Trump Asserts Military Could Undertake War Crimes Under his Command

By Samuel Miller
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America and Oceania

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States of America — During last Thursday’s Republican Primary Presidential Debate, front-runner Donald Trump suggested under his command, activities which have been classified by the international community as war crimes could be ordered under his presidency. Since that time, the Republican candidate has since retracted his position; however, Mr. Trump still vowed to use every legal power available to the president, raising the issue of what actions would be considered legal.

Trump suggests Military will do what he tells them to do. (Photo Courtesy of CBS Philly)

The president can never tell or encourage an officer to blatantly violate clear-cut law.

Among the indicated actions Mr. Trump originally suggested were waterboarding, torture, and the killing of the families of terrorists. Following the debate, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Trump acknowledged there would have to be limits to the actions he could order.

“The United States is bound by laws and treaties and I will not order our military or other officials to violate those laws and will seek their advice on such matters,” Trump told the WSJ. “I will not order a military officer to disobey the law. It is clear that as president I will be bound by laws just like all Americans and I will meet those responsibilities.”

Mr. Trump’s original position had drawn sharp criticism from military and legal experts, suggesting that his policies on the treatment of terrorism suspects and the killing of families would violate the Geneva Convention. The U.S. military has been trained for decades that torture and retaliatory executions both constitute war crimes under international law.

Former Director of the NSA and CIA Michael Hayden dismissed the remarks originally made by Mr. Trump, stating that: “The armed forces of the United States will not carry out orders that are so obviously illegal and in violation of the laws of armed conflict. Their oath to themselves, their families, their country and their God would prevent them from doing that.”

The Uniform Code of Military Justice makes it clear that no member of the military is to knowingly break the law, and that they cannot be prosecuted for failing to follow through on an unlawful order. In addition, the trials at Nuremberg and the judicial proceedings following the My Lai massacre in Vietnam set a clear standard for complicity, namely that soldiers cannot rely on ‘following orders’ as a defense for their actions.

Given the inherent complexities which have arisen between the three branches of government, what constitutes unlawful orders and clear violations remains as complicated as the actions themselves. However, the overwhelming sentiment has been that the actions suggested by Mr. Trump would not be carried out by members of the Armed Forces.

As indicated in his interview, Michael Hayden said that “if he were to order that [the actions suggested in his GOP Debate speech] once in government, the American armed forces would refuse to act.”

For more information, please see:

The Times of Israel – US ex-defense chief: Trump’s anti-terror plan could bring Nuremberg-like trials – 5 March 2016

CBS Philadelphia – General Michael Hayden: Military Will Not Commit War Crimes – 4 March 2015

INQUISITR – ‘If I Say Do It, They’re Going To Do It’: Donald Trump Says He Would Force U.S. Military To Commit War Crimes At GOP Debate – 4 March 2016

Military Times – Trump says he won’t make troops commit war crimes – 4 March 2016

Reason.com – Donald Trump Walks Back His Pro-War Crimes Stance – 4 March 2016

US News & World Report – Could Trump Legally Order War Crimes? Maybe – 4 March 2016

ICTJ | In Focus: Algerian Women Speak of Their Search for the Disappeared

In Focus

“Only Truth Could Heal This Pain”: Algerian Women Speak of Their Search for the Disappeared

For more than two decades, some 40 women have been protesting every Wednesday against government inaction on the disappeared in front of Algeria’s official human rights commission. They stand on the sidewalk holding photos of their disappeared relatives — their children, fathers, and husbands — breaking the silence at a dangerous time in Algeria.

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Without Addressing Women’s Security, We Can’t Hope for Equality

On International Women’s Day, ICTJ Gender Justice Senior Associate Amrita Kapur highlights how insecurity affects women and is key to overcoming inequality across all dimensions of empowerment. “Without including institutional reform, we are condemning women to another century of inequality,” she writes in this op-ed.

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Photos by Youth on the Scars of the Lebanon War Spark Debate at Exhibit Opening

Earlier this month, the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) and its partners opened a two-week photo exhibit at the American University of Beirut’s Jafet Library, featuring vivid and often deeply personal photographs submitted for its “The War As I See It” youth photo contest. Students, professors, experts, and journalists packed into the library space lined with the 26 photographs in oversized frames.

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Publications

More Than Words: Apologies as a Form of Reparation

This report explores many of the issues and challenges likely to be faced by those considering a public apology as a form of reparation for victims of serious human rights violations.

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Education and Transitional Justice: Opportunities and Challenges for Peacebuilding

This report, part of a joint research project by ICTJ and UNICEF on the intersections of education, transitional justice, and peacebuilding, explores how a transitional justice framework can help to identify educational deficits relating to the logic of past conflict and/or repression and inform the reconstruction of the education sector.

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Upcoming Events

March 09, 2016

Special Oxford Panel: “Who’s Calling the Shots in International Criminal Justice”

Location: Oxford, England

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April 22, 2016

Facing a Violent Past: Dealing with History and Memory in Conflict Resolution

Location: Arlington, VA

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Lula Questioned, Detained in Petrobras Investigation

By Kaitlyn Degnan
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SAO PAULO, Brazil — Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was questioned on Friday as part of “Operation Car Wash,” the official investigation into the Petrobras scandal. Known around the world as “Lula,” he served as Brazil’s president from 2003 to 2010 and is widely credited with Brazil’s emergence as an international power. He is considered by many to be Brazil’s most popular president.

Lula and President Rousseff the day after Lula’s detention by police. (Photo courtesy of Bloomberg Business).

The Petrobras scandal was born of an inquiry into bribes at the state-run oil firm. However, the investigation was widened to include high ranking members of Brazil’s ruling Workers’ Party. There is evidence that “scores of politicians and business executives” stole money from Petrobras. Those under investigation are suspected of overcharging Petrobras contracts. The money is thought to have been put towards Workers’ Party electoral campaigns.

Lula was detained and his home raided on Friday morning. His institute in Sao Paulo, and his wife and sons were also targeted in the investigation. Lula was released a few hours later. When speaking with supporters after his release, Lula said that he “deserved respect” and that the investigators were “disrespectful of democracy.”

Police allege that Lula took money from the Petrobras kickback scheme and laundered it through real-estate assets and his institute.

The detention sparked widespread criticism – even from those who supported his questioning, and sparked several clashes outside of Lula’s home in Sao Bernardo do Campo on Friday.

On Saturday, Lula supporters gathered outside of his home, chanting, “if you mess with him, you mess with me.” Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff also travelled to Saw Bernardo do Campo to meet with Lula in his home on Saturday, in show of solidarity after his “unnecessary” detention.  Both Lula and President Rousseff have denied involvement in the Petrobras scandal. President Rousseff’s popularity has severely declined since the investigations began, and she may be facing impeachment.

Despite criticism, prosecutors stand by the questioning, saying that that Lula “holds no power that puts him beyond the reach of the Car Wash investigation.” The investigation has called both Lula’s political future and his legacy into question.

 

For more information, please see:

BBC – Brazil Petrobras scandal: Former president Lula questioned – 4 March 2016

Latin America News Dispatch – Brazil Ex-President Lula Questioned in Corruption Case – 4 March 2016

New York Times – Brazil’s Ex-Leader, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Is Held and His Home Raided – 4 March 2016 

New York Times – Snapshot of Brazil’s Web of Scandal – 4 March 2016

Agence France-Presse – Brazil’s corruption scandal anger spills onto street – 5 March 2016

Associated Press – Crowds cheer Brazilian ex-president after being grilled by police – 5 March 2016

Bloomberg Business – Rousseff Visits Lula as Brazil Supporters Stage Solidarity Vigil – 5 March 2016

Reuters – Brazil top judges back graft probe despite concern over Lula’s detention – 6 March 2016

Venezuela Security Forces Search for Missing Miners

CARACAS, Venezuela — Security forces in Venezuela are searching for a group of miners in the state of Bolívar who have gone missing. Family members of those missing from the Atenas gold mine are alleging that sometime between Thursday and Friday, 28 miners were rounded up by gunmen and killed execution style. The mine is unlicensed “wildcat” mine, and is located near to the town of Tumeremo.

State Governor Francisco Rangel first denied that “any person [was] killed or missing,” saying that reports referred to clashes between gangs fighting over control of the mines.  He accused the opposition of spreading “FALSE information about murdered miners.” Governor Rangel is an ally of President Maduro.

Family members of the missing miners block the road between Venezuela and Brazil. (Photo courtesy of BBC)

In response to Governor Rangel’s claim, about 300 relatives of the miners engaged in demonstrations over the weekend, shutting down a road running through Tumeremo that serves as an important link between Venezuela and Brazil.

“I’m not asking for justice,” said Juan Jose Coello, the father of a missing miner. “Right now, I’m just asking that they return the body of my son, so I can give him a Christian burial.”

The protests led Venezuela’s Attorney General to designate both a national and regional prosecutor to investigate the matter. Governor Rangel finally acknowledged on Monday that there was an official search for the miners. Family members continued to block the road through Tumeremo.

Some claiming to have witnessed the massacre and family members of the missing have accused law enforcement agents of playing a role in the alleged killings. Opposition lawmaker Americo de Grazia has also accused the state government of complicity.

1,000 soldiers were ordered to the area to search for the missing miners. There are conflicting reports from those who claim to have witnessed the attack as to what the gunmen did with the remains of the miners. Some locals allege that the gunmen drove the bodies of the miners deeper into the mine, while others say they were dismembered and removed from the area.

 

For more information, please see:

Agence France-Presse – Missing Venezuelan miners families protest – 7 March 2016

Associated Press –Venezuela Opens Investigation Into Possible Killing of Miners – 7 March 2016

Reuters – Venezuela says investigating alleged killing of miners – 7 March 2016

Voice of America – Venezuela Investigates Possible Slaying of 28 Missing Miners – 7 March 2016

BBC – Venezuela probes gold miners’ disappearance in Bolivar – 8 March 2016

Latin America News Dispatch – Venezuela Investigates Disappearance of 28 Gold Miners – 8 March 2016

Latin American Herald Tribune – Security Forces Search for Miners Reported Killed in Venezuela – 8 March 2016

Washington Post – Venezuela Congress takes up case of missing miners – 8 March 2016

Suicide Attack Kills Several People in Pakistan

By Christine Khamis

Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – 

Over a dozen people were killed on Monday morning in a suicide attack, while an estimated twenty were wounded. Four women and two children are among the dead.

A victim of the suicide attack. (Photo courtesy of the New York Times)

A suicide bomber detonated a vest containing explosives after shooting his way into a district court compound in the town of Shabqadar, about 20 miles north of Peshawar. The bomber shot a police officer once he had forced his way into the compound, then detonated his vest. Another officer was killed when he tried to subdue the bomber and prevent him from entering the courtroom, in which family disputes were being decided at the time.

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a removed branch of militant group Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, which is part of the Taliban, has claimed responsibility for the bombing. Jamaat-ul-Ahrar’s spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, said in an email statement that the bombing was in retaliation for the execution of Malik Mumtaz Hussain Qadri. Mr. Ehsan claims that Mr. Qadri was innocent and executed against Allah’s laws. He has also stated that his faction will continue to conduct attacks on Pakistani courts.

Mr. Qadri was recently sentenced to death for killing Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab Province. Punjab’s governor had previously called for reform of blasphemy laws which require death for insulting Islam.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, has issued a statement denouncing the attack. He states that Pakistan is united in its commitment to eliminate this type of “menace” and commemorates those who died trying to prevent the bomber’s attack.

The bombing was the second suicide attack of its kind so far this year. In January, Taliban suicide bombers attacked Bacha Khan University in the Charsadda district, killing 21 students and teachers.

Taliban militants have engaged in uprisings against Pakistan’s government since 2007 as part of their effort to enforce more strict interpretations of Islamic laws.

 

For more information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Suicide Attack Hits Pakistan – 7 March 2016

CNN – At Least 13 Killed, Including 2 Children, in Pakistan Suicide Attack – 7 March 2016

The New York Times – Suicide Attack at Pakistani Court Compound Kills Over a Dozen – 7 March 2016

Reuters – Pakistani Militants Say Blast at Court That Kills 10 Was Revenge – 7 March 2016