Arrest of Radovan Karadžic a major step towards justice

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:21:48 +0100

Radovan Karadžic could be surrendered to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in the Netherlands either this weekend or early next week, depending on the outcome of a possible last minute appeal.

The former Bosnian Serb had until midnight Friday 25 July 2008 to file an appeal against his surrender to the ICTY in The Hague, Netherlands . If he does, a panel of judges will meet to decide on it. If, as expected, they reject the appeal, the Serbian government, will issue the final surrender order.

Amnesty International has called for the ICTY to be given enough time and resources to secure justice for the victims of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

“The UN Security Council must review the arbitrary deadline of 2010 set for the Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to complete its cases,” said Amnesty International on Tuesday.

"Of the 161 people charged by the Tribunal, cases against 115 have been concluded but there are still ongoing proceedings against a further 46. Two of those charged also still remain at large - Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadžic. The court must be given the necessary time to process all these cases."

Amnesty International is concerned that the Tribunal will not be able to try all those who have been charged but whose cases are ongoing by the 2010 deadline. As a result, indictments may be dropped due to a lack of time to consider all charges or appeals may not be considered.

Cases might then be referred to national criminal courts, where the organization has significant concerns about the quality of justice, ability to protect victims and witnesses, ability to locate evidence and the commitment to a thorough investigation and prosecution. In most countries of the former Yugoslavia a lack of political will, and sometimes even deliberate obstruction, continue to block the investigation and prosecution of war crimes.

“The arrest of Radovan Karadžic is a major victory. Amnesty International has been calling for his arrest and surrender to the Tribunal as part of its Arrest Now! campaign for the past decade. The cases of alleged perpetrators of such serious crimes, including Ratko Mladic and Goran Hadžic, should be considered by the Tribunal," said Amnesty International.

Radovan Karadžic, the former President of Republika Srpska, head of the Serbian Democratic Party and Supreme Commander of the Bosnian Serb Army (VRS), had been at large for more than 12 years since being indicted for crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Srebrenica.

Background
Radovan Karadžic is charged with genocide, complicity in genocide, extermination, murder, wilful killing, persecutions, deportation, inhumane acts, and other crimes committed against Bosnian Muslim, Bosnian Croat and other non-Serb civilians in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1992-1995 conflict.

The charge of genocide against Radovan Karadžic includes the murder of approximately 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in 1995. The indictment alleges that he also committed genocide, persecutions and other crimes when forces under his command killed non-Serbs throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina, detained thousands of non-Serbs and transferred them to detention facilities set up by the Bosnian Serb authorities. The indictment alleges that forces under his command killed, tortured, mistreated, and sexually assaulted non-Serbs in these camps.

Radovan Karadžic is also charged with war crimes for the shelling and shooting of civilians in Sarajevo which resulted in the killing and wounding of thousands, including many women and children.

The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (Tribunal) was established by the United Nations Security Council in 1993 to investigate and prosecute crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia since 1991.

Despite the fact that some persons indicted by the Tribunal remain at large, the United Nations Security Council in 2004 called on the Tribunal to complete its work by 2010.

UN examines human rights in member countries

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 17:59:20 +0100

All UN member states are facing a rigorous examination of their human rights records. The inaugural session of the UN Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) working group began on Monday.

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a new mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council and, over the next four years, it will regularly review the human rights obligations and commitments of all 192 Member States. Governments themselves will carry out this regular and systematic scrutiny.

The new process will address one of the main criticisms of the Council’s predecessor, the Commission on Human Rights, which was accused of considering only a small number of countries, and of often avoiding pressing situations for political reasons.

The UPR Working Group will, until 18 April, examine the human rights records of 16 countries: Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Brazil, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Finland, India, Indonesia, Morocco, the Netherlands, the Philippines, Poland, South Africa, Tunisia and the UK.

This first session will be followed by two further sessions in 2008, so that 48 countries, selected by drawing lots, will have been scrutinized during the year.

An important feature of the new process is that governments of the countries under examination are expected to carry out a broad consultation among civil society. Amnesty International has lobbied energetically to ensure that all relevant voices are heard.

The organisation has submitted information on 14 of the 16 countries above and its members and supporters are working with civil society within each country to raise awareness of the new process.

Amnesty International said, in a statement issued on Monday, that this first session of the UPR Working Group will be key in setting the standard for future reviews, in terms of process as well as substance.

"Both reviewed and reviewing countries have an important role to play. Amnesty International looks to all member states to step up and help launch the UPR as an effective human rights mechanism," said Martin Macpherson, Director of the organization's International Law and Organisations Programme.

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Arrest of Radovan Karadžic a major step towards justice

UN examines human rights in member countries