Blog 9: International Criminal Court Delivers Landmark First Ruling

The international criminal court (ICC) has delivered the first verdict in its 10-year history, finding Thomas Lubanga, a Congolese warlord, guilty of recruiting child soldiers. Lubanga is one of 15 cases before the ICC, the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal, which opened in July 2002 to prosecute the perpetrators of genocide and crimes against humanity. Until the ICC, international tribunals had been set up on an ad hoc basis, notably for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. But human rights advocates had long pressed for an independent and permanent criminal court, as opposed to courts established for specific conflicts with a limited shelf life. The international tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, established in 1993, is to wind up by 2014. In 1998, 120 states adopted the Rome statute, the legal basis for establishing the ICC. The statute entered into force four years later, when it was ratified by 60 countries. Only the US, Israel, China, Iraq, Libya, Qatar and Yemen have not ratified the Rome statute. The US, however, has tempered its outright opposition to the court since George W Bush left office in January 2009. Under the Obama administration, the US has supported the ICC's investigation and prosecution in Sudan. The first arrest warrants ever issued by the ICC in The Hague were aimed at Joseph Kony, and four of his LRA commanders, for crimes against humanity and war crimes. The 2005 indictments include charges of murder, rape, the sexual enslavement of women and girls, and forcing children to fight.  Under the Rome statute, the court's prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, can launch an investigation on the basis of a referral from any state that accepts the ICC's jurisdiction, or from the UN security council. In addition, the prosecutor can initiate investigations on the basis of information on crimes from individuals or organizations.  This is a fantastic advancement to be able to prosecute war criminals, who have committed multiple offences against many different countries, without the bias of one specific country.  I believe that the US, as well as Israel, China, Iraq, Libya, Qatar, and Yemen should adopt this criminal court which has popularly spread around the world.  It is important for all nations to maintain a sense of unity, while also maintaining their independence.  This is definitely a good thing.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2012/mar/15/international-criminal-court-first-ruling-lubanga?newsfeed=true