Crime: International Justice and Diplomacy

Since the International Criminal Court became operational in 2002 there has been an extreme amount of integration between peace and security and international justice The I.C.C. Office of the Prosecutor is investigating and prosecuting cases in eight situations. The Office has also made a substantial contribution to international peace and security by proactively collecting information and monitoring situations under preliminary examination, including those in Guinea, Georgia, Colombia, Honduras, Korea, Nigeria and Afghanistan. Despite the mission for peace and security and international justice the question of whether perpetrators of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide should always be prosecuted remains. The debate is between peace and justice, on whether or not they should strive for peace at all costs sacrificing justice to get it, or should they pursue peace in only justifiable manners. Past negotiations sacrificed justice for peace even though history has taught us that the peace achieved by ignoring justice has mostly been short-lived, and the cycle of violence has continued unabated. As the I.C.C. is an independent and judicial institution, it cannot take into consideration the interests of peace, which is the mandate of other institutions, such as the United Nations Security Council. However they feel justice can have a positive impact on peace and security. In the case of the Lord’s Resistance Army (L.R.A.) in Uganda, for example, I.C.C. arrest warrants against Joseph Kony and his top commanders are widely acknowledged to have played an important role in bringing the rebels to the negotiating table in the Juba Peace Process. This despite the threat by the L.R.A. to withdraw from the peace talks if arrest warrants remained in force. Blackmailing is no longer the way to achieve sustainable peace. If the international community is to work toward long-lasting peace, critics must question why peace had proven elusive in a country. The pursuit of justice, whether it be through national or international prosecutions, and the pursuit of peace, whether it be through truth and peace negotiations, can, and must, work together. They should not be seen as oppositional, not alternatives, but complementary.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/20/opinion/global/the-role-of-the-icc-in-international-justice-and-diplomacy.html?_r=0

March 22, 2012 4:53