In response to my previous posts on the correct interpretation of Article 58, Alex de Waal asked three lawyers to answer the following two questions: 1. Did the Pre-Trial Chamber misinterpret Article 58's "reasonable grounds" standard? 2. If so, does the Prosecution Application establish reasonable grounds to believe Bashir is responsible for genocide? It's an interesting survey. Two of the three lawyers agreed...
The IMF is much under discussion these days as the global recession deepens and spreads. I invited Daniel Bradlow (professor at my school, Washington College of Law, and head of our international legal studies program, as well as long time advisor on Africa to the development banks and institutions, and SARCHI professor of international development law at the University of...
I knew I wasn't alone in arguing that Bashir deserves to be punished for his crimes: Al-Qaeda number two Ayman Zawahiri urged the people of Sudan to prepare for guerrilla war and for President Omar al-Beshir to "repent," in an Internet video message released on Tuesday. Zawahiri said Beshir's regime is "reaping what it sowed," in reference to the International Criminal Court...
More than 150,000 civilians under daily bombardment, with an estimated 2800 already dead (including 500 children) and more than 7000 injured. Water and medicine running short. The advancing forces rejecting a cease fire. And the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights raising concern about potential violations of international human rights and humanitarian law...
I have been reading Roger's fascinating missives from Rwanda with great interest and agree with much of what he has to say. But I have to demur from the claim that "Kagame is personally invested in making Rwanda a country that is committed to reconciliation, human rights and self-sufficiency." Self-sufficiency, perhaps -- there is no question that Rwanda has experienced...
Rwandan President Paul Kagame is personally invested in making Rwanda a country that is committed to reconciliation, human rights and self-sufficiency. Toward that end, Kagame is seeking to mobilize the most powerful social force in his country—Rwandan pastors—to protect human rights and pursue forgiveness in a country that has much to forgive. In 2005 Kagame partnered with...
In its application for the arrest warrant, the Prosecution argued that the Sudanese government's genocidal intent could be inferred from, inter alia, the slow-death conditions in the IDP camps. As part of that claim, the Prosecution pointed out the numerous ways in which Bashir's regime had hindered international efforts to provide the Darfuris in the IDP camps with humanitarian assistance. One...
That is the conclusion of the most comprehensive study of the issue to date, "Confronting the Yugoslav Controversies: A Scholars' Initiative," conducted by Purdue University. From the New York Times, which held follow-up interviews with some of the sources cited in the study: Charles W. Ingrao, the study’s co-editor, said that three senior State Department officials, one of them retired, and...
The following is a guest post written by Kate Cronin-Furman and Amanda Taub, the brains behind the must-read blog wronging rights. My thanks to them for contributing it. Two weeks ago, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the arrest of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. (We’re sure you all remember; it was kind of a...
I have been traveling throughout the country the past few days meeting with dozens of leaders discussing the past and future of Rwanda. The meetings have been incredibly hopeful and positive and there is an undeniable optimism about the direction of the country. But wherever one goes one cannot escape the long shadow of genocide. It continues...
Alex de Waal criticizes Moreno-Ocampo''s decision to appeal the genocide issue today at his blog Making Sense of Darfur. It's a nasty and remarkably patronizing post. It also exhibits not even a shred of understanding of the Rome Statute or the Prosecution Application. Here is what de Waal writes: I was surprised to learn that the Prosecutor of the ICC is seeking leave...
In public, Sudanese government officials have uniformly defended Bashir against the supposed depredations of the ICC. According to the Institute for War & Peace Reporting, however, they tell a different story in private: A minister with the president’s National Congress Party, NCP, said that members were left reeling by the announcement of an arrest warrant issued against Bashir by ICC judges...
