Talk of the Town

War Crimes, Genocide and the Birth of the International Criminal Court

Wed. Mar. 12, 7:30-9:00 pm

With: Joanne Lee, Faculty of Law PhD program and research associate, International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy (ICCLR)

With the possibility of war looming in Iraq will the existence of the fledgling International Criminal Court deter the commission of atrocities or aid in the prosecution of those who may commit acts of atrocity? Find the answer at War Crimes, Genocide and the Birth of the International Criminal Court.

"A person stands a better chance of being tried and judged for killing one human being than for killing 100,000."
-- José Ayala Lasso, former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

That is a situation that Joanne Lee and her colleagues around the world have been working hard to change. Ms. Lee, through her role with the ICCLR at UBC, has been helping to establish the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The ICCLR is an institutional member of the NGO Coalition for the International Criminal Court which provides a clear and powerful description of the goals of the Court and what it hopes to achieve:

"In the latter part of the 19th century and first decades of the 20th, international agreements on the laws of war raised the hope that when conflict broke out, there would be certain standards of conduct which would be respected by all parties, and which would reduce the horror and the devastating impact of war on the individuals, communities and nations involved. Yet despite this codification of laws to govern war, the 20th century was the most war-ravaged century in history. While wars became more frequent and more brutal, the majority of the horrific crimes perpetrated against innocent people were committed with impunity. What has been missing is the means to enforce legal standards, a commitment from states and organizations to participate in ensuring that these standards are met, and a clear indication that no nation and no individual may be above the law.

The International Criminal Court will make international standards of conduct more specific, provide an important mechanism for implementation of these standards and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice before the ICC when national Courts are unable or unwilling to do so. Equally important could be the impact on national laws as ratifying nations fulfill their obligation to ensure that these crimes can be tried within their own borders. While the Court's jurisdiction will not be retroactive, the future Hitlers, Pinochets, Pol Pots, and Idi Amins will have little opportunity to escape justice."

Joanne Lee has spent the last three years traveling to countries around the world helping them assess what changes they need to make to their own laws so that they can help make the ICC an effective institution and perhaps prevent acts of genocide and inhumanity in the future. As she points out: "Even if we stop just one genocide with this court, we will have achieved something wonderful."

Hear the story of the long and triumphant struggle to establish the ICC and the challenges still to be met before the first case against war crimes can be heard, with Joanne Lee at Talk of the Town.

"In the prospect of an international criminal court lies the promise of universal justice. That is the simple and soaring hope of this vision. We are close to its realization. We will do our part to see it through till the end. We ask you . . . to do yours in our struggle to ensure that no ruler, no State, no junta and no army anywhere can abuse human rights with impunity. Only then will the innocents of distant wars and conflicts know that they, too, may sleep under the cover of justice; that they, too, have rights, and that those who violate those rights will be punished."
-- Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary-General

LINKS

http://www.iccnow.org/Introduction.html

The Coalition for the International Criminal Court is a network of more than 1,000 non-governmental organizations advocating for a fair, effective and independent International Criminal Court.

http://www.un.org/law/icc/

The Rome Statute is the United Nations Treaty that established the International Criminal Court.

http://www.icclr.law.ubc.ca/Index.htm

The International Centre for Criminal Law Review and Criminal Justice Policy 's objectives are to contribute to international criminal justice policy development through analysis, research and consultation, and to provide technical assistance to implement international policy and standards.

http://www.icclr.law.ubc.ca/Site Map/Publications Page/Joanne_Lee.htm

Joanne Lee, LLM, has written a number of papers on the ICC and other legal and judicial issues.

http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/~llou/icc.html

The University of Chicago library has compile as list of research material on the International Criminal Court that is quite comprehensive, although it hasn't been updated recently.