The Asian Human Rights Commission appreciates and welcomes the announcement by the new government of Pakistan to commute death sentences to life imprisonment. The AHRC hopes that the government of Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani will abolish the law which allows capital punishment by hanging...
Marking World Refugee Day on Friday 20 June, UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres said that providing protection for refugees today is vastly more challenging than when his office began work in 1951 trying to find solutions for Europeans uprooted in the aftermath of World War II.
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On the 12 June 2008 the US Supreme Court recognized, in the case of Boumediene v.Bush, the right of those detained at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba to challenge their detention in US civilian courts. Amnesty International described the ruling as an essential step towards restoring the rule of law to the USA’...
By Gore Vidal
On June 10, 2008, a counterrevolution began on the floor of the House of Representatives against the gas and oil crooks who had seized control of the federal government. This counterrevolution began in the exact place which had slumbered during the all-out assault on our liberti...
Reporters Without Borders is worried about the kidnapping of leading cyber-dissident Huang Qi, the founder of the human rights website 64Tianwang (http://www.64tianwang.com). He and two other activists were forced to get into a car by three unidentified men at around 7 p.m. on 10 June in Chengdu, th...
Thonglin was 13 years old when she was sold into prostitution. "My aunt asked if I would like to come with her to Thailand to find a job so that I could earn money for her family, and I agreed,"...
“I've been living away from home for three years," says Alfredo, a boy in prostitution who was working as a dancer in a club in Acapulco, Mexico. "I had many problems because my dad drank a lot...
Two guys were taking chemistry at the University of Louisville. They did pretty well on all of the quizzes, midterms, and labs, and had a solid "A" going into the final. They were so confident...
By Pat Buchanan
Freedom of the press is on trial in Canada.
The trial is before a court with the Orwellian title of the British Columbia Human Rights Tribunal. The accused are Maclean's magazine...
In its effort to fight terrorism, France routinely arrests and prosecutes people for being associated with possible terror suspects, undermining international fair trial standards, Human Rights Watch said...
We have put together the most awesome video about Canada. We show the world what kind of country we have become and you will love the stunning color.
Please take 1 minutes and 30 seonds to have...
As a person who has spent his lifetime in advocating peace and civil rights it is time to write. The subject of Iran needs to be addressed in a definitive way.
In order to put this in some order,...
German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung confirmed on Tuesday that Germany is planning on increasing the number of troops stationed in Afghanistan by 1,000, later this year.
The Asian Human Rights Commission appreciates and welcomes the announcement by the new government of Pakistan to commute death sentences to life imprisonment. The AHRC hopes that the government of Prime...
Marking World Refugee Day on Friday 20 June, UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres said that providing protection for refugees today is vastly more challenging than when his office began work...
On the 12 June 2008 the US Supreme Court recognized, in the case of Boumediene v.Bush, the right of those detained at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba to challenge their detention in US civilian courts. Amnesty International...
By Gore Vidal
On June 10, 2008, a counterrevolution began on the floor of the House of Representatives against the gas and oil crooks who had seized control of the federal government. This counterrevolution...
Reporters Without Borders is worried about the kidnapping of leading cyber-dissident Huang Qi, the founder of the human rights website 64Tianwang (http://www.64tianwang.com). He and two other activists...
The agreement announced today between the Ugandan government and the Lord's Resistance Army is a major step, but provisions on war crimes trials must be effectively put into practice for sustainable peace and justice in northern Uganda.
The agreement, which was signed as part of peace talks that began in July 2006, provides for a special division of Uganda's High Court to prosecute those who planned or carried out war crimes or other widespread or systematic attacks on civilians.
"Today's agreement could be a major step toward peace and justice for northern Uganda, but the true test lies in how the agreement is put into practice," said Richard Dicker, International Justice Program director at Human Rights Watch. "What is significant is that the parties agreed to a specific plan to try the most serious crimes."
In addition to the special High Court division, the agreement provides for other aspects of domestic prosecution, including a multidisciplinary investigations and prosecutions unit, attention to the needs of victims and witnesses, and recruitment of relevant experts. There are also provisions for a truth commission, reparations to victims, and traditional justice practices. However, the agreement does not have explicit provisions on other important matters like measures to ensure respect for international fair trial standards and adequate penalties.
Interest in domestic trials for serious crimes committed in northern Uganda gained momentum during the peace talks as a substitute for prosecutions of LRA leaders by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The ICC had issued arrest warrants for LRA leaders for crimes against humanity and war crimes in 2005.
The ICC statute favors national trials where possible. However, under the court's statute and other international standards, trials should be credible, independent, and impartial. They should adhere to international fair trial standards, and impose penalties that are appropriate given the gravity of the crime, namely imprisonment.
"There must be fair, credible prosecutions of the most serious crimes committed by both sides and sufficient penalties for those convicted," said Dicker. "The agreement does not fully speak to this, and we look to the parties and international partners to ensure that they are properly addressed."
While LRA leaders have sought to portray the ICC as an obstacle to achieving peace, the ICC warrants are widely credited with helping to move the parties to the negotiating table and contributing to a focus on accountability at the peace talks. Justice is a critical element to achieving a peace that is sustainable, Human Rights Watch said.
Given the ICC's jurisdiction over crimes in northern Uganda and Uganda's obligations as a party to the ICC, the ICC will determine whether a domestic trial is an adequate alternative to prosecution by the ICC itself. The ICC can retake a case if necessary.
"It is the ICC judges who decide if a national trial will be sufficient for their cases," Dicker said. "National trials are not a route to impunity."