Politics of War Crimes Trials Under Spotlight
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 18 (IPS) - Ten years after the International Criminal Court (ICC) opened its doors in The Hague, the United Nations Security Council held its first open discussion on the role of the court, with some nations reiterating complaints that its docket is highly politicised and has unfairly singled out African nations for censure.
The ICC is the only permanent international court with a mandate to prosecute individuals accused of the most heinous crimes - genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The official seat of the court is in the Netherlands, but proceedings can take place anywhere in the world. The ICC has received complaints about alleged crimes in over a hundred countries, but investigations have only been opened into seven states so far, all of them in Africa - Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, the Central African Republic, Kenya, Libya and Cote d'Ivoire.
The ICC can either undertake an investigation on the prosecutor's own initiative, if a case is referred to the court by the concerned states parties themselves, or if the case is referred to the court by the United Nations Security Council.
During the debate on Wednesday, representatives from several countries expressed concerns about the Security Council taking politicised decisions about which cases to refer to the Court.
The fact that the Security Council has not referred the burning case of Syria to the ICC, for example, was highlighted by representatives from a number of states.
Human rights groups have made similar critiques.
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