[mgj-discuss] FW: Support for Universal Jurisdiction

[Dan Beeton]

-----Original Message-----
From: Joseph Serrani [mailto:serraniinc at msn.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 14, 2002 10:18 PM
To: JHB; Free Burma
Subject: [freeburma] Support for Universal Jurisdiction


URGENT PRESS RELEASE

FOR: Immediate Release         CONTACT: Luc Walleyn +32-2-215-23-36


A CALL TO DEFEND AND STRENGTHEN BELGIUM'S UNIVERSAL JURISDICTION LAW

PRESS CONFERENCE

l’Hotel du Congrès,
rue du Congrès à Bruxelles (metro Madou),
Tuesday 11 May 2002
10:30 a.m.

Amnesty International, Lawyers without Borders, The International  
Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH), Human Rights Watch, INDICT, and  
the Belgian Human Rights League will convene a press conference on Tuesday  
14 May 2002 in support of all victims of war crimes and crimes against  
humanity who are seeking justice in Belgium's courts.

Victims of many nationalities have attempted to bring their victimizers to  
justice in the Belgian courts. The 1993 Belgian law relative to Universal  
Jurisdiction for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide gave  
Belgian tribunals the legal jurisdiction, encoded in International  
Humanitarian Law and the IV Geneva Conventions, to pursue any person  
accused of such grave violations of international law regardless of the  
nationality of the accused or the victims and irrespective of whether the  
parties were ever on Belgian soil. This initiative marked a revolutionary  
advance in international criminal justice and gave hope victims of war  
crimes as well as all those who strive for the global implementation of  
justice. Given that the recently ratified International Criminal Court will  
not have retroactive jurisdiction for war crimes, crimes against humanity,  
and genocide committed before 1 July 2002, national courts' implementation  
of the principle of Universal Jurisdiction is crucial for attaining justice  
for war crimes committed before that date.

Belgian's important and inspiring legal initiative is now under serious  
threat. On 16 April, the Court of Appeal of Brussels interpreted the 1993  
law in a manner clearly contrary to the will of the Belgian legislature by  
stating that the presence of the accused parties on Belgian soil is one of  
the preconditions of the Criminal Instruction Code concerning the  
jurisdiction of Belgian courts. The implementation of this decision would  
render null and void most of the suits lodged in Belgium under the  
principle of Universal Jurisdiction. It would halt the legal pursuit on  
behalf of the families of the UN troops and Belgian civilians killed in  
Rwanda as well as the pursuit of those responsible for assassinating  
Belgian priests in Guatemala. The Court of Appeal's decision would make it  
virtually impossible for victims to seek justice for grave breaches of  
international law.

The press conference will feature speeches by victims and plaintiffs, among  
them survivors of the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre, who lodged a case  
against Ariel Sharon and other Israelis and Lebanese in a Belgian court in  
2001. The final pre-trial hearing for that case will be heard in a Belgian  
court on 15 May, the day after this press conference.

Victims of grave crimes and human rights violations from other countries,  
such as Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guatemala, and Chad will  
also speak. In addition, an 11-minute documentary on the campaign led by  
Jacqueline Moudeina, a Chadean attorney for the victims of the former  
Chadean Dictator Hissein Habre, will be screened.

This press conference will be the first of many events in a campaign to  
mobilize public opinion to defend and strengthen the 1993 Belgian Universal  
Jurisdiction Law. All those who support the principle of Universal  
Jurisdiction and the Belgian law of 1993 are urged to hold candlelight  
vigils before Belgian Embassies and Consulates throughout the world in  
support of the defense and strengthening of this law.

###


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