by: Judge Sang-Hyun Song, President of the International Criminal Court/
On 17 July the world celebrates International Criminal Justice Day. This commemorates the adoption on 17 July 1998 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC for short). States and civil society from all continents came together to end impunity for the gravest international crimes – genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression.
In 2002, the ICC opened its doors in The Hague, Netherlands. Today, it is a major international institution, securing justice for victims when this cannot be delivered at the national level. 14 suspects and accused have appeared before the judges to face accusations against them. The first trial is concluding soon, with closing arguments set to be heard next month.
I am delighted to see support for international criminal justice growing around the world. 114 nations have already joined the ICC, and Grenada from the Caribbean and Tunisia from North Africa will become the next two States Parties later this summer. Several other countries have announced their intention to follow in the near future. But many more countries have still to join if the ICC is to be seen as representing the will of the overwhelming majority of the world’s peoples.
During the past year, I have met representatives of governments, civil society and regional organisations in the Americas, Africa, Asia, Europe and most recently the Arab world. Time after time, I have found that the goals of the Rome Statute resonate everywhere, regardless of culture, language or nationality. People of all nations want peace, justice, rule of law and respect for human dignity. These are the very goals for which the ICC exists.
Let us cherish our spirit of solidarity while we commemorate 17 July. Let us show our compassion for all the innocent civilians who continue to fall victim to unimaginable crimes. Let us state loudly and clearly that mass crimes such as mass murder, rape, torture and the use of child soldiers cannot and will not be tolerated. The perpetrators of such crimes must be held accountable, regardless of their official position.
I call on states and people everywhere to join the international justice movement, as we work toward a more just, more peaceful future for children, women and men around the world. We must be united in our resolve to defeat impunity and the lawlessness, brutality and disdain for human dignity that it represents. We must persevere.
HELP keep the voice of TOC alive!
If you like this article, please consider a small donation to help theonlinecitizen.com stay alive. Please note that we can only accept donations from Singaporeans. Thank you for your assistance.Do you have a flair for writing? Volunteer with us. Email us your full name and contact details to theonlinecitizen@gmail.com
IS he a PAP or grassroots member?
Oh mine… Judge Sang-Hyun Song is the President of the International Criminal Court. He is from the Republic of Korea.
Hope the day will never come that singapore needs him.
What about detention of political detainees without trial? Is that a criminal offense? If so, we should inform the ICC to act immediately. Singapore as a nation cannot move forward carrying this heavy burden of guilt on its back.
Dream On ! it will never happen
Excerpt:
Singapore has proposed that the Security Council could initiate action to delay or forestall the ICC’s involvement in such an instance. Under the current draft, one member of the council’s permanent five could singlehandedly stop the court from moving forward on a case by vetoing approval. Under the Singapore proposal, a member of the Perm Five could stop the court from pursuing a case only by obtaining both the agreement of the other four permanent members and a majority vote of the entire Security Council.
Full link to the report on Singapore’s action to down size the role of the ICC
http://www.fpif.org/reports/international_criminal_court
@Detention Without Trial
Detention without trial is a very important tool, a deterrent against terrorism. We can’t do without it. Not just against terrorism, but civil disobedience, unlawful gatherings, inciting riots, undermining or insulting our judiciary, and anything that threatens the law & order of our country, MUST be subjected to the ISD and detention without trial. This is the only way we can ensure a safe & lawful society.
politically inclined,
You mean all the political detainees that LKY imprisoned without trial, one as long as 32 years, were terrorists/communists? Where is the proof. Remember, when the British released their archives recently, the British political leaders in Singapore at that time asserted that there was not a modicum of proof to show that the political detainees were communists/terrorists and that the imprisonment was politically motivated.
How would you feel if the police come knocking at your door one fine day with the aim of detaining you and your entire family without trial for an indefinite period of time for supposedly acts of communism/terrorism?
@Political Bullshit
As I said in my previous post, it’s not just terrorism or communism that must be detained without trial by ISD. Those detained by MM Lee may not be communists but they were a threat to the stability of our country, with the intention and potential to incite riots and create a sense of lawlessness. These people were rightly detained. The one that was detained for 32 years, he had it coming to him for harbouring such insidious intentions.
@politically inclined
We are living in the 21st century where there are laws to determine whether a person is right or wrong. Who is MM in this case? What he did was simply barbaric. If he can prove that he is God,I have nothing to say. As is,this mortal man is struggling to keep himself alive. His fate awaits him on Judgement day. Please do not defend the indefensible. Let’s call a spade a spade. He knows that he has done wrong. That is why this topic has been swept under the carpet by the PAP govt. I will not be surprised that the ICC will come after him one day. Rest be assured he will be given a fair trial and, I am sure, found guilty. Justice will always prevail.
There will come a day to imprison this
nincomput without trial, for inciting Singapore to turn into a communist country like North Korea.
Supporting Detention without trial means unfair treatment of the basic rights of a human.
The denial of trial means the person who ordered the “arrest” is afraid that “he” might be found guilty instead of the “arrested” person. “He” knows well that he has made a “political” order which might spontaneously surface at the Trial which “he” wants to avoid at any cost.
It should be mandatory that any person arrested for any reason must be produced in court, charged for the offense he is said to have committed, given reasonable assistance to clear himself and face the the judgment. That is democracy and has to be practiced in a “democratic” country. This concept must be part of the UNHRC principle.
The Internet has brought us such a gift. It has allowed us to write to each other about the many decent men imprisoned for decades without being charged for a nameable crime. The orders were given by leaders who are now in the last decade or two of their lives and we must act quickly if we ever want to see justice meted out to them. Granted they did not commit genocide but the lesser crime of lying and destroying lives.
@Political Bullshit
What you say is outright slanderous. The ICC will only go after war criminals like Slobodan Milosevic, Mlatko Radic & Omar Al-Bashir.
MM Lee is the architect and genius of this nation. To say the ICC will go after him is like saying the ICC will go after Nelson Mandela or Rajiv Gandhi. MM Lee used the ISD for the good of the nation. Otherwise, do you think you will be enjoying the peace & security you have today?
Still in our midst are the two or three men, now white haired or hairless who were instrumental in putting the ISA to such fertile use. Many decent lives were destroyed being incarcerated without trial. We have to move quickly if we are to see justice done.
Still in our midst are the two or three men, now white haired or hairless who were instrumental in putting the ISA to such fertile use. Many decent lives were destroyed being incarcerated without trial. We have to move quickly if we are to see justice done.
@politically inclined
Even Adolf Hitler, Gaddafi, Saddam Hussein and Husni Mubarak can lay claim to some good done during some stage of their career.
Your other point. Indeed I have peace and security- just as long as I do not have the bad luck to offend elites of the regime.
@politically inclined
“MM Lee is the architect and genius of this nation. To say the ICC will go after him is like saying the ICC will go after Nelson Mandela or Rajiv Gandhi.”
MM Lee is no Mandela by a million miles. Mandela spent as many years as Chia Thye Poh in jail for crimes that he did not commit. Nelson Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 1993.
MM Lee, on the other hand, did not spend a single day in jail. He was awarded the disgraceful IgNobel prize in 1994, an American parody of the Nobel Prize, for being the “practitioner of the psychology of negative reinforcement, for his thirty-year study of the effects of punishing three million citizens of Singapore whenever they spat, chewed gum, or fed pigeons.”.
Comparing Mandela to MM Lee is like comparing Barack Obama to Saddam Hussein, an advocate of democracy and an advocate of dictatorship.
@ politicaaly inclined.You wrote “MM Lee used the ISD for the good of the nation.” Sure, that’s what the countries liberated by Britain use the ISD for- to perpetuate their hold on the country. However nowadays there is more work for the ISD apart from their “noble” occupation of going after the enemies of the State. The ISD is now also used by the favored elite Law firms to hound their clients’ enemies. If you divorce your wife for instance and she engages such a Law firm, you may find the ISD hunting you down. Beware: the ISD is now commercialized and so are a number of State Institutions which deal with societal issues. Genocide is not the only crime that can be committed against the citzenry by its rulers. There are crimes which attract less attention but in the long run are just as pernicious. Lives are also destroyed but silently not with a bang.
The adoption on 17 July 1998 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is only in papers and not in action.The ICC is inactive regarding Sri Lankan war crimes and the crimes against the humanity.It’s absurd for the ICC as well as its new partner, the Commonwealth organization to give excuse to the countries like Sri Lanka in the name of “Non-Signatories”.
Whatever, the signatories or the non-signatories the accountability and the justice must be considered. How could the IC fail to punish the mass murderers like Mahindha Rajapaksa??? We want to find out whether the ICC follows any two tire system ie the high class community to consider and the low class community to abandon?????
Countries like Sri Lanka will never sign up for Rome Statute. It’s hard work bringing it to ICC. But President, please try.
“On 17 July the world celebrates International Criminal Justice Day. This commemorates the adoption on 17 July 1998 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC for short). States and civil society from all continents came together to end impunity for the gravest international crimes – genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression.”.You failed when the innocent Tamils were slaughtered in Sri Lanka.
Love is the highest honor to every righteous nation that Tamil Nation
Love is the cause of unfoldment to a searching mind, of the secrets deposited in the universe by the Infinite!
Love is the spirit of life in the bountiful body of the world!
Love is the cause of the civilization of nations in this mortal world!
Love is the highest honor to every righteous nation
rajapakshe is a genocide warcriminal
@Political Bullshit
@doppelganger
The ISD is vital for the nation’s security interests. There are terrorists, bomb suspects, rebels etc in our midst. You never know who is the enemy. Therefore, it’s better for the ISD to err on the side of caution and detain indefinitely without trial anyone who is a suspect. Letting the suspect go scot free can bring untold dangers to our nation. Even if that person was wrongly detained, it served to give us assurance that our ISD was not taking things for granted and never compromised our security. One person’s suffering for the good of the nation is worthwhile.
“…an ambitious tyrant may…”
From a talk by Abdu’l-Baha 94 years ago.
…It is evident that warfare, cruelty and bloodshed in the kingdom of man are caused…Now IC and EU failed in action against SRILANKA’s and the latest documentary released by Channel 4 ‘SRI LANKA’S KILLING FIELDS’
@Politically inclined
I really cannot believe that you believe what you are saying,”Therefore, it’s better for the ISD to err on the side of caution and detain indefinitely without trial anyone who is a suspect. Letting the suspect go scot free can bring untold dangers to our nation. Even if that person was wrongly detained, it served to give us assurance that our ISD was not taking things for granted and never compromised our security. One person’s suffering for the good of the nation is worthwhile.”
It is mentality like yours that supports LKY’s and his henchmens’ use of the ISA for self aggrandisement and preservation. Cowardly and groveling you are the stuff that make up the cohorts of Hitler, Pinochet, Stalin, Pol Pot,Suharto,Idi Amin, Mobutu, Mullar Omar, Ho Chi Min,Slobodan Milosevic, Saddam Hussein, Gaddafi, Mubarak and etc. The only saving grace with the gang in Singapore is that they do not spill hot blood. But squeeze the citizenry by the Rule of Law by Political Police and a shameless compliant judiciary.
You wrote, “One person’s suffering for the good of the nation is worthwhile.” What if you are that person?
doppelganger,
Very well said.
We salute Srilanka, for not signing with ICG. We should praise our former political leaders for acting with wise political vision. Otherwise lot of our Security Forces Commanders, and the political leaders who led the Security Forces and the Country, for the last 30 long years battling the Tamils would have been in big trouble now. I hope with full confidence, that our victorious President Mahinda Rajapakse, his Armed Forces Commanders and the all powerful well seasoned Srilankan diplomats will defeat those forces, who try to undermine their feircely fought victory, against the Tamils. The Western Nations with the support of a super power, hell bent on prosecuting Srilanka by using war crime allegations. The Tamil diasporas are behind them.
International Criminal Justice Day :
“Let us show Compassion to all Innocent Civilians”
The arrest of Ratko Mladic is a wake-up call for all the war criminals using mono-ethnic, loyal military to kill innocent civilians enmasse.
Ratko Mladic called himself ‘Yugoslav’ rather than a ‘Serb’ and uttered ‘ethnic unity and brotherhood’ before slaughtering 8,000 Bosnian Muslims.
Rajapakse said ‘there are no minorities’ when he slaughterd over 40,000 in a blacked out war.
146,000 are still missing. No counts on deads, widows, orphans and the maimed in Sri Lankan conflict.
We see only smiling soldiers loading naked bodies onto military trucks.
Rajapaksa, Gadhafi, Bashir, Saleh.. etc. Please get them to the ICC>
Genocide is the killing of a people by its own Government.
Do you know that in more than 90 % of the genocides around the world, the United States of America is the sponsor in terms of sending American troops, sending American arms or support with monetary aid? For instance the Indonesian soldiers were supplied with American weapons for the specific purpose of killing the people of Timor Leste.When Portugal protested the genocide, America told the Indonesians to stop and they stopped immediately. Israel is supplied with American weaponry and monetary aid for slaughtering wave after wave of Palestinians. At one time the US ordered Saddam Hussein to slaughter the Kurds and supplied him with the weapons and poisons to do so. In Afghanistan,the Taliban were cultivated by the Americans and supplied with weapons to fight the Russians. Now of course these same weapons are used by the Taliban against the local Afghan population and the population of neighbouring Pakistan. All the slaughter in Latin America have been sponsored by America with weapons, monetary aid and sometimes fighting forces. Similarly the conflicts in Africa south of the Sahara are initiated and encouraged by America with the usual weapon supply and money. North of the Sahara, the US propped up almost all the rulers whose populations in Tunisai, Lybia, Egypt, Jordan, Syria are now revolting against their puppets. All in all the United States of America has manufactured 90% of world genocides. The US do this for the Oil as in the Middle East, for business opportunities as in Indonesia, for a share of the drug trade as in Latin America and for the heck of it in Vietnam and Afghanistan. All the Presidents of America of the last 50 years including Obama are sponsors of genocides across the world and should be tried by the World Court as such. Of course this can never happen as America is a world power and the International Community is unable to take that step due to American control of UN processes. Britain is a significant contributor of terror and genocides around the globe acting in close partnership with America. To most readers my account is unbelievable because they get their source material from American authorised publications and the Straits Times in Singapore. But a little spadework will reveal the general truth of what I write herein. With the rise of China, some genocides may be stopped before they start. If the US were to tell Israel to stop the slaughter of Palestinians, I bet you the killing will stop this minute. This is because the economy of Israel is propped up by the US.
The Israel-Palestine conflict is the major conflict in the world today. It is the instigator of Muslim terrorism. At one stroke Muslim terrorism will end if Israel stops killing the Palestinians. But the political ties between israel and the US is too strong and the US feels bound to let Israel toy with the Palestine during the office of every US President in modern times.
Singapore also got some political crooks. They are Leegalized.