Adding Insult to Injury

Mourners of Natalya Estimerova have been dispersed after only making it 200 yards in a peaceful funeral procession. They were told they needed a permit to march, regardless of the passivity of their actions.

This is Just Sad

One of the top human rights advocates for Chechnya has been murdured.

From Human Rights Watch:

Natalia Estemirova, a top human rights activist in the troubled Russian
republic of Chechnya and a close colleague of Human Rights Watch, was abducted
near her home in Grozny on the morning of July 15, 2009, carried off in a car as
people on a nearby balcony heard her call for help. Her body was found later
that day in the neighboring republic of Ingushetia...In Chechnya, where decades
of armed conflict have made violence and abuse a daily reality, human rights
defenders like Estemirova are rare. She was known for her fearlessness in
exposing human rights violations and for demanding that perpetrators be held
accountable. At her urging, victims and witnesses of Chechnya's
brutalities broke their silence to denounce their abusers, some even testifying
in court cases brought by Memorial and others in an attempt to see the
perpetrators held to account.

The U.S. Should Ratify the Rome Statute

July 17, 1998 was a milestone in the history of International Law. It was the day 120 states voted to adopt the Rome Statute, the treaty that created the International Criminal Court. At the conference in Rome where the statute was created, only seven states voted against it and 21 abstained from voting. The United States was among the seven states that voted against adoption, joining the company of states such as Yemen, Iraq, China, and Lybia.

According to Article 126 of the statute, the statute would enter into force 60 days after the 60th state ratified the treaty and deposited their ratification with the Secretary General of the UN. On April 11th 2002 ten countries ratified at the same time, and the treaty went into effect three months later. Article 11 of the Rome Statute provided that the court only had jurisdiction over crimes committed after the statute entered into force.

Today 109 countries have ratified the treaty. At one point the Clinton Administration signed the treaty, a move which indicates a state’s intent to pursue ratification in good faith. The Bush Administration, represented by UN Ambassador John Bolton reneged on the signing and effectively “unsigned” the treaty, removing any U.S. obligation to pursue ratification. Congress has been fairly hostile to the ICC. The American Service-Members Protection Act, authored by U.S. Senator Jesse Helms passed in August 2002 only a few days after the Rome Statute went into effect. This legislation serves to “protect” American military from prosecution by the ICC. It also authorizes the President to use “all means necessary” to recover any military serviceman detained by the court. Perhaps most surprisingly, it also prohibits any U.S. Foreign Aid to countries that are parties to the Rome Statute, with a lengthy list of exceptions.

Why all the worry about the existence of an International Criminal Court? The court has jurisdiction over four areas of international Criminal Law, War Crimes, Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity, and Aggression. The definitions of all four areas are still developing and the definition of Aggression is still so poorly developed that it has never been prosecuted by the court. The reach of its jurisdiction goes to individuals who are citizens of a state that has ratified the treaty, individuals who commit their alleged crime on the territory of a state party, and when a case is referred to the ICC by a demand of the UN Security Council. So, theoretically, if a U.S. Citizen, such as a member of the U.S. Military were accused of having committed a war crime in the territory of a member state, say Brazil, or Germany, they could be prosecuted by the ICC. During the debate in which the jurisdiction of the court was being defined, the United States ardently opposed Universal Jurisdiction, and they got their way.

My take:

Barack Obama might just take us full circle on the U.S. stance toward the ICC. He has indicated in the past that he is open to joining the ICC, but the chances are that the Senate still would not ratify. I have no delusion that the U.S. will really significantly change its position, especially anytime soon. But I take issue with the rationale, even if it is entrenched.

First: The ICC handles the biggest of crimes. We’re talking massacres of the largest scale. War Crimes, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity. What are we afraid of? Shouldn’t we be held accountable if anyone DID commit those crimes? Shouldn’t we have an interest in others being held accountable for the same crimes? Does American exceptionalism extend to such major crimes? Are our heads that big? If the concern is more about whether the U.S. would be a target of prosecution, then the worriers certainly have some merit to their argument. Many claims have been made against the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and the ICC Prosecutor has said that one of the main reasons he hasn’t brought acted on those claims is that he believes the jurisdictional issue is too messy as neither Iraq nor the U.S. are parties to the treaty. We could very well be prosecuted if we later became a member state. But what would the result of the prosecution be? Wouldn’t it be a great place to finally make our case that the invasion was legal, and therefore rebuild some legitimacy for our actions? With the possible exception of the home invasions and killings in Haditha, there aren’t many sound claims that the U.S. has committed war crimes. And the U.S. already admits its failure in Haditha.

Second: We need a comprehensive body of law for these new crimes. The ICC provides a mechanism for creating and developing our definitions of the crimes that spawned from Nuremburg. The U.S. has sat idly by and watched as genocide took place in Darfur and Rwanda. The UN peacekeeping missions in the Bosnian Conflict were not a great success. The U.S. mission on Somalia was a disaster. The U.S. invasion of Iraq was a dismal failure. We have entered an age where nobody, not even the United States, can effectively play the world’s policeman. A court, however, might play a better and more legitimate role. Imagine how much more effective it would have been to simply try and convict Saddam Hussein for Crimes Against Humanity than it would have been to invade Iraq and quell an insurgency. We set up criminal tribunals for Yugoslavia, and for Rwanda, and they have worked. The whole idea of the ICC was so that we could avoid setting up ad-hoc tribunals all over the place and just have one place where they could all be tried. It’s elegantly simple, its cleaner and easier than war, and it appeals to our highest ideals as a civilized society.

Third: The U.S. can no longer assert its will around the world through the threat of force, and thus our influence is declining. We need to shift out of the “carrot and stick” foreign policy mentality, into something more akin to what Secretary of State Hillary Clinton calls “smart power.” If we play nice, and subject ourselves to the same rules, treaties, and obligations as the rest of the modern international community there will be less of a stigma attached to our international dealings. The vote on the Rome Statute was 120 to 7, and we were one of the seven. We also failed to join the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Guess who the only other state who failed to join was: Somalia. I for one am sick and tired of being in the company of states like Somalia.

Sotomayor

I hope you all are watching the Sotomayor hearings. Some of the questions have had international law implications, including one about the relationship between protection of state sovereignty and the use of international law in domestic judicial opinions.

I am back in Norman, and catching up with some piled -up stuff at work. I will get my post on the ICC up when I can, but it probably won't be tonight.

Vacation and the ICC

This blog will not be updated very regularly until next wednesday (July 15th). I am flying down to the Mexico border where my parents live now, and taking a mini-vacation to Schlitterbahn water park and South Padre.

In the mean time I am going to be working on a lengthy post about the International Criminal Court, and why I believe the United States should join. I have always found the concerns about joining the ICC to be overblown and overly cautious, and its time we rethought our position. The ICC is not just a way to prosecute war criminals, its also a mechanism by which international criminal law can become unified, clear, and managable. The benefits outweigh any risks.

I hope you are all having a great summer!

Aftermath of Honduran Coup - Zelaya Supporters Challenge the Coup

Honduras and the OAS

Last week a military coup kicked out the Honduran president Manuel Zelaya. Their motives for the coup involve the referendum supported by Zelaya that may have allowed him another term if it passed. The highest court in Honduras declared that referendum unconstitutional. The Organization of American States, acting on Article 21 of their charter, took a vote in response to the coup on whether to expell Honduras from its membership. Article 21 allows such an expulsion in cases where there is an "unconstitutional interruption of democratic order" and when "efforts to address the situation through diplomatic means have failed." The expulsion of Honduras is the first since Cuba's expulsion in 1962. As each American nation starts to re-evaluate their relations with Honduras, the United States has taken the position that Zelaya is still the rightful leader of Honduras, and has suspended military relations with the provisional government in Tegucigalpa. After meeting with Zelaya this morning, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced that the President of Costa Rica will serve as a mediator between Zelaya and the interim president of Honduras.

So the real question is this: on what grounds could a coup be considered necessary if any? It seems to me that the argument of Zelaya's opponenets is that they were supporting the constitution of Honduras by preventing Zelaya from pursuing an illegal and unconstitutional referendum. But did they not violate the constitution in an evern more critical and flagrant sense when they deposed and exiled their own democratically elected president? The inherent hypocrisy of the interim Honduran President Roberto Micheletti, who has been an ardent Zelaya opponent long before this coup is palpable.

Images from the International Space Station

This and Much more from "The Big Picture"

Executive Agreements on Nuclear Reduction

The Senate seems skeptical about any treaty to limit the U.S. Nuclear stockpile. In order to keep negotiations going to renew the START treaty, and to have a provisional agreement until the Senate approves any such treaty, the Obama Administration will likely be using executive agreements. From ABC news:

The 1991 START treaty's pending expiration means “we are under the gun
to try to get something to replace it by the end of the year,” Michael McFaul,
special assistant to the President and senior director for Russian and Eurasian
Affairs, told reporters last week.Both the US and Russia have agreed in
principle to reduce the number of nuclear weapon delivery vehicles from the
current level of 1,600 each, as was negotiated under START, and to reduce the
number of nuclear warheads each nation has in its arsenal from 2,200 each, as
agreed upon during the 2002 Moscow Treaty.

Sri Lanka = Afghanistan = Iraq

Insurgencies are hard to beat. In Sri Lanka the government had to resort to highly brutal tactics, muzzling of the media, and scare tactics in order to beat their insurgent problems. And as Robert Kaplan suggests, they would not have been able to do it had the Chinese not had their back. The U.S. doesn't have the luxury of using those methods in Afghanistan or Iraq to beat those insurgencies. Its going to be a long hard slog, I believe.

Nuclear Arms Reduction, and Obama's trip to Russia

When Barack Obama was a student at Columbia University he wrote an article in the campus newspaper entitled "Breaking the War Mentality." You can guess what the gist of the article was, blaming Reagan for the cold war arms buildup, and noting the importance of bringing that kind of brinksmanship to an end. Now as President, he has made it a goal to eventually have a world with as few nukes as possible. It seems his thoughts about nuclear reduction were stirring quite a bit back in his days at Columbia. When he took a Columbia class on international politics and foreign policy he wrote a paper on how an American president might negotiate with Russia to make a significant decrease in the number of nuclear arms:

“His focus was the nature of the strategic talks and what kind of
negotiating positions might be put forward,” Dr. Baron said. “It was not a
polemical paper — not arguing that the U.S. should have this or that position.
It was how to get from here to there and avoid misperception and conflict.“He
got an A,” recalled Dr. Baron, who now runs a digital media business."

People make the mistake of thinking that Obama is a naieve newcomer to thinking about tough isues like nuclear reduction, foreign policy, and high-stakes international negotiations, but the truth is that he has been rolling these ideas around in his head for a very long time, and was even postulating how a U.S. President would and should act. Today, Obama is in Moscow trying to put his thoughts into action.

The Presidential Trip to Ghana

While President Obama plans to make his trip to Ghana next week to celebrate one of the most stable democratic governments on that continent and to give a major speech, it is helpful to look back at another president who made an important speech in Ghana. When Bill Clinton made his trip, he was knee deep in the Lewinsky scandal and probably glad to leave the beltway for a little while. His staff was overwhelmed by the sheer size of the crowd, full of adulation for Clinton, which he remembers today as "around one million people." It was also a moment where he literally saved a woman's life:

And it took a threatening turn at the end, as a red-faced, shouting Clinton
implored the crowd, "Get back! Back off!" as it threatened to crush a woman near
the front of the stage."The crowd was so large that it began surging towards the
stage. Suddenly, a woman in the front of the crowd began to get trampled,"
recalled Sandy Berger, Clinton's national security adviser at the time. "Clinton
jumped up and put his arm down over the side and grabbed her. The Secret Service
thought he'd been shot and freaked out.""He saved her life," Berger said. "It
was a kind of tumultuous scene."

Next week Obama will give a speech of his own at the same location, where he will expound on his African foreign policy and aid policy goals. Presumably there will be better crowd control. But what makes Ghana so special? Not just its strong democratic roots, but also its place in the history of black people. Ghana started the "Pan African Movement" which led to democratic reform all accross Africa, and even started a revival of sorts for civil rights in America by proxy. The idea of the first black person to be the president of the United States to visit Africa has compelling symbolism, and could inspire young Africans.

Happy 233rd Birthday America

Today, we celebrate living in a nation where freedom is not just an idea or an aspiration, but instead, it is a sacrosanct part of our culture. Foreign Policy Magazine has put together a photo slideshow of the top 21 countries that are the least free in the world. You cannot properly appreciate the greatness of freedom until you familiarize yourself with the polar opposite.

Happy 4th of July everyone. Have a safe holiday, watch a fireworks show, grab a beer, and soak in the great feeling of being an American.

Where Being Gay is Punishable by Death

With the news that India has legalized gay sex, I thought some further research was warranted into the arena of GLBT law around the world. Five countries still have the death penalty for homosexuality, they are Mauritania, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Iran. At the opposite end of the specturum South Africa, Spain, Belgium, Norway, Sweden and Canada all allow gay marriage recognised by the state. Click here for a PDF illustration of gay rights globally. According to the ILGA, homosexualty or homosexual acts can get you imprisoned in 73 Countries.

International Ant Colony

Yes you read that right, there is an ant colony that is so large, that it spans accross three continents. The Argentine ant, which of course is from Argentina, has been transported around the world on shipping containers, and has taken over large swaths of the global landscape. The species can be found everywhere but Antarctica. One colony in particular, has three huge tracts of land it covers. One stretches 3,700 miles along the Mediterranean Coastline, one is here in the United States covering 650 miles of the California, and the third is in on the west coast of Japan. The ants from each of the three colonies do not fight each other, and have the same genetic structure. When put together in a controlled environment, they rub antennae like they were "old friends."

Bush to Visit Woodward OK for Independence Day

Just a heads up to all my politically involved friends from Oklahoma, you should read this AP story.

Indian Court Declares Gay Sex Legal

Human Rights Watch is lauding a ruling today by a court in India, that will affect their laws all accross the country, in which gay sex has been declared legal. Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code was consequently partially rendered unconstitutional. Both Hindu and Muslim religious leaders in India oppose the ruling, but generally acknowldge that the court had the right to make the ruling.

Meanwhile, back in Oklahoma, State Representative Sally Kern has made a ruckus on the issue of homosexuality lately with her proclaimation that blames economic trouble in the United States on a decline in morality, due to abortion, homosexuality, and pornography. My friend, Chuck Thornton, who is the legal director of the Oklahoma ACLU is in this CNN video, which explains the hilarious political sideshow.

Lexington Oklahoma

Decidedly NOT international in nature, but if you have never driven highway 77 in Oklahoma, you are missing out.

Modern Day Harriet Tubman

Put this on your reccomended reading list. Mike Kim helps North Koreans escape to China. He wrote an amazing book about it. Here is the review from Publisher's Weekly:

Kim chronicles his effort to lead North Korean refugees through the
6,000-mile underground railway through China in this exposé of the astonishing
day-to-day realities of famine, religious oppression, torture and sexual abuse
in the most secretive and impoverished member of the axis of evil. The author, a
former missionary, spent four years at the China–North Korea border building
shelters and orphanages, and his access to government officials, journalists,
aid workers and hundreds of North Korean refugees provide him a unique vantage
point from which to synthesize current research and policy on conditions in
North Korea with affecting real-life testimonials. His intrepid effort to help
four North Korean teenagers avoid arrest and repatriation on the journey from
northern China to the British consulate in Shanghai is riveting, as is his
insider knowledge of the perilous route refugees navigate across the borders of
China, Laos and Thailand. The author's compassion and astonishing ability to
penetrate the Hermit Kingdom and lift its shroud of secrecy do much to
ameliorate the book's chief flaws, the clunky prose and occasionally amateurish
conjecture and derivative political analysis.

International Criminal Court and Sudan

Julian Ku has pointed out that the ICC's charge of Genocide against Sudan could end up weakening the court's public image. The ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo may have made a miscalculation in choosing to prosecute Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir with war crimes. Al-Bashir's supporters in Africa and abroad have rallied a pretty significant backlash to Ocampo. Rumors continue to fly that Ocampo has been padding his case with exaggerations, but it is important to note that many of the African leaders leading the charge against the ICC's prosecution are probably doing so out of their own self-interest. The more they discredit the ICC, the more they dissuade Ocampo from going after them next, for their own human rights abuses. Richard Dicker, at Human Rights Watch admits "Ocampo has made missteps that have played into the hands of the court's enemies," however he also states, "they fear accountability" themselves.

My own opinion is that its silly to think that the entire ICC could have egg on its face just because of a political backlash to a high-profile prosecution. Political backlash is expected, and its normal. If Ocampo withdraws his charges because he failed to make a good case then fine. Or if he loses his case and Al-Bashir wins, then fine. But if he withdraws the charges because of political pressure, then it truly is a sad day for the ICC and the world.

International Site Visitors

Just so you have an idea of where people from around the world are logging onto the Global B(law)g: We have visitors from Jakarta, Indonesia; Norman, Oklahoma; San Francisco, California; Tehran, Iran; and Kuala Lampur, Malaysia! Thanks to my loyal readers, according to my site-meter, I have been getting multiple hits a day from readers in Norman Oklahoma, Commerce Georgia, and New York NY.

Michael Jackson, and Iran

Did Michael Jackson's death help the Ayatollahs in Iran maintain their power? David Rothkopf defenitely thinks so. He believes that MJ's death provided the "perfect" distraction for folks trying to keep themselves in power in the face of the attempted revolution. Michael Jackson's coverage includes everything conservative idealogues in the Islamic republic love to hate. Western pop culture, drugs, crotch gabbing, and suggestive dancing. Although I disagree with Rothkopf, because I don't think a single media event can actually eclipse everyday hardships and political will, I think his perspective makes for a fun read.

Honduras Names New President

The Congress of Honduras has chosen Roberto Micheletti as the interim President of Honduras, presumably until new elections can be held. Micheletti was the president of the Congress, and had spoken out against former President Zelaya, who was ousted in a military Coup yesterday.

Nothing Like A Good Old-Fashioned Military Coup

Honduran president Manuel Zelaya has been kicked out by the army. He had been pursuing a constitutional referendum, that the highest court in Honduras had declared illegal. Zelaya avoided any major confrontation, simply left the presidential palace, and is now in exile in Costa Rica. Preceeding this ouster, factionalism within the country had reached a high-pitch, with Zelaya's opponents holding rallies protesting the referendum, which would have allowed for a partial re-write of the constitution. Zelaya's opponents were trying to convince the public that he was conspiring to eleminate term limits so that he could run again. Zelaya's supporters were also vocal, causing some clashes in the streets of Tegucigalpa. Today the city looks like a police state, with tanks in the streets, armed gaurds on street-corners, and locked gates in front of government buildings. Zelaya is a friend of Hugo Chavez, the current President of Venezuela, and has been a critic of the United States.

The most immediate questions are - how will the new leadership govern the nation, will they respect the Constituion, and will they preserve Democracy? Also, I have a friend who is currently in the Peace Corps, serving in Honduras. I hope this doesn't break into all-out violence.

Global Headlines

The Michael Jackson thing got me on a kick of checking out newspaper headlines accross each continent, and I found a fabulous way to check them all in one place. One of the newest museums in Washington DC is dedicated to the journalism, and they call it the Newseum. THey have a totally amazing feature on their website where you can see all the headlines accross the planet in one place.