The answer may be both according to British lawyer Shami Charkrabarti.  That's right, children of the world, it’s time to pick a new hero (and it's slim pickings kids, Twilight? Seriously? No.) Is this a lawyer’s idea of an April fools’ joke you ask?  Of course not! Find me one legal text with a joke and we can reconsider, so let me continue analyzing the ‘Crucio curse’ as a war crime...enjoy…

So how can anyone profess to put dear Harry in the same category as the likes of Saddam Hussein, Slobodan Milosevic, Darth Vader and other evildoers?  Shami Chakrabarti CBE is a former British Home Office lawyer who has been outspoken on many civil liberties issues including Britain's role in extraordinary rendition.  She is also a self-professed “Potter-head,” claiming to be the “biggest Harry Potter fan over the age of 12."  Yet Chakrabarti was willing to come forward with a very serious allegation against the young wizard. In a somber statement to the press she said: "Yes, Harry Potter has tortured someone. That was a war crime."

The prima facie case is strong.  In “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” Mad Eye Moody explains to his class that there are the three Unforgivable Curses. “The use of any one of them on a fellow human being is enough to earn a life sentence in Azkaban.” The first, is the “Imperius curse” which makes one dance like a puppet on a string.  (I welcome any suggestions as to the real world equivalent of this. American Idol?) The third curse, “Avada Kedavra,” kills the victim, an act which may be legal depending on the situation, such as in self-defence or combat.  It is the second curse which is our main concern here: “Crucio,” is effectively torture. A crime that is never legally acceptable in the wizarding world or in the muggle world where it is universally accepted as a war crime.

“The Order of the Phoenix,” the fifth book in the Harry Potter series, begins with a kangaroo court appearance and later Harry is a victim of torture.  So it appears that the overly authoritarian state is the only bad guy here right?  Well Harry himself casts the Crucio curse against Bellatrix Lestrange as he tries to avenge the death of his godfather, but the curse fails. Bellatrix taunts him: "'Never used an Unforgivable Curse before, have you, boy? ... You need to mean them, Potter! You need to really want to cause pain – to enjoy it – righteous anger won't hurt me for long...'"

I’m not incriminating Harry just yet, however, let’s move on to the seventh book.  In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry sees one of Voldemort’s accomplice spit on Professor Minerva McGonagall, again he casts the Crucio curse, and this time it works. “‘I see what Bellatrix meant,’ said Harry, the blood thundering through his brain, ‘you need to really mean it.’”

Professor McGonagall responds with:
“...‘Potter, that was foolish!’
‘He spat at you,’ said Harry.
‘Potter, I – that was very – very gallant of you – but don't you realise –?’
‘Yeah, I do,’
And with that, the matter is dropped.”

After setting out a clear series of unforgivable crimes, it is interesting and puzzling that Rowling decided to have her hero commit one of those very crimes. What are we supposed to think of Harry from this?  Is Harry the British version of Jack Bauer?  Is “Hogwarts: The War Crimes Tribunal” a potential lawyer’s sequel? (Watch this space). 

There we go, my new year’s resolution of destroying a beloved childhood role model is done. Next up: The Tooth Fairy: Communist Traitor? Me thinks so.  :-)

CLICK HERE to act to stop impunity against War Crimes

Bangladesh ratified the Rome Statute today, becoming the 111th State to do so.  The Rome Statute was adopted by the international community on July 17, 1998 and Bangladesh signed it on September 16, 1999. This leaves twenty-eight states that have signed but not ratified the treaty.  As a State Party to the Rome Statute, Bangladesh now has a vote in the Review Conference which will begin in May in Kampala, Uganda. The Asian Human Rights Commission forwarded a Statement from Odhikar, a human rights organization, congratulating the government of Bangladesh for ratifying the Rome Statute: "Bangladesh has demonstrated its commitment to international justice."

ICC President, Judge Sang-Hyun Song, noted that "By ratifying the Rome Statute, Bangladesh will become the first State Party in South Asia. I applaud its decision to join the growing commitment of states to end impunity for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide."

CLICK HERE to see Citizens for Global Solution’s interactive ICC flash module.

CLICK HERE  to act in support of the ICC.

Did you know that today is World Water Day?  The UN General Assembly designated the first World Water Day in 1993, and on 22 March every year since, the focus has been on a different aspect of freshwater sustainability. In a statement today, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that more people die from unsafe water than from all forms of violence, including war.  He further stated that water is vitally linked to all UN development goals including maternal and child health and life expectancy, food security and sustainable development. On behalf of UN-Water a three-day celebration for World Water Day has begun in Nairobi, Kenya, bringing together scientists and policy-makers to discuss how to address the challenges posed by degrading water quality worldwide.

It is children that are most affected by world water problems, one child under the age of five dies every 20 seconds from water-related diseases, according to the UN Environment Program (UNEP).  In a new publication, entitled Clearing the Waters: A focus on Water Quality Solutions, the agency points out that in some developing nations, more than half of treated water is lost to leaks, but by some estimates, saving just half of the water could benefit 90 million people without additional investment.  Additionally they argue that an investment of $20 million in low-cost water technologies, such as drip irrigation and treadle pumps, could potentially lift 100 million families out of extreme poverty.  

In the United States, a trillion gallons of water is wasted each year due to household leaks, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.  For the average family in the US, this amounts to 10,000 gallons, enough to fill a swimming pool.  The EPA has labeled this week “Fix  a Leak Week” and offers tips on how to fix household leaks and on how to conserve water more generally.

Photo: Reuters.  March 21, 2010,  A floating restaurant is stranded in a branch of the Yangtze River in Chongqing Municipality. A severe drought in southwest China is now affecting more than 50 million people.

For FAQs on World Water Day CLICK HERE

For information on Promoting Equitable Environmental Policies CLICK HERE

Next week the resumed 8th session of the ICC’s Assembly of States Parties (ASP) meeting will begin.  Each State Party has one representative in the ASP, the ICC’s governing body.  So far 110 States have ratified the Rome Statute.  Out of them, 30 are African States, 14  are Asian States, 17 are from Eastern Europe, 24 are from Latin American and Caribbean States, and 25 are from Western European and other States. The U.S. has not ratified the Rome Statute but, due to the US signature on the Final Act of the Rome Conference, US representatives may attend ASP meetings as observers.

CGS will have an observer at the meetings who will keep us updated throughout the week.  Check back for “Courtside” CGS’s International Criminal Court blog that will be up and running soon!   

CLICK HERE to To see Citizens for Global Solution’s interactive ICC flash module

CLICK HERE  to act in support of the ICC

The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) had a meeting about U.S. Ocean Governance on March 8, 2010.  The meeting, which began as a general ocean governance discussion, quickly became focused on the Law of the Sea Treaty.  Moderator, Scott Borgerson of CFR at one point said "this wasn't intended originally to be the Law of the Sea party, but as the author of the report outside the door titled The National Interests and the Law of the Sea, I can't lie that it doesn't warm my heart a little bit."

The meeting began with a showing of the Council on Foreign Relation new interactive Web Oceans Governance Monitor.  CLICK HERE to watch the remarkable video.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse from Rhode Island stated: "As the wonderful video said, the oceans really are the dominant resource of our planet, and we've paid far too little attention to it. The economic theory of the tragedy of the commons is being worked out on the ocean at a massive scale, and we see it in the changes that the ocean is undergoing. It's rising. It's warming. It's enduring biological changes as it rises and warms. It is continuing to be bombarded with pollution, and it's facing chemical changes. That's a lot all at once for this resource"

Admiral Thad Allen, the 23rd Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, emphasized that "rules of conduct and how we interact with each other on the water" are "incrementally changed every time there is a new convention that is ratified through IMO, every time a piece of domestic legislation is passed in any country or a time a new set of regulations is issued in the United States. We have a lot of pending work… [we] should start first with ratifying the Law of the Sea treaty."

When asked about the reality of ratifying the Law of the Sea Treaty, Senator Whitehouse said "among the scarce natural resources that we have to deal with is the scarce natural resource of Senate floor time… So the notion of bringing up this treaty and having to go through all of the debate, go through the cloture on the motion to proceed, go through cloture on the ratification itself - you're giving up a solid week of Senate floor time. And if you look out at our economy, ... health care ... the Law of the Sea, frankly, doesn't rise very high.  So I'll be optimistic. I think the only way that it changes is when enough of the Arctic opens up that the oil and gas industries start to see … our failure to [accede] to that treaty as a very significant competitor disadvantage, and some of those senators … begin to respond to those forces. It's as simple, I think, as that."

Tom Fry, who served as the president of the National Ocean Industries Association since 2000, said that "The oil and gas industry got involved in this issue at the very beginning, has been supportive of Law of the Sea ratification, continue to support it in part of a large coalition of people that's everything from the environmental community to the Garden Club of America, who supports ratification of the Law of the Sea Treaty… Countries now are making applications to take over some [areas such as the Atlantic and the Arctic that can be part of our economic zone]… and we're not there, and we can't say a thing about it, and so we need to get Law of the Sea done."

Law of the Sea Treaty :      ratified      signed, but not yet ratified     did not sign

David Rockefeller, Jr., A CFR member and active in the council's Ocean Governance Roundtable Series stated that "whatever one may feel about the pace and direction of climate change and global warming, the fact is that the oceans are challenged by factors that are not just about temperature, and I've named them: declining fish stocks, coastal pollution, acidification, and the need for international oversight of all of the above. So if you're having a conversation with someone who starts as a climate skeptic, you need to remember that those issues are not warming-dependent. Others certainly are. It is vital that advocates for ocean health emphasize that rapid changes in ocean conditions worldwide are challenging the viability of the ocean's living systems, and we must work together locally, regionally, nationally, and certainly internationally to ensure that ocean health is high on the public agenda for reasons of social, economic, environmental and human health."

"Law of the Sea -- simply put, it's time to take our seat at the table, ladies and gentlemen, especially in light of the summer opening of the northwest and northeast passages due to melting sea ice. So why not, and why not this year?"

CLICK HERE to support the Law of the Sea Treaty by sending an email to your elected official.

On Saturday, President Obama and Russian President Medvedev spoke for 30 minutes by telephone about "START" (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty of 1991 which expired in December).  The new treaty would reduce the active nuclear arsenals of both countries by more than one-quarter. It would require each side to reduce deployed strategic nuclear warheads from 2,200 to roughly 1,600, and reduce strategic bombers and land- and sea-based missiles to below 800, down from the old limit of 1,600.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman John Kerry, who is responsible for leading the treaty through the Senate, said that the "administration administration is appropriately holding out for what we need to make the treaty verifiable and that will help it pass." John Kerry’s counterpart, committee ranking Senate Republican Richard Lugar, remains hopeful that it will be signed and that there will be time assigned on the floor for debate and a vote this year, Lugar said he would support the treaty "unless there are extraordinary changes beyond those that I've heard about."

President Obama and President Medvedev tried to resolve remaining differences before forty-four nations arrive for the nuclear summit meeting in Washington DC in mid-April.   In a statement, the Kremlin said "It is now possible to talk about specific dates for the submission of the draft Start treaty for signing by the heads of state." White House spokesman, Mike Hammer, said the leaders "had a good conversation" about "the progress and consensus reached" in Geneva negotiations.  He added that the "results of their talks are encouraging, and both leaders are committed to concluding an agreement soon." While most of the substance has been settled for months, missile defense and verification have proved hard to resolve.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet with President Medvedev next week in Moscow.   Philip J. Crowley of the State Department stated that "she will have a number of meetings while there. I am confident that the subjects will include not only the Middle East, but also Iran, START, and other topics."

Citizens for Global Solutions supports efforts to ratify a new START successor treaty and looks forward to the completion of successful negotiations very soon.

CLICK HERE to learn more about nuclear weapons issues

CLICK HERE to support nuclear non-proliferation treaties

A coffee-powered car, dubbed the "car-puccino," went on a 250-mile road trip yesterday from London to Manchester.  The vehicle, powered by nothing more than coffee beans, burned the equivalent of more than 10,000 espressos during its journey.

The car is part of a showcase for alternative fuels at the annual "Big Bang: UK Young Scientists and Engineers Fair." It is the creation of engineer Jem Stansfield, presenter of the BBC show ‘Bang Goes The Theory.’  The car, formerly destined for a scrap heap, began as a 1988 VW Scirocco bought on eBay for £400 (roughly $600). A furnace built into the back of the car roasts coffee grounds to generate flammable vapors that fuel the engine.  

The car was cheered through the streets as it battled endless traffic jams and eventually made it to Manchester last night.  The journey took approximately 17 hours and was interrupted by some hiccups along the way, as well as for a coffee refueling stop every 60 miles.  The UK’s Telegraph reported, "by lunchtime it seemed more likely to be using decaf." Francesca Bennett, a member of the team responsible for the car, responded by saying: "It's not the most reliable form of transport, but we knew that…This is the first time this has been done and it wasn't about reliability. It was about energy and making people think about how they use it."

Car-paccino is unlikely to become commercially viable; it consumes a kilo of ground coffee for every three miles, which pales in comparison to one’s daily Starbucks habit.  Nonetheless, the car’s designers say the same gasification process could be used to power a car with other unusual fuels such as woodchips or walnut shells.  The idea behind the car remains a creative way demonstrate how easily obtainable products can be used to generate energy.  Just don’t expect it to take the grind out of commuting.

CLICK HERE to learn more about alternative energy and climate change

The International Criminal Court (ICC) trial of Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo was due to start on April 27, however, the ICC announced that the trial has been postponed until July 5.  On April 27 the ICC will hold a status conference to discuss the admissibility challenge brought by the Defense for Bemba.

Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo grew up in Belgium and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Bemba became leader of the DRC's Mouvement de Libération du Congo (MLC).  In 2002, President Ange-Felix Patasse of the Central African Republic (CAR) requested help from the MLC to put down a coup attempt.  The MLC allegedly used systematic rape and torture against local populations to suppress political opposition in the CAR. More than 15% of the women in northern CAR are estimated to have experienced some form of gender based violence and many girls were exposed to HIV. Reports from the area show the extent of the damage that was inflicted by the MLC on the population and are highly disturbing to read. As leader of the MLC, Bemba is charged with five counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes including charges of rape and torture.  

On May 24, 2008, Bemba was arrested at his home in Belgium. Belgian authorities, in accordance with the ICC arrest warrant, transferred him to the ICC Detention Centre in The Hague on July 3, 2008 where he remains in ICC custody.

To learn more about Bemba see Citizens for Global Solution’s interactive ICC flash module

Act now in support of the International Criminal Court

Ann Lewis, a director of communications for President Clinton, and Susan Molinari, former Republican Congresswoman for New York, wrote that "investment in women and girls’ education and empowerment is increasingly recognized as a linch-pin to advancing social, economic and political progress in most poor countries... Girls with just one year of formal education are less likely to suffer from illness or hunger...and their children are less likely to die in infancy." This reasoning was implemented in Pakistan where the U.S. supported education in the country towards a goal of addressing illiteracy.  The U.S. stated that this formed part of efforts to stabilize Pakistan and to weaken the influence of Al Qaeda and the Taliban; arguing that nations that are stable and democratic are far less likely to engage in war or host terrorist organizations. Thus, it has been argued that supporting women and girls through agricultural development and improvements health-care is a worthwhile investment.  Indeed, there is broad bipartisan support in the idea that investing in programs that build healthy, educated societies are a big part of making the U.S. and the world safer.  

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her speech today referred to U.S. policy towards women: "Today, the United States is making women a cornerstone of foreign policy because we think it’s the right thing to do, but we also believe it’s the smart thing to do as well. Investing in the potential of the world’s women and girls is one of the surest ways to achieve global economic progress, political stability, and greater prosperity for women — and men — the world over."

Dana Perino, a former White House press secretary noted the grave problems that need to be dealt with around the globe: "One in every 22 African mothers dies in child-birth, more than 200 times the rate in the U.S.  In Sierra Leone, it’s 1 in 8." Nonetheless, Perino wrote that she continues to work with organizations aimed at improving the lives of women and has seen the influence that they have already had: "I have seen our aid money is being well-spent.  They stretch every dollar, spending in innovative ways…Together, we can pool our power to connect, take action and help shape a better, more profitable future."

Women's issues can be approached from many angles, the Convenor of the  Coalition for the International Criminal Court, William R. Pace, recalled the importance of the Rome Statute as a powerful instrument for preventing immunity for crimes committed against women: "The Rome Statute’s provisions by targeting sexual crimes represent a historic advance for international justice: the Statute is one of the first international treaties to extensively address gender-based crimes as crimes against humanity, war crimes, and in some instances, genocide...Countries are strongly encouraged to bring their national laws in line with the standards enshrined in the Rome Statute, both in terms of criminalizing the serious crimes contained in the Statute and by assuring that laws make full cooperation with the Court possible."

Act Now in Support of CEDAW

Yesterday afternoon Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe was confirmed as the first ever United States Ambassador to the Council.

We want to thank Citizens for Global Solutions activists who sent over 1200 letters to 94% of the Senate demanding that Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe be confirmed as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Council. 

Eileen Chamberlain Donahoe is an Affiliated Scholar at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University.  Her research has focused on norms on use of force, UN reform, and the international rule of law.  Previously, Ms. Donahoe was a litigation associate at Fenwick & West in Silicon Valley. Prior to that, she was a teaching fellow at Stanford Law School and law clerk to the Honorable William H. Orrick.  Ms. Donahoe has also worked with various human rights organizations.

The U.S. recognises the controversial history of the Human Rights Council, but hopes to see the Council follow its goals of protecting human rights.  Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero stated on Monday that: "the Human Rights Council was established to strengthen the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe. Our expectations should be nothing less and the United States will continue to strongly advocate that the Council meet these expectations."

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International Women’s Day is next Monday (March 8th); here are some events for those of you in the DC area:

The International Center for Research on Women is hosting the 2010 Champions for Change: Innovation Empowers Women Awards Cocktail Reception. For more information CLICK HERE

The Sewall-Belmont House and Museum is hosting a partnership evening event with Women's Information Network (WIN) and Emerge Global, featuring a short program, networking reception, and artisan bazaar. For more information CLICK HERE

The Washington D.C. Independent Film Festival is showing a series of films by or about women. For more information CLICK HERE

Enough is organizing a peace march across the Arlington Bridge to support Congo's women in particular as they continue to face violence related to the conflict mineral trade. For more information CLICK HERE

An event will be held at Café Citron from 4-8 p.m. on Thursday March 11.  This event is cosponsored by AIUSA (Amnesty International USA Mid-Atlantic Region) and UNA-NCA (United Nations Association of the National Capital Area). RSVP to Brittany Jacoby at 330-310-4937 or bmjacoby@gmail.com  

For those of you in New York:

CEDAW and the Beijing Platform for Action – Empowering Women March 11, 2010 will be held at 777 UN Plaza from 2:00-3:30 PM. RSVP to Jessica Hartl, 202-462-3446 x12 or jhartl@unausa.org

International Association of Women Judges and the National Association of Women will host a reception, and screening of the film "Courting Justice". For more information CLICK HERE