Russia and China Veto Resolution to Refer Syria Crisis to International Criminal Court

By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL, United Nations Headquarters – On Thursday Russia and China exercised their veto power as permanent members of the Security Council by vetoing a resolution to refer the crisis in Syria to the International Criminal Court for possible prosecution of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by actors on both sides of the conflict during the country’s three-year civil war. The remaining 13 members of the United Nations Security Council voted in favor of the resolution.

 

Syrian search the rubble of destroyed buildings following an airstrike carried out by regime forces March 2014 (Photo Courtesy of Amnesty International)

More than 60 UN Member states have signed on to support the French-drafted measure before the vote was held, Gerard Araud, the French Ambassador to the United Nations said that a potential veto would “cover up all crimes. A veto, he said, would be “vetoing justice.”

The resolution would have condemned the “widespread violation” of human rights and international humanitarian law by both Syrian officials and non-state armed groups over the past three years and would have referred Syria’s crisis to the world’s permanent war crimes tribunal for investigation of possible war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The veto’s marked the fourth time Russia, a close ally of the Assad Regime, has used its power as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council to block resolutions related to the Syrian Civil War which has left more than 150,000 people dead over the past three years.

Prior to the vote, Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s Ambassador to the United Nations, questioned why the resolution was put to a vote. He told the press that his counties shares the “emotions” shared by the states who supported the resolution bud said that his country’s vote would be “boringly predictable” and claimed the resolution was a “publicity stunt.” Churkin told the Security Council “the draft resolution rejected today reveals an attempt to use the ICC to further inflame political passions and lay the groundwork in the end for eventual outside military intervention.”

The Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations, Wang Min, defended his country’s veto saying that Beijing had reservations about the council referring conflicts to the International Criminal Court.

In response to the veto British Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant criticized the action saying “It is to Russia and China’s shame that they have chosen to block efforts to achieve justice for the Syrian people.”

Samantha Power, the United States’ Ambassador to the United Nations also condemned the veto saying the victims of the deadly conflict “deserve to have history record those who stood with them and those who were willing to raise their hands to deny them a chance at justice.”

After the vote Powers addressed the council condemning the veto and asking how future generations will judge the way the international community has responded to the three year crisis. She said; “our grandchildren will ask us years from now how we could have failed to bring justice to people living in hell on earth.”

For more information please see:

ABC News – Russia, China Veto UN Move to Refer Syria to ICC – 22 May 2014

CNN International – Russia, China Block Syria from Facing International Criminal Court – 22 May

Amnesty International – UN: Russian and Chinese Vetoes of Syria ICC Resolution ‘Callous’ – 22 May 2014

The Guardian – Russia and China Veto UN Move to Refer Syria to International Criminal Court – 22 May 2014

Tensions Remain High in Ukraine as Gunfire Continues and Presidential Elections Draw Near

By Kyle Herda

Impunity Watch Reporter, Europe

KIEV, Ukraine – Ukraine’s interim government will attempt to restore security to the unstable country through Presidential elections on May 25. A vote of more than 50 percent is required for a candidate to be elected; should no candidate receive greater than 50 percent of the vote, a run-off vote between the top two candidates on June 15 will determine the race. The current front-runner, billionaire Petro Poroshenko, served as foreign minister and economy minister, and supports Ukraine’s integration with the West.

Pro-Russian rebel stands in front of a statute of Vladimir Lenin in Donetsk, Ukraine. (Photo courtesy of CNN)

The elections may stand to unite the country more through a leader elected by the people that the entire country has a say in, both the eastern pro-Russians and the western pro-Europeans. Or the elections may lead to further dissolution of the country if one side refuses to recognize the elected leader.

Ukraine troops remain active in the East as gunfire has already killed 24 Ukrainian servicemen. Most recently, an armed attack by pro-Russians on a checkpoint has let free a detained pro-Russian leader.

Residents in the Eastern region of Slovyansk, the center of the pro-Russian rebellion, have grown sick of the conflict and call for an end to the fighting. Resident Lina Sidorenko said the pro-Russians “must stop with this banditry so that there can be peace!” Another 300 Slovyansk residents shouted at Vyacheslav Ponomarev, the separatist leader in Slovyansk, that the fighting cannot continue.

Ukraine’s richest man, Rinat Akhmetov, also joined in the fight against pro-Russians in Slovyansk. “No one will frighten us, including those calling themselves a Donetsk People’s Republic,” Akhmetov declared. He urged his employees to attend protests against the pro-Russians, and a similar protest last week in Mariupol pushed pro-Russians out of government buildings they seized in the Black Sea port.

Two other regions of Ukraine seeing action are Donetsk and Luhansk, both of which had pro-Russian rebels declare independence from Ukraine through referendums in a similar fashion to Crimea.

Amidst this chaos in the East are security forces sent in by Kiev to take back buildings captured by pro-Russian rebels. Russia has asked Ukraine to remove these troops and called the security and military personnel destabilizers.

In response, Russia has what NATO estimates to be 40,000 Russian troops on the border outside of Ukraine. Other countries have called on Russia to move these forces and remove the threat of invasion, something Russia’s Defense Ministry claims to be working on. However, NATO has claimed there is no evidence that Russia has actually removed any troops or dismantled any camps along the border.

For more information, please see:

Reuters – RUSSIA SAYS UKRAINE ELECTION MAY AGGRAVATE CRISIS – 20 May 2014

NY Times – PRO-RUSSIAN REBELS IN UKRAINE FACE CITIZEN ANGER – 20 May 2014

Reuters – FACTBOX: LEADING CANDIDATES IN UKRAINE’S MAY 25 PRESIDENTIAL RACE – 20 May 2014

CNN – RUSSIAN TROOPS STILL AT UKRAINIAN BORDER DESPITE WITHDRAWAL PLEDGE, NATO SAYS – 19 May 2014

The Guardian – UKRAINE: PRO-RUSSIA SEPARATISTS SET FOR VICTORY IN EASTERN REGION REFERENDUM – 11 May 2014

The Democratic Alliance Urges South African Delegation to Reject Immunity for Leaders

By: Danielle L. Cowan (Gwozdz)
Impunity Watch News Reporter, Africa

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – The Democratic Alliance (DA) strongly urges the South African delegation to reject the draft proposal to grant immunity to sitting government leaders before Africa’s regional court for crimes against humanity.

Sandy Kalyan, Democratic Alliance Deputy Chief Whip

DA members say granting immunity to sitting government leaders would be “bad news” for human rights.

The African Union (AU) country members’ Justice Ministers and Attorney Generals were scheduled to meet in Ethiopia on May 15th and May 16th to consider a draft proposal to, in part, absolve sitting African leaders form their part in genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

The DA argues that granting “sitting heads” of state and senior government officials immunity from jurisdiction of African courts would be an exercise in shielding these leaders from accountability and, in effect, permit such leaders to perpetuate these human rights abuses.

If passed, this proposal would serve no other purpose other than bolster the incentive to hold on to power and undermine the fight for human rights on the continent.

If they were to vote in favor for this draft proposal, the DA states that this would in fact suggest that South Africa sees its own leaders as “above the law,” which is a dangerous precedent. The DA states that this would not reflect the ethics and rule of law enshrined in South Africa’s constitution.

The DA further states that it is critically important for the South African delegation to reject this proposal in its formative stages and to send a message that South Africa is committed to fighting human rights abuses on its own soil and the continent at large. This is especially important because it follows a slew of scandals and abuses of power by its own government.

For more information, please visit:
PoliticsWeb – SA should vote against AU’s immunity proposal – Sandy Kalyan – 14 May 2014
AllAfrica – South Africa: The DA Calls On South African Delegation to Reject Immunity for Leaders – 15 May 2014
DA.org – The DA calls on South African delegation to reject immunity for leaders – 15 May 2014