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Syria Justice and Accountability Centre: International Sanctions Are Not a Substitute for Accountability in Syria

SJAC Update | August 10, 2017
The Panama Papers showed blacklisted companies and individuals, including Bashar al-Assad’s cousin Rami Makhlouf, bypassing sanctions through dealings with the law firm Mossack Franseca. | Source: Pixabay

International Sanctions Are Not a Substitute for Accountability in Syria
On July 17, the European Union (EU) sanctioned 16 members of the Syrian government accused of facilitating chemical weapons attacks. British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson announced that the sanctions send a “clear signal” to the government that its actions have consequences. However, only one month prior, President Emmanuel Macron of France – a key member of the EU –  suggested that Bashar al-Assad’s removal is not a precondition in Syria because “no one has showed me a legitimate successor.”  His remarks were a departure from the foreign policy objectives of Macron’s predecessor, François Hollande, and other EU member states, sparking concern that the bloc is not unified in its call for Assad’s exit. More importantly, these types of statements undercut the strategic effectiveness of sanctions and make sanctions seem like an end in and of itself instead of one way towards eventually achieving meaningful justice for victims.

The EU is not the only western actor sending mixed messages. In April, the United States sanctioned 271 Syrian government employees accused of facilitating chemical attacks. Responding to the EU sanctions, a US State Department spokesman stated that the combined sanctions of the United States and EU demonstrate “a continuing effort in the international community to hold the Assad regime responsible.” Despite this rhetoric, the Trump administration stated in March that Assad’s possible retention of power is a “political reality that we have to accept,” a sentiment echoed by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in July, only two months after the United States claimed Syria was responsible for a chemical attack in Khan Shaykhun. In doing so, the United States – like France – is implying that sanctions are sufficient punishment for grave violations of international law and once the conflict ends, Assad can continue to legitimately serve as president of Syria.
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The Syria Justice and Accountability Centre (SJAC) is a Syrian-led and multilaterally supported nonprofit that envisions a Syria where people live in a state defined by justice, respect for human rights, and rule of law. SJAC collects, analyzes, and preserves human rights law violations by all parties in the conflict — creating a central repository to strengthen accountability and support transitional justice and peace-building efforts. SJAC also conducts research to better understand Syrian opinions and perspectives, provides expertise and resources, conducts awareness-raising activities, and contributes to the development of locally appropriate transitional justice and accountability mechanisms. Contact us at info@syriaaccountability.org.

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Face of Venezuela’s Protests Injured as Opposition Resists Maduro’s Planned Rewrite of Constitution

By: Max Cohen
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela – Protests continue across Venezuela, with more on the way, as citizens attempt to stop President Maduro from rewriting the nation’s constitution. According to opposition members, millions voted against such a thing in an unofficial vote held last week, and millions more participated in a nationwide strike which paralyzed the country, protesting the rewrite. Meanwhile, the Maduro administration has continued to respond to the protests with violent means.

Venezuelan protestor Wuilly Arteaga, playing his violin during protests against President Nicolas Maduro. Photo courtesy of the Associated Press.

The opposition controlled National Assembly also attempted to replace the nation’s Supreme Court with 33 appointees of their own, however the already existing Court has since declared the move to be void, and inferred that it could result in charges of treason. One of these appointees has already been detained by the Maduro government, and authorities have threatened others with arrest and trial before military courts as well. Since the National Assembly had sworn in lawmakers whose elections were suspended for supposed voting irregularities, the Court maintains that any action the legislature takes is illegal.

A protest held on July 22nd, had a few thousand protestors trying to reach the Supreme Court, however it’s unclear whether this was connected specifically to the Court’s action, or just a general protest of Maduro’s attempt to rewrite the constitution. Several protestors were injured, including violinist Wuilly Arteaga, who has become a symbol of the protests for playing the national anthem and other tunes on his instrument as hectic protests occur around him. Authorities in the country have routinely used rubber bullets and tear gas against the protestors for the past four months, causing the deaths of 97 people and injuring thousands.

Meanwhile, a Venezuelan diplomat, Isaias Medina, has resigned from his post at the UN in protest of the actions taken by the Maduro government, urging Maduro to step down in the process. The opposition party is also currently boycotting the elections for the Constitutional Assembly, which would be charged with rewriting the constitution, proclaiming the votes as a sham since the rules are apparently designed to give Maduro’s government a majority. Maduro plans to put 232,000 soldiers on the streets to assure that the Constitutional Assembly goes ahead.

For more information, please see:

ABC News – Venezuelans protest Maduro’s plan to rewrite constitution -22 July, 2017

The Guardian – ‘I will be back’: Violin-playing face of Venezuela’s protests injured in clash – 22 July, 2017

teleSUR – Supreme Court Declares Opposition’s Naming of Judges Invalid – 21 July, 2017

New Jersey Herald – Venezuela diplomat says he resigned to protest Maduro acts – 20 July, 2017

War Crimes Prosecution Watch: Volume 12, Issue 11 – August 7, 2017

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Founder/Advisor
Michael P. Scharf
 
War Crimes Prosecution Watch
Volume 12 – Issue 11
August 7, 2017
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Editor-in-Chief
James Prowse
Managing Editors
Rina Mwiti
Alexandra Mooney
War Crimes Prosecution Watch is a bi-weekly e-newsletter that compiles official documents and articles from major news sources detailing and analyzing salient issues pertaining to the investigation and prosecution of war crimes throughout the world. To subscribe, please email warcrimeswatch@pilpg.org and type “subscribe” in the subject line.
Opinions expressed in the articles herein represent the views of their authors and are not necessarily those of the War Crimes Prosecution Watch staff, the Case Western Reserve University School of Law or Public International Law & Policy Group.

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Supreme Court of India Modifies Anti-Dowry Law

By: Brian Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia 

NEW DELHI, India – The Supreme Court of India stated that the anti-dowry law is being misused in the country. Until dowry harassment charges can be verified, the court has ordered the authorities to stop arresting the accused.

Many have been protesting against the tough anti-dowry law. Photo courtesy of BBC.

Under the dowry system in India, the bride’s family transfers property or money to her husband as a condition of the marriage.

The practice of dowry, a long tradition in the Indian culture, has been banned since 1961. The Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961 implemented a tough anti-dowry law in the country. The law allows for immediate arrest of the accused but many have argued that it allows for women to file false cases. The original intent of the law was to help women, but many critics of the law stated that it is being used as “a weapon by disgruntled wives.” Although not many are convicted under this law, thousands of people are arrest every year.

To combat these issues, on July 27th, 2017, the Supreme Court of India ordered the states to establish family welfare committee to address dowry related problems. The court further established that all complaints received by the authorities must be given to the family welfare committee for its review. It is noted that no action can be taken against the husband and the in-laws until a full report is released.

In 2015, the Indian government’s data estimated that around 7,634 women were killed due to dowry-related issues. The centuries-old tradition of dowry continues to be an issue in India. Many anti-dowry proponents have argued that the tradition leaves women vulnerable to material issues which sometimes leads to violence and event death.

For more information, please see: 

BBC – India top court orders changes in anti-dowry law to stop misuse – 28 July, 2017

India Times – SC Stops Misuse Of Anti-Dowry Law By Women, No Arrest Can Be Make Until Charges Are Verified – 28 July, 2017

The Times of India – No arrest in dowry cases till charges are verified, says Supreme Court – 28 July, 2017

The New York Times: War-Crimes Prosecutor, Frustrated at U.N. Inaction, Quits Panel on Syria

 

Carla del Ponte, who resigned from the panel investigating atrocities in Syria, and Paulo Pinheiro, one of two remaining members, at a news conference in March.
EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY
By SOMINI SENGUPTA
AUGUST 6, 2017

BEIRUT, Lebanon — For six years, an independent United Nations-appointed panel has documented a litany of war atrocities in Syria that have grown increasingly brazen: torture of prisoners, attacks on hospitals, sexual slavery.

On Sunday, the panel confirmed that one of its three members — Carla del Ponte, a Swiss prosecutor — had resigned.

Speaking by phone from Ticino, Switzerland, late Sunday, Ms. del Ponte said she had hoped the Security Council would either refer the case in Syria to the International Criminal Court or set up a special tribunal. “I was expecting to persuade the Security Council to do something for justice,” she said. “Nothing happened for seven years. Now I resigned.”

Ms. del Ponte said she hoped her resignation would nudge the world body to act. “We are going nowhere,” she said.

 The panel’s two remaining members, Paulo Pinheiro of Brazil and Karen Koning AbuZayd of the United States, confirmed Ms. del Ponte’s resignation in a statement, and said they felt compelled to continue.
 “It is our obligation to persist in its work on behalf of the countless number of Syrian victims of the worst human rights violations and international crimes known to humanity,” the statement said. “Such efforts are needed now more than ever.”

The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, as the panel is officially known, has produced a stack of reports that chronicle evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity. It also has compiled names of perpetrators of the most serious crimes, which the panel once threatened to reveal. Its reports are an object lesson in how blatantly the laws of war have been broken, with no near-term prospects of accountability. The panel, at one point, called the Syria conflict “a proxy war steered from abroad.”

Only the Security Council has the authority to refer the conflict to the International Criminal Court. That is unlikely, as Russia, a permanent veto-wielding member of the Security Council, backs the government of President Bashar al-Assad and has directly intervened in the war. So too has the United States, in what it says is an attempt to rout the Islamic State from its strongholds along the Euphrates River.

The General Assembly, responding to the sense of inaction, established late last year a highly unusual office within the United Nations system to compile evidence of war crimes for prosecution in the future.

The commission was appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council, a Geneva-based body made up of 45 countries that Nikki R. Haley, the Trump administration’s envoy to the United Nations, has repeatedly criticized.

In June, the commission said that hundreds of civilians had been killed by United States-led airstrikes in and around Raqqa, the Islamic State’s de facto capital in Syria. In 2016, it chronicled how government forces had detained and torturedpeople in Syrian prisons. That same year, the commission found that the Islamic State had sold and enslaved minority Yazidi women.

Ms. del Ponte is no stranger to the frustrations of seeking justice for the gravest crimes. She served as a prosecutor in the war crimes court for the former Yugoslavia as well as the special tribunal for Rwanda. She wrote bitterly about how political imperatives obstruct the greater demands for justice.