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	UN War crimes Prosecutor attacks international double Standards by Agence France Presse   10 October 2006   UN judges call for more State cooperation over Rwanda genocide and other atrocities. (UN News)   Top United Nations judges investigating atrocities committed during the 1994 Rwanda genocide and the Balkans war have called on Member States to cooperate more closely with their international courts to bring the perpetrators of these horrendous crimes to justice.   Both International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) President Erik Mose and International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) President Fausto Pocar told the General Assembly on Monday that their main stumbling block was getting national authorities to arrest suspects.   The Hague-based ICTY is still hunting six fugitives, and the ICTR, located in Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania, is seeking a further 18. In particular, Judge Pocar expressed regret that Serbian authorities had made no progress in locating or arresting Ratko Mladic, while Republika Srpska had also failed to deliver Radovan Karadzic.   “The Tribunal must not close its doors before these accused are brought to justice…otherwise [its] message and legacy that the international community will not tolerate serious violations of international humanitarian law will be thwarted,” he said.   And while Judge Mose said that the Rwanda Tribunal was working at “full speed” and was expected to complete cases involving between 65 and 70 accused by the end of 2008, it was essential for Member States to cooperate in the arrest and transfer of all fugitives, particularly one well-known indictee, Felicien Kabuga.   Speaking in response, Pavle Jevremovic from Serbia said his Government had expressed full determination and political commitment to ensuring that all individuals indicted for the most serious violations of international law during the conflicts in the territory of the Former Yugoslavia be brought to justice, either by the ICTY or by domestic judiciaries.   In his remarks, Joseph Nsengimana from Rwanda reiterated serious concerns that the Tribunal’s staff included individuals who were themselves accused of having committed serious crimes during the 1994 Genocide. At the end of September, his Government informed the Security Council that 14 individuals who were well known to be “genocide suspects” were employed by the Tribunal.   Also speaking to the Assembly was Judge Philippe Kirsch, President of the International Criminal Court (ICC) –– the world"s only permanent court to try individuals for war crimes, genocide and other abuses.   He reported solid progress in investigations into atrocities committed in northern Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region but highlighted that security in the field overall had continued to be a serious concern and said that the extent of the challenges facing the Court was unlike anything experienced by other courts as tribunals.   The Security Council referred the situation in Darfur, along with the names of 51 suspected perpetrators of crimes, to the ICC in March 2005, after a UN inquiry into whether genocide had occurred found the Government responsible for crimes under international law and strongly recommended referring the dossier to the Court.   October 7, 2006 (AFP)   Chief UN war crimes prosecutor Carla del Ponte hit out at international double standards, saying some serious crimes such as during the Israel-Lebanon were just simply being ignored.   "We are faced with conflicts where, according to credible reports, serious violations of international humanitarian law were committed, for instance during the recent Israel-Lebanon conflict, but no independent criminal investigation is taking place," she told a seminar of international prosecutors.   "As lawyers, we have an obligation to ensure that the same rules apply everywhere. However, double standards exist today in the treatment of similar crimes," she argued at the two-day meeting in The Hague.   "While some crimes are being investigated and prosecuted fully by domestic or international judicial bodies, others are simply ignored."   Del Ponte, the Swiss chief prosecutor of the International War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), is known for her straight-talking approach.   She was speaking in front of her colleagues such as the heads of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Luis Moreno Ocampo, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), Hassan Jallow, and Christopher Staker from the UN-backed special court for Sierre Leone.   "As we speak, in vast parts of the world, "double standards" has become a catchword being misused to foster extremism and violence," Del Ponte said.   "The ICC is the only place for the universal and consistent administration of criminal justice, and we must support efforts to build the ICC."   Del Ponte said that both the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia were "subjected to enormous political pressure to finish our task by 2010," the date set by the United Nations.   "It is likely that, next year, this political pressure will start translating into new financial constraints," she added.   However, with six war crimes suspects including former Bosnian Serb military and political leaders Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadjic still on the run, it was "absolutely impossible" to close down the International War Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.   Criminals "need to be prosecuted and brought to accountability, but that is not sufficient," said Prosecutor Jallow.   Prosecutor Staker said that setting up the UN-backed special court for Sierre Leone in Freetown had had a major impact on the population as it could now closely follow court proceedings.   But Del Ponte warned that justice was "not a medication for all that"s going wrong in the world," underlining that investigation, prosecution, judgement and eventually imprisonment were important.   "If after (that) it has a positive effect on a territory ... I"m grateful, but it"s not my task."
	UN: New Secretary-General must lead on Human Rights by Human Rights Watch   October 4, 2006   Commitment to Stand Up to Human Rights Violators Required.   The incoming UN secretary-general must be prepared to speak out publicly against human rights abusers wherever they are found, however powerful they are, Human Rights Watch said today. The Security Council late yesterday afternoon conducted a straw poll which made it all but certain that it would recommend Ban Ki-moon, South Korea"s minister of foreign affairs and trade, to the General Assembly for election to the post of secretary-general. The General Assembly has never rejected such a recommendation.   The Security Council is expected to vote formally on its secretary-general recommendation on Monday, October 9.   “Kofi Annan has been more supportive of human rights than any secretary-general in UN history, so the new secretary-general will have a tough act to follow,” said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “A key task for Annan’s successor will be to show he has the political courage to challenge powerful governments that abuse human rights.”   As an outspoken advocate for victims of human rights, Annan pressed governments to live up to the UN Charter’s commitment to human rights for all. He recognized that while quiet diplomacy and technical assistance have their place, some situations are so urgent and some governments so unresponsive that public pressure must be brought to bear by the secretary-general.   The incoming secretary-general must be similarly willing to take on those responsible for human rights abuses and to push the UN system to be stronger in the defense of human rights and civil society. To demonstrate the universal basis of human rights, he must be willing to speak out even when the offender is a powerful government, Human Rights Watch said.   As the crisis in Darfur continues, it is clear that the next secretary-general will be judged in important part by his ability to make the “responsibility to protect” people from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity a reality. World leaders agreed to this principle at last year’s summit, but the deteriorating situation in Darfur illustrates the gap between stating a principle and having the political will and resources to act upon it. Ban’s challenge will be to close that gap.   “There is no more pressing issue for the new secretary-general’s attention than Darfur,” said Roth.   Through his reform efforts, including the creation of the new Human Rights Council, Annan also forced a rethinking of the UN’s human rights role. Yet his vision of human rights as the third pillar of the UN system, along with security and development, is far from realized.   The Human Rights Council has so far stumbled because of its relative fixation on Israel, while failing to take concrete steps to address other serious human rights situations as well. It has yet to show that it is willing to take firm, collective action against intransigent governments engaged in systemic rights violations.   The incoming secretary-general must work to ensure that the Human Rights Council is both more credible and more effective than its predecessor. He should also support the ongoing expansion of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and continue Annan’s effort to bring human rights into the mainstream of other parts of the UN.   This is also a crucial moment to address endemic failures by the UN system in women’s rights, an issue which has been perennially overshadowed by other concerns. Remedying this deficit will require an effort to bring women’s rights into the mainstream of the UN’s work, as well as enhanced resources and a greatly improved UN infrastructure for women’s rights.   “The new secretary-general shouldn’t just follow in Annan’s footsteps on human rights,” Roth said. “He should advance an ambitious human rights agenda, including on issues where the UN continues to lag, such as women’s rights.”
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