Former Libyan Dissident Starts Legal Proceedings against Former UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw

Libyan commander and former dissident, Abdel Hakim Belhaj, has commenced legal proceedings against former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw alleging complicity in torture and misfeasance in public office.

Belhaj was abducted with his pregnant wife in Bangkok and flown via UK-controlled Diego Garcia to prison in Libya in a so-called rendition operation. Papers discovered in an abandoned Libyan government office outlined the role played by the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), and in particular its head of counterterrorism, in providing the intelligence that led the CIA to detain Belhaj and his wife.

MI6 did not deny its involvement. Credible and well-placed sources insist that the actions were part of “ministerially-authorised government policy”. Only secretaries of state may authorise MI6 to “disapply” UK law, and these authorisations provide no protection for the politician.

It has been reported that SIS confronted Straw with evidence that he was the minister who authorised the operation, and it is understood that these reports triggered the decision by Belhaj’s lawyers to start proceedings against him. The papers reportedly also demand that Straw disclose documents relating to the rendition of a second Libyan dissident.

It is understood that this is the first time that proceedings of this nature have been taken against a former foreign secretary.

For further information, see:

The BBC

The Guardian

Event: KONY 2012 - A force for good?

On Wednesday 4 April, at 7pm, London’s Frontline Club will host a debate asking whether the KONY 2012 campaign is a force for good or a worrying development in campaigning.

Hosted by BBC Radio 4′s Paddy O’Connell, the panelists will include:

Benjamin Chesterton – radio documentary and photofilm producer, co-founder of the production company duckrabbit and the website “A Developing Story”

Amanda Weisbaum – Programmes Director at War Child, which works with communities affected by the LRA in Northern Uganda and Central African Republic

Musa Okwonga - a football writer, poet and musician of Ugandan descent

For more information and to reserve seats, see here.

Zimbabwe Torture Case Postponed

The North Gauteng High Court was today forced to postpone the landmark case brought to compel South Africa to investigate and prosecute high-level Zimbabwean officials accused of crimes against humanity.

Proceedings were postponed after the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) appointed new counsel only days before the beginning of the hearing.

“While the delay is regrettable, the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) and the Zimbabwean Exiles Forum (ZEF) believe that the postponement is necessary for the proper adjudication of this matter given the importance of the issues at stake,” said Nicole Fritz, Executive Director of the SALC.

The case concerns South Africa’s obligations as a signatory to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The SALC and the ZEF are seeking to compel South Africa to abide by its legal obligations to investigate and prosecute high level Zimbabwean officials accused of crimes against humanity, and in doing so set aside the previous stance of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and South African Police Services (SAPS).

The challenge relates to the torture of scores of activists during Zimbabwean police raids on the MDC’s headquarters in March 2007. The crux of the case surrounds a detailed docket documenting the alleged acts of torture, submitted by the SALC to the NPA’s Priority Crimes Litigation Unit in March 2008.

“As soon as the NPA was in possession of the docket, South Africa’s obligations to investigate with a view to prosecuting those responsible were triggered,” says ZEF Chairperson, Gabriel Shumba.

As a signatory to the Rome Statute, which was incorporated into South African domestic law by the Implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Act 27 of 2002, it is submitted that South Africa is committed to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of serious international crimes.

If the court is convinced by the arguments put forward by the SALC and the ZEF, it would be the first time the importance of South Africa’s international obligations to the ICC have been underlined. In addition, it would be a landmark case highlighting the general importance South Africa must grant to charges of crimes against humanity in general.

As Fritz makes clear,  “The High Court has an opportunity to set an important precedent, which will ensure that South Africa lives up to its legal responsibilities to prosecute the perpetrators of international crimes wherever they are committed.”

The last-minute decision of the NDPP to terminate the services of State Advocate Christopher Macadam has also coincided with spectacular revelations made by Anton Ackermann, the head of the NDPP’s Priority Crimes Litigation Unit (PCLU). As head of the PCLU, Ackermann was the initial recipient of the SALC’s request to initiate an investigation, and made several requests none of which was followed. According to his sworn testimony, he requested the opening of the docket, the consultation of SALC, the PCLU to be approached for guidance, and for the docket to be submitted to the NPA for a final decision.

As a cited respondent, Ackermann was within his rights to independently participate in the proceedings. However, as recent evidence has revealed, his version of events has been met with resistance and even threats from his colleagues.

Shumba notes that  “Ackermann’s affidavit and appended correspondence makes it clear that he was manipulated and lied to for years and that his colleagues and the State Advocate resorted to bullying tactics better suited to playgrounds in a desperate attempt to silence him.”

These recent revelations have undoubtedly cast serious doubt over the initial reasons put forward by the Police Commissioner for not initiating sooner an investigation when requested.

The case will continue at a later date to be determined by the court.

For further information:

Court to hear argument on SA prosecuting Zimbabwean officials Business Day

NPA Infighting Causes Postponement of Zimbabwe Torture Case South Africa Litigation Centre

Zimbabwe: South Africa- Zimbabwean Prosecutions? All Africa

SA High Court to hear Zimbabwe torture case Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa

Human-rights charges against Haiti's former leader, "Baby Doc", are dismissed

Post by Kathryn Hovington

Charges of grave human-rights crimes including torture and political assassination against Jean-Claude Duvalier, who ruled Haiti from 1971 to 1986, have been dismissed by investigative magistrate Carvès Jean, on the grounds that the ten-year statute of limitations had expired. Mr Jean was accused of failing to investigate the claims of at least eight of the 20 complainants in the case.

After fleeing to France for 25 years, Mr Duvalier, nicknamed “Baby Doc”, made a surprise return to Haiti in January 2011. He was arraigned a few days later and put under house arrest. On 30 January, Mr Jean ruled that a trial for misappropriation of government funds could go forward, though it will be heard by a tribunal that handles relatively minor crimes. Mr Duvalier is frequently accused of having siphoned millions of dollars from the public treasury.

During Jean-Claude Duvalier’s regime, human-rights violations were well documented and the UN and human-rights groups argue that under international law, there is no statute of limitations on crimes against humanity. “Courts from Argentina to Cambodia have set aside time limits to address past atrocities, but once again, Haiti is an exception,” said Reed Brody of Human Rights Watch, which helped build the case against Mr Duvalier last year.

The complainants intend to appeal the decision and Mr Duvalier will appeal the corruption charges. The United States has offered technical support to the Haitian government should it pursue an appeal.

To read the full article in The Economist click here.

Mugabe's Campaign of Indigenisation Gains Pace

The world's second-largest platinum miner, Impala, last week agreed to cede 51 per cent of its Zimbabwean arm, Zimplats, under Robert Mugabe’s indigenisation programme; the corporate version of the farm invasions which have seen white African farmers in Zimbabwe have their land taken off them, often violently, over the past decade.

In 1979, a policy of land redistribution was introduced to distribute arable land more equitably between the historically disenfranchised blacks and minority whites. In 2000, after Robert Mugabe, the incumbent President of Zimbabwe, commenced a policy of fast-track land redistribution which involved the forcible removal of white farmers, and often their workers, from their land. More recently, he has targeted the assets of commercial companies in the region, under the guise of ‘indigenisation’.

Last year, the Government of Zimbabwe requested that Zimplats submit an ‘Indigenisation Implementation Plan’ (“IIP”). According to an announcement published on the website of Zimplats, the company received a letter on 6 September 2011 from Saviour Kasukuwere, the Zimbabwean Minister of Youth Development, Indigenisation and Empowerment in which he advised that the company’s IIP did not meet the minimum requirements of the law and accordingly, he requested the Minister of Mines and Mining Development to cancel the company’s operating license.

Zimplats’ subsidiary, Zimbabwe Platinum Mines (Private) Limited responded by submitting a revised plan in November 2011. This plan was rejected on 22 February 2012 by Minister Kasukuwere.

On 24 February 2012 Zimplat’s Chief Executive Officer, Alex Mhembere, published an announcement on Zimplats’ website stating the following:

Zimplats is concerned to note the statement by the Minister that unless progress is made within 14 days to transfer the required shareholding (in lieu of the empowerment credits) to the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Fund (“NIEEF”), enforcement mechanisms will be activated. The Minister also indicated that suitable compensation for the released ground would be considered.

Following a meeting between Minister Kasukuwere and the directors of Implats on 13 March 2012, a new IIP was agreed which was deemed to meet the minimum requirements of the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act and Economic Empowerment Regulations of 2010, and which was acceptable in principle to the Government of Zimbabwe.

The agreement amounts to the transfer to the Zimbabwean Government of 51% shareholding in the operating subsidiary Zimbabwe Platinum Mines (Private) Limited, comprising 10% shareholding to community, 10% to employees and 31% to the National Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Fund (NIEEF).

Minister Kasukuwere described the deal as a "historic moment for Zimbabwe and for the region" and called on black Africans to "reclaim their resources". The campaign to turn over white-owned companies to black Zimbabweans has seen Robert Mugabe’s popularity soar nationally.

However, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), the opposition party which in 2009 formed a power-sharing government with Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF), sees the indigenisation wave as a feeding frenzy by ruling-party cronies that will deter foreign investors.

Meanwhile, party infighting has deflected attention from the agreement to move towards elections with a new constitution. The creation of any such new constitution now appears hazy against the contextual backdrop of Robert Mugabe’s re-emerging popularity.  

For further information:

How Mugabe won over Zimbabwe again The Independent

Zimplats Holdings Limited

Zimbabwean Farmer Takes on Mugabe  ICLB

Kathryn Hovington is a pupil barrister at 9 Bedford Row International

The Majalla – The Other Side of Justice in Afghanistan

On Wednesday 14 March, Arab magazine The Majalla published an article entitled “The Other Side of Justice in Afghanistan – Has Time Run Out for Afganistan and the US?” The hard-hitting article, authored by Helena Malikyar and Tanya Goudsouzian, examines the likely impact of the case of the US soldier who went on a shooting rampage in Panjwai, Kandahar on 12 March 2012. The authors assert that “the people of Afghanistan no longer have faith in any American goodwill”, arguing that “Washington’s cavalier attitude to numerous egregious incidents of civilian deaths have fueled the popular Afghan perception of Americans as imperialists no different from Britain’s General Roberts not so long ago.” The article calls upon the US and Afghan governments “to wage a multi-pronged campaign to appease the public and quell rising anti-American sentiments.” The authors also implore the US government to “hold a very public and transparent judicial process, if, as Washington professes, it genuinely seeks to control the potential fallout from this act of brutality.”

The full article can be viewed on the Majalla website.

Try Afghan Massacre Soldier in Afghanistan, suggests Mark McDonald

A US soldier is alleged to have left his base in Kandahar province early in the morning of 11 March 2012 and proceeded to kill Afghan civilians, including children. Villagers report that he then set fire to some of the bodies. The soldier is said to have immediately surrendered himself to the custody of the US military.

Since the US insists that many countries, including Afghanistan, sign bilateral agreements protecting US soldiers from prosecution abroad, it is almost inevitable that the soldier in question will be tried in the US.

In an interesting post on the International Herald Tribune’s “IHT Rendezvous” site, Mark McDonald asks, “Why Not a Massacre Tribunal in Afghanistan?”

In his post, Mr McDonald asks whether the United States is correct to resist so ardently the trial of its nationals in countries in which they are alleged to have committed terrible crimes. He suggests instead the establishment of a joint military tribunal or a combined court martial by the US military and the Afghan National Army.

Mr McDonald cites the comments of Prince Abdul Ali Seraj, the President of the National Coalition for Dialogue with the Tribes of Afghanistan, who has warned that trying the soldier in the US rather than Afghanistan “is not going to satisfy the people here.” (Prince Seraj’s comments are available here.)

Besides potentially operating as what Mr McDonald terms “soft-power diplomacy” or “calming outreach”, perhaps a judicial mechanism involving both the US and Afghanistan would be educational for both nations and help to restore Afghan trust in US forces.

Thomas Lubanga found guilty of war crimes in the first verdict delivered by the ICC.

Post by Kathryn Hovington

In an historical moment for international criminal law, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has handed down its first verdict since the Court opened in July 2002, in the war crimes trial of the Prosecutor v. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo.

In the Situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Trial Chamber I concluded that the Prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that Mr Thomas Lubanga Dyilo is guilty of the crimes of conscripting and enlisting children under the age of fifteen years into the Patriotic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC) (the military wing of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC)) and using them to participate actively in hostilities within the meaning of Articles 8(2)(e)(vii) and 25(3)(a) of the Statute from early September 2002 to 13 August 2003.

Presiding Judge Sir Adrian Fulford QC from the United Kingdom, who read out the judgment, stated that although he and Judge Odio Benito have written separate and dissenting opinions on particular discrete issues, the Chamber has reached its decision unanimously. The decision is considered particularly significant because it firmly establishes the use of children in war as an international crime. 

Trial Chamber I is satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that as a result of the implementation of a common plan to build an army for the purpose of establishing and maintaining political and military control over Ituri, boys and girls under the age of 15 were conscripted and enlisted into the UPC/FPLC between 1 September 2002 and 13 August 2003. It is also satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the UPC/FPLC used children under the age of 15 to participate actively in hostilities including during battles, as soldiers and as bodyguards for senior officials, including the accused.

Thomas Lubanga, Congolese born, was found to have been the President of the UPC/ FPLC. According to the Chamber, the evidence demonstrates that he was simultaneously the Commander-in-Chief of the army and its political leader. He exercised an overall coordinating role as regards the activities of the UPC/FPLC. He was found to have been informed, on a substantive and continuous basis, of the operations of the FPLC. He was involved in the planning of military operations, and he played a critical role in providing logistical support, including providing weapons, ammunition, food, uniforms, military rations and other general supplies to the FPLC troops. He was closely involved in making decisions on recruitment policy and he actively supported recruitment initiatives, for instance by giving speeches to the local population and the recruits.

Fifty one year old Lubanga, who was the Court’s first detainee, went on trial on 26 January 2009. The proceedings closed 204 hearing days later, following the appearance of 36 witnesses for the Prosecution, including three experts, and 24 witnesses for the Defence. His sentence will be determined at a later hearing. The maximum available sentence at the ICC is life imprisonment; the court cannot impose the death penalty. Lubanga has an automatic right to appeal his conviction on all charges.

For further information:

For the Summary of the “Judgment pursuant to Article 74 of the Statute” click here.

ICC finds Congo warlord Thomas Lubanga guilty  BBC World News

Congolese Warlord Convicted of Using Child Soldiers The New York Times

Congo warlord Thomas Lubanga convicted of using child soldiers The Guardian

Kathryn Hovington is a pupil barrister at 9 Bedford Row International.

David Scheffer Book Launch

Today at 12.00 pm, 9 Bedford Row International in association with the University of Middlesex School of Law will host the launch of David Scheffer’s new book: “All the Missing Souls – A Personal History of the War Crimes Tribunals”.

David Scheffer served as the first US ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues (1997 – 2001), leading American initiatives on war crimes tribunals during the 1990s. He is the Mayer Brown/Robert A. Helman Professor of Law and director of the Centre for International Human Rights at Northwestern University School of Law.

Please see the event invite for further information.

DR Congo - fresh attacks by the Lord’s Resistance Army, reports the UNCHR

Post by Kathryn Hovington

Since the beginning of the year, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has seen 3,000 people displaced following 20 new attacks by the Ugandan rebel Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), in which one person was killed and 17 others have been abducted, according to Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Between 2006 and 2011, a total of 831 attacks against civilians were reported in the northern part of the Orientale province of the DRC. The majority of attacks were blamed on the LRA. According to UNHCR, more than 2,000 people have been killed and 2,832 abducted, including 1,109 children. LRA activities in Orientale have caused the displacement of an estimated 320,000 people since 2008. Over the same period, 30,000 Congolese refugees were forced to flee to the neighbouring Central African Republic and South Sudan.

Joseph Kony, the alleged Commander-in-Chief of the LRA and three of his alleged deputies Vincent Otti, Okot Odhiambo and Dominic Ongwen are already the subjects of ICC arrest warrants for the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity relating to the Situation in Uganda. It is alleged that from 1 July 2002 to 2004, the LRA carried out an insurgency against the Government of Uganda and the Ugandan Army, directing attacks against the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) and local defence units (LDUs) as well as against the civilian population. In pursuing its goals, the LRA allegedly engaged in a cycle of violence and established a pattern of “brutalization of civilians” by acts including murder, abduction, sexual enslavement, mutilation, as well as mass burnings of houses and looting of camp settlements and that abducted civilians, including children, are said to have been forcibly “recruited” as fighters, porters and sex slaves to serve the LRA and to contribute to attacks against the Ugandan army and civilian communities.

During 2005, the ICC’s Pre-Trial Chamber II requested Uganda, the DRC and the Republic of Sudan to search for, arrest, detain and surrender to the Court Joseph Kony, Vincent Otti, Raska Lukwiya, Okot Odhiambo and Dominic Ongwen. On 11 July 2007, the proceedings against Raska Lukwiya were terminated following his death.  In October 2011, President Obama ordered the deployment of 100 armed military advisers to central Africa to help regional forces combat the LRA. The remaining four ICC arrest warrants are still pending execution.

For more information:

DR Congo: UN concerned over fresh attacks by Ugandan rebel group UN News Centre

Situation in Uganda ICC

Kathryn Hovington is a pupil barrister at 9 Bedford Row International.