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	End Burma’s System of Impunity by Pedro Nikken, Geoffrey Nice, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro Washington Post / NYT   June 2009   What the U.N. can"t ignore in Burma, by Pedro Nikken and Geoffrey Nice.   The trial of the world"s only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Aung San Suu Kyi, has once again catapulted events in Burma onto the front pages of newspapers around the globe. The leader of Burma"s struggle for human rights and democracy has been charged with violating the terms of her house arrest after an American citizen swam across a lake and broke into her home last month. Heads of state from Asia and the West, celebrities, and U.N. leaders such as human rights chief Navi Pillay have responded strongly, demanding not only an end to the trial in Burma"s kangaroo courts but the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years.   With the verdict expected this week, many eyes remain glued to Burma. We hope this global attention will result in long-overdue action.   For while the imprisonment of Aung San Suu Kyi, without trial, has long been denounced, a less-publicized travesty has been underway in Burma for much of the past 15 years. Organizations such as Human Rights Watch, Human Rights First and Amnesty International have reported on the crimes against humanity and war crimes committed under the rule of Burma"s military regime, including the recruitment of tens of thousands of child soldiers and attacks on ethnic minority civilians.   The former U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Burma, Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, reported last year that he had received information indicating that the military regime had destroyed, forcibly displaced or forced the abandonment of more than 3,000 villages in eastern Burma, where ethnic minorities predominate. At least 1 million people fled their homes as a result of the attacks, he said, escaping as refugees and internally displaced persons. This is comparable to the number of villages that have been harmed in the Darfur region of Sudan.   Inexplicably, the U.N. Security Council has not systematically investigated these abuses, which probably rise to the level of crimes against humanity and war crimes. So a group of jurists from the United States, Europe, Asia, Latin America and Africa -- of which we were part -- commissioned a report by the International Human Rights Clinic at Harvard Law School to determine whether the United Nations is sufficiently aware of the seriousness of the charges and willing to pursue justice. The Harvard team -- relying only on U.N. documents and not information from human rights groups -- examined four international human rights violations documented by U.N. bodies over the past 15 years: sexual violence, forced displacement, torture and extrajudicial killings.   It found that, indeed, the United Nations is well aware that such abuses are taking place in Burma. Numerous U.N. special rapporteurs, the U.N. General Assembly, the U.N. Commission on Human Rights (now Human Rights Council), and the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women have repeatedly documented and cited human rights abuses that rise to the level of crimes, using language such as "widespread" and "systematic," which are key elements to proving the existence of war crimes and crimes against humanity.   The Harvard report noted that the United Nations has acknowledged that rights abuses in Burma have taken place with impunity. Moreover, U.N. reports observe that most often the Burmese military commits these grave human rights abuses. Key U.N. experts have acknowledged that there is no independent judiciary in Burma, with Tomás Ojea Quintana, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights, stating as recently as November that "There is no independent and impartial judiciary system" in Burma.   Tragedies such as last year"s cyclone and this spring"s sham trial inevitably draw the world"s eyes to Burma. We should maintain our gaze. Given that the United Nations is aware of the scale and severity of rights abuses in Burma, it is incumbent on the Security Council to authorize a commission of inquiry into crimes against humanity and war crimes in Burma. In previous, similar cases -- such as the situation in the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Darfur -- the council voted to create such a commission to investigate charges and recommend actions. So many U.N. bodies have documented severe human rights abuses that such a move on Burma is not only justified but long overdue.   * Geoffrey Nice was the principal prosecution trial attorney in the case against Slobodan Milosevic in the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague. Pedro Nikken was president of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and is an executive committee member of the International Commission of Jurists.   May 2009   End Burma’s System of Impunity, by Paulo Sergio Pinheiro. (NYT)   The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, has spent 13 years under house arrest in Myanmar. This week, the Burmese junta is likely to extend her detention for up to five years under the trumped-up charge of allowing a visitor into her compound.   During eight years as United Nations Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, I repeatedly called on the Burmese junta to release Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma’s 2,100 other political prisoners, to no avail. It is imperative that she be released immediately for the country’s process of reconciliation to move forward.   But while Suu Kyi has deservedly received a great deal of international attention over the past two decades, Myanmar’s ethnic minorities — more than one-third of the population — have suffered without international outcry. For Myanmar’s process of national reconciliation to be successful, the plight of the minorities must also be addressed.   Over the past 15 years, the Burmese Army has destroyed over 3,300 villages in a systematic and widespread campaign to subjugate ethnic groups. U.N. reports indicate that Burmese soldiers have frequently recruited child soldiers, used civilians as minesweepers and forced thousands of villagers into slave labor.   An official policy of impunity has empowered soldiers to rape and pillage. According to one account, in December 2008 a Burmese soldier marched into an ethnic Karen village in eastern Myanmar and abducted, raped and killed a 7-year old girl. Authorities refused to arrest the soldier; instead, officers threatened the parents with punishment if they did not accept a cash bribe to keep quiet.   In 2002, I received a report about 625 women who were systematically raped in Myanmar ’s Shan State over a five-year period. There was not a single account of successful prosecution.   I repeatedly documented the military’s many abuses in reports to the U.N. General Assembly and the U.N. Commission on Human Rights. My work is only one example of U.N. efforts in Myanmar — since 1990, U.N. representatives have visited the country 37 times in an attempt to facilitate dialogue and promote human rights.   They have exhausted all domestic and diplomatic remedies without achieving human rights protection and national reconciliation in Myanmar. And while the U.N. General Assembly and the U.N. Human Rights Council have passed over 35 resolutions regarding Myanmar, the U.N. Security Council has yet to pass a single one. The United Nations will not be successful until the Security Council acts to directly address our stagnant efforts.   It is clear that the attacks in Myanmar will continue. It is equally evident that the country’s domestic legal system will not punish those perpetrating crimes against ethnic minorities.   It is time for the United Nations to take the next logical step: The Security Council must establish a commission of inquiry into crimes against humanity and impunity in Myanmar. The Security Council took similar steps with regard to Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. The situation in Myanmar is equally as critical.   Creating a commission of inquiry will accomplish three important goals: First, it will make the junta accountable for its crimes with a potential indictment by the International Criminal Court. Second, it will address the widespread culture of impunity in Burma. Third, it has the potential to deter future crimes against humanity in Myanmar. For two decades, ethnic minorities in Myanmar have suffered while our diplomatic efforts failed to bear fruit. The time has come for the Security Council to act.   * Paulo Sergio Pinheiro was the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar from 2000 to 2008. Visit the related web page
	Rights abusers must be stopped, starting at the top by Luis Moreno-Ocampo International Criminal Court Prosecutor   July 2009   "Conscious that all peoples are united by common bonds, their cultures pieced together in a shared heritage, and concerned that this delicate mosaic may be shattered at any time, "Mindful that during this century millions of children, women and men have been victims of unimaginable atrocities that deeply shock the conscience of humanity, "Recognizing that such grave crimes threaten the peace, security and well-being of the world, "Affirming that the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole must not go unpunished…"   With these words that open the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court ["ICC"], the governments of 110 countries have expressed not only their belief in the necessity of international justice also their commitment to ensuring its enforcement.   Today, on International Justice Day, we celebrate their efforts and the efforts of millions around the globe to give life to a vision of the world in which peace and justice prevail in accordance with the rule of law.   The creation of the ICC eleven years ago today was a small but significant step towards the realization of this vision. Where national courts are unwilling or unable to act, the ICC can play a crucial role in delivering justice for victims, in sending a message of deterrence to potential criminals and in contributing thereby to the re-establishment of peace and the rule of law.   The ICC is a global court; it has been widely accepted by countries from all continents – Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe. It is a fair Court; its Statute protects the rights of accused persons and guarantees a fair trial. Most importantly, it is a Court of law. Its 18 elected judges adhere strictly to the law and ensure that all those appearing before the Court – prosecutors, defence counsel and others – do the same.   The creation and early achievements of the ICC are only a beginning. Much more remains to be done to advance the cause of international justice. The capacity of national courts to investigate and prosecute serious crimes must be strengthened. Where the ICC or other courts act, their decisions should be consistently and routinely enforced. Adherence to and respect for the rule of law must become the norm and not the exception. The ideal of a world governed through law is what motivated the establishment of the ICC, it is what we celebrate today, and it is our aim for the future.   June 2009   Holding leaders accountable for human rights abuses can take time, but they must face justice, according to Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who has made a career of going after top officials, starting in his native Argentina and more recently in The Hague as Prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC).   As a young lawyer, Mr. Moreno-Ocampo was appointed Deputy Prosecutor in the military junta trials against Argentinean generals and other authorities accused of human rights crimes during the so-called “dirty war” years from 1976 to 1983, when thousands disappeared.   “The first case was against some of the top commanders of the junta, including the former president, so we started right at the top,” he said in an interview with the UN News Centre.   Nine senior commanders, including three former heads of State, were indicted during the trials, and five were convicted. Initially, the country was not behind the prosecution of its former leaders, Mr. Moreno-Ocampo recalled, noting that even his own mother criticised the proceedings.   “I could not convince my own mother, so it was not easy. But when the trial started, the most interesting lesson I learned was that the trial educated the entire population,” he said. “In fact, my mother called me two weeks after the trial started and said ‘you were right, I was wrong.’”   Mr. Moreno-Ocampo thought prosecuting the junta trials, at the age of 32, was the peak of his career. But that was until he received a call from the ICC six years ago.   “The job was an extremely exciting opportunity. I think it’s the most fascinating legal institution ever created,” he said of the Court, set up by the 1998 Rome Statute to help end impunity for the perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.   As Prosecutor, he has opened investigations in the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, as well as in Sudan’s strife-torn Darfur region.   As he had during the junta trials in Argentina, Mr. Moreno-Ocampo again went after those alleged to have sent out orders to commit some of the worst atrocities imaginable, the most high-profile being Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir.   “I focused on the top people. Because of my experience in Argentina I knew we could not prosecute middle- ranking officers, which made our lives more difficult,” he said.   “The most important issue is to prove that what happened in Darfur is a massive campaign against the civilians orchestrated by the top leader of the country, because that has important consequences.”   In March, ICC judges issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Al-Bashir, the first sitting head of State to be indicted by the Court, for alleged war crimes committed in Darfur, where an estimated 300,000 people have died and another 3 million have been displaced by fighting since 2003 between rebels and government forces and their allied Arab militiamen, known as the Janjaweed.   The Sudanese President has been indicted on two counts of war crimes and five counts of crimes against humanity, but the ICC pre-trial chamber found there was insufficient evidence to charge him with genocide, noting that if the prosecution presents additional evidence the warrant could be amended at a later date.   “The important thing is for the international community to send a strong message that this cannot happen, a head of State cannot commit crimes against his own citizens, and he has to be stopped,” stressed the Prosecutor. “Omar Al-Bashir has to face the Court.”   Mr. Moreno-Ocampo stressed this point again as he updated the Security Council today on his investigations into crimes in Darfur. “International experiences as the case of Slobodan Milosevic and Charles Taylor, or national experiences, tell us that the implementation of a judicial decision against a head of State is a process that can take time, months or years,” he told the 15-member body. “In the end, however, they all faced justice.”   To date, six of the 13 men indicted by the ICC are still at large, including Mr. Al-Bashir. One has been confirmed dead and another suspected to have died, while four are in custody awaiting trial in The Hague.   May 2009   International Criminal Court launches Online Library.   The International Criminal Court (ICC) has launched a new version of “Legal Tools,” an online library on international criminal law and justice, which empowers victims and others who seek a judicial response to atrocities by providing a central vehicle to obtain information on international criminal law.   Legal Tools provide a knowledge-transfer platform for international criminal and human rights laws made freely available to the general public through the ICC Web site. The online library contains more than 40,000 documents, including decisions and indictments from all international criminal tribunals, ICC preparatory works and case documents, treaties, information about national legal systems, and relevant decisions from national courts. Visit the related web page
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