Originally issued as a CGS press release on July 19, 2005.
Washington DC – Heather Hamilton, Vice President for Programs at Citizens for Global Solutions, had the following to statement in reaction to the UK’s decision to charge soldiers with war crimes:
“Citizens for Global Solutions welcomes the decision of UK Attorney General Lord Goldsmith to bring charges under Britain’s International Criminal Court (ICC) Act of 2001 against three British soldiers accused of atrocities in Iraq. Lord Goldsmith’s action demonstrates the UK’s commitment to upholding rule of law on the basis of their domestic legislation.
“While the soldiers are being charged under the 2001 International Criminal Court Act, they are not being charged by the ICC in the Hague but rather under the British courts martial system according to British law.
“This is what every country should be doing: holding their own accountable under their own law. The ICC is intended to step in only for the worst violations of human rights, like genocide and mass rape, and only when countries are not taking action themselves. That’s why it is concentrating on the genocide in Darfur and the atrocities in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The ICC is actually prohibited from moving forward when countries hold their own citizens accountable.”
