The International Criminal Court (ICC), world’s first permanent war-crimes tribunal, is proving more robust than expected; even skeptical America is softening its line, says The Economist.
The ICC (not to be confused with the World Court, also in The Hague), aged only four-and-a-half, “is proving a lustier infant than many predicted. Its prosecutors have delved deeply into horrible wars in Congo, Sudan and Uganda. The court’s first trial — of Thomas Lubanga, a Congolese warlord, accused of using children as soldiers — is due to start later this year.
“The first indictments for the mass killings in Sudan’s Darfur region are expected next month. Five leaders of Uganda’s rebel Lord’s Resistance Army have already been indicted. One has since been killed, but the other four face trial when caught. An investigation into atrocities in a fourth, as yet unnamed, country is due to be announced soon.
“As the court’s reputation grows, so does the number of countries that have signed up—104 at the last count. They include all the main European states. Japan, which will become its biggest donor by far, is expected to join later this year. But the real change in the court’s fortunes stems from a gradual shift in America’s attitude: it has moved from outright hostility to some cautious signals that, in some parts of the world, it sees the ICC as useful…
“John Bellinger, chief legal adviser to Condoleezza Rice in the State Department, has been the driving force behind the change of attitude. He thinks the campaign against the court undermines broader American aims, such as ending impunity for the worst crimes. ‘Divisiveness over the ICC distracts from our ability to pursue these common goals,’ he has said. ‘We do acknowledge that it has a role to play.’
“Ms Rice has herself urged a softer line, saying America was ‘shooting [itself] in the foot’ by imposing sanctions on those unwilling to sign bilateral immunity deals. Many such states were old American allies who reacted by moving closer to China.
“The first sign of a shift came with America’s surprise decision not to veto the Security Council’s referral of Darfur to the court in March 2005. When Serge Brammertz, the ICC’s deputy chief prosecutor, was appointed to head the UN’s inquiry into the murder of Rafik Hariri, Lebanon’s former prime minister, nine months later, not a grumble was heard from America.
“Nor did it object when the Security Council voted last summer to transfer Charles Taylor, a former Liberian president, to the ICC’s premises in The Hague for trial. And America’s ambassador to Uganda has been urging support for the ICC’s prosecution of the Lord’s Resistance Army rebels, despite criticism from local community leaders who claim that the threat of arrest is impeding the peace process.
“On their own, these signals may not amount to much. But together they suggest at least the beginnings of a change of heart. Mixed messages are still coming out of Washington; but the vitriol has gone.
“Even though polls suggest that two out of three Americans favour joining the ICC, America is unlikely to sign up any time soon. The court has been so demonised by the Bush administration (and before that, so quibbled at by the Clinton White House) that it would take years to convince Congress to accept it.
“But court officials are privately making a bold prediction: one day, America will swallow all its doubts and join.”
Swaraaj Chauhan describes his two-decade-long stint as a full-time journalist as eventful, purposeful, and full of joy and excitement. In 1993 he could foresee a different work culture appearing on the horizon, and decided to devote full time to teaching journalism (also, partly, with a desire to give back to the community from where he had enriched himself so much.)
Alongside, he worked for about a year in 1993 for the US State Department’s SPAN magazine, a nearly five-decade-old art and culture monthly magazine promoting US-India relations. It gave him an excellent opportunity to learn about things American, plus the pleasure of playing tennis in the lavish American embassy compound in the heart of New Delhi.
In !995 he joined WWF-India as a full-time media and environment education consultant and worked there for five years travelling a great deal, including to Husum in Germany as a part of the international team to formulate WWF’s Eco-tourism policy.
He taught journalism to honors students in a college affiliated to the University of Delhi, as also at the prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication where he lectured on “Development Journalism” to mid-career journalists/Information officers from the SAARC, African, East European and Latin American countries, for eight years.
In 2004 the BBC World Service Trust (BBC WST) selected him as a Trainer/Mentor for India under a European Union project. In 2008/09 He completed another European Union-funded project for the BBC WST related to Disaster Management and media coverage in two eastern States in India — West Bengal and Orissa.
Last year, he spent a couple of months in Australia and enjoyed trekking, and also taught for a while at the University of South Australia.
Recently, he was appointed as a Member of the Board of Studies at Chitkara University in Chandigarh, a beautiful city in North India designed by the famous Swiss/French architect Le Corbusier. He also teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students there.
He loves trekking, especially in the hills, and never misses an opportunity to play a game of tennis. The Western and Indian classical music are always within his reach for instant relaxation.
And last, but not least, is his firm belief in the power of the positive thought to heal oneself and others.