobody knows whether the victims were tortured by the perpetrators before or after being raped. As such, among the gross human rights violations inflicted on the various ethnic nationalities over the past decades, the Kawng Kha case constitutes one of the most heinous crime ever committed. Unfortunately, the ruling regime, albeit having the responsibility as the government, has not yet submitted any report specifically on this case to the Committee against Torture and to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which Burma has already acceded to. There are no independent institutions or professionals working with victims of sexual violence nor does there exist any effective law for protection of witnesses in Burma. In accordance with the 2008 Constitution of Burma, the Myanmar Armed Forces, led by the Commander-in-Chief - not the State President - primarily exercise executive power. In addition to the Police and other security institutions, the Judiciary is also subservient to the executive. This legal and institutional framework has exacerbated the situation of the victims, their families and their communities, whenever the culprits or suspects are army personnel or government authorities. In regard to sexual violence, a serious problem is that ethnic women victims, given social, geographical, financial and legal constraints, are unable even to file complaints; and, even if a complaint is filed, it is commonly rejected by the Judiciary or the local authorities. This paper explores the status of State Institutions, focusing on the Police Institution, from the aspect of institutional integrity as well as procedural justice, as underpinned by not only national laws, international human rights laws and humanitarian law, but also the Rule of Law. This paper also establishes the nexus between civil war and human rights violations and attempts to find a reasonable solution. Last, but not least, the role and responsibility of the international community is scrutinized from the perspective of promotion and protection of human rights in connection with the previous and current background scenario of Burma. Details: Chiang Mai, Thailand: Kachin Women's Association in Thailand, 2016. 90p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 27, 2016 at: http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs21/KWAT-2016-01-Justice_Delayed_Justice_Denied-en-red.pdf Year: 2016 Country: Burma URL: http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs21/KWAT-2016-01-Justice_Delayed_Justice_Denied-en-red.pdf Shelf Number: 137666 Keywords: Human Rights AbusesRapeSexual ViolenceViolence Against WomenWar Crimes |
Author: Dranginis, Holly Title: Grand Theft Global: Prosecuting the War Crime of Pillage in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Summary: From the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) to the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) to Al-Shabaab, many of the world's most infamous and destabilizing armed actors today finance their activities in part through the illegal exploitation and trade of natural resources. Theft in the context of armed conflict constitutes the war crime of pillage, which is punishable in most domestic jurisdictions and at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Prosecuting armed actors and their facilitators for natural resource pillage can help reduce incomes for perpetrators of atrocities, combat resource exploitation, and end the impunity that enables illegal financial networks to thrive in conflict zones. Furthermore, investigating pillage can strengthen cases addressing violent atrocity crimes like rape and murder by uncovering critical information about command responsibility and criminal intent. Prosecutions are a direct, effective way to help disrupt conflict financing and improve accountability for economic crimes - like trafficking and money laundering - and the atrocities they fuel. Details: Washington, DC: Enough Project, 2015. 27p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 6, 2016 at: http://www.enoughproject.org/files/GrandTheftGlobal-PillageReport-Dranginis-Enough-Jan2015.pdf Year: 2015 Country: Congo, Democratic Republic URL: http://www.enoughproject.org/files/GrandTheftGlobal-PillageReport-Dranginis-Enough-Jan2015.pdf Shelf Number: 139285 Keywords: Illegal TradeNatural ResourcesOffenses Against the EnvironmentPillagingWar Crimes |
Author: Human Rights Center, UC Berkeley School of Law. Title: The Long Road: Accountability for Sexual Violence in Conflict and Post-Conflict Settings Summary: Tens of thousands of men and women were raped or sexually tortured during the war in Bosnia between 1992 and 1995. During the 100-day genocide in Rwanda in 1994, thousands of women were raped or had their breasts or genitals mutilated. From 1975–1979, Khmer Rouge cadres in Cambodia raped women and girls despite strict regulations against extramarital sexual relations and an entire generation of men and women were subjected to forced marriage. Acts of sexual violence committed during periods of armed conflict or political unrest are, first and foremost, crimes against the individual survivor. As such, they may be investigated and prosecuted locally under domestic penal or gender-violence laws that criminalize offences against the person. However, where these acts are committed specifically because, or as part, of an armed conflict or larger attack on a civilian population or plan to destroy a particular group of people, they may also constitute an international crime. Since the 1990s, international courts have made progress in prosecuting military commanders and civilian officials for their roles in perpetrating sexual violence as a war crime, as a crime against humanity, and as an act of genocide. However, these international tribunals often operate at significant geographic and historical distance from the events in question. Not surprisingly, they have faced serious challenges in collecting evidence, access to witnesses, and establishing defendants' responsibility for acts they may not have personally committed. They may also have jurisdictional or practical constraints that limit the scope of events they can target. For a host of reasons, accountability for international crimes of sexual violence depends largely on the response of national authorities. To address international crimes of sexual violence, domestic investigators and prosecutors must first be able to prove an underlying act of rape under the Rome Statue, for example, before they can be expected to establish the additional contextual elements that would make that act of rape, a war crime, crime against humanity, or act of genocide. Therefore, in order to appreciate the potential of local actors to provide accountability for international crimes of sexual violence, it is critical to first understand their day-to-day challenges in investigating and prosecuting sexual violence and the strategies used to overcome these challenges. To this end, researchers at the Human Rights Center (HRC) at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, conducted a four-country study in Kenya, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Uganda to identify key accountability barriers and strategies for reporting, investigating, and prosecuting cases of sexual violence. In addition to conducting desk research on the nature of sexual violence and accountability mechanisms in these countries, HRC researchers conducted a total of 279 semi-structured interviews with representatives of governments, UN agencies, and civil society organizations in Kenya (N=59), Liberia (N=115), Sierra Leone. (N=27), and Uganda (N=78). Researchers coded and analyzed the interviews to identify key themes related to the reporting, investigation, and prosecution of cases of sexual violence. Details: Berkeley, California: Human Rights Center at University of California, Berkeley School of Law, 2015. 96p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 19, 2019 at: https://www.law.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/The-Long-Road-August-2015.pdf Year: 2015 Country: International URL: https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0vq564vv Shelf Number: 156500 Keywords: Armed Conflict Civil Unrest Crimes Against Humanity Forced Marriage Genocide Rape Sexual Assault Sexual Violence War Crimes |
Author: Organization of American States Title: Report on the Violent Events that Took Place in Nicaragua between April 18th and May 30th: Executive Summary Summary: One day before the OAS's Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (known by their Spanish acronym GIEI) issued their report, they were expelled from Nicaragua by order of the government. This body was invited in by the Nicaraguan Government to help the Nicaraguan authorities investigate and determine those guilty of what the report now calls "crimes against humanity" - 109 deaths just between April 18-May 30, 2018. Since the report was issued the 24 hour news channel "100% Noticias" was raided by police and closed down, with the Director and News Director jailed and indicted for terrorism, an event which served to validate accusations contained in the report. Details: Washington, DC: Organization of American States, Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts, 2018. 12p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 28, 2019 at: https://www.oas.org/es/cidh/actividades/giei-nicaragua/GIEI_INFORME-en.pdf Year: 2018 Country: Nicaragua URL: https://peacewinds.org/nicaragua-report-on-the-violence-events-between-april-18-and-may-30-2018-by-the-interdisciplinary-group-of-independent-experts-giei/ Shelf Number: 156330 Keywords: Armed Conflict Civil Unrest Crimes Against Humanity Human Rights Abuses Nicaragua War Crimes |