Originally issued as a CGS press release on December 15, 2003.
International Criminal Court will help prevent future Saddams
The capture of Saddam Hussein on Saturday sparked worldwide celebration. In the midst of the festivity, however, the world must consider the greater lesson of Hussein’s arrest.
“The Iraqis have waited thirty years for justice,” commented Heather Hamilton, Director of Programs at the World Federalist Association. “The people of Cambodia, Argentina, Chile, and many others are still waiting. That’s why the International Criminal Court (ICC) represents a better system to end impunity for gross atrocities.”
“It was because of Saddam Hussein and his kind that the U.S. worked with its allies to create the ICC in 1998,” explained Maggie Gardner, the ICC Program Manager for the World Federalist Association. “The ICC builds up national legal systems so tyrants can be tried domestically for their crimes – or, if that fails, by the ICC itself.”
The ICC, a permanent court with jurisdiction over genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, can only try crimes that occurred after July 1, 2002. While this means that the ICC cannot be used to prosecute Hussein for all the crimes of which he is accused, it still holds great promise for helping end current atrocities. Already the ICC prosecutor has focused on the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where more than three million people have died from atrocities and the consequences of war.
However, the Bush administration has remained strongly opposed to the ICC and is actively trying to limit its effectiveness. “The Bush administration is short-sighted in its attacks on the ICC,” commented Ms. Gardner. “The ICC’s permanent threat of accountability will raise the cost of tyranny, helping deter future atrocities.”
She continued, “Further, the ICC gives the U.S. and the Security Council another tool short of war for pressuring tyrants to step down. Like economic sanctions, an international criminal indictment can help ostracize and weaken despotic leaders. It worked for Slobodan Milosevic; it could well work for many others.”
“The capture of Hussein demonstrates that we need to invest in a preemptive peace,” concluded Ms. Hamilton. “It’s not hard to imagine how history would have been different if we had indicted Hussein twenty years ago, and by supporting institutions like the ICC, we can help ensure that history does not repeat itself.”
Notes to the Editor:
The World Federalist Association coordinates the Washington Working Group on the International Criminal Court, composed of legislative and governmental affairs offices of nearly forty American non-governmental organizations committed to the cause of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The WICC supports and provides materials and information for education and advocacy about the Court. For more information, visit http://www.usaforicc.org/wicc.
