UNA-USA Backs Nomination of Top Human Rights Official

Ambassador William H. Luers, president of the United Nations Association of the USA, issued the following statement concerning the nomination by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of Navanethem Pillay to serve as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights:

The United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA) welcomes the nomination of Navanethem Pillay of South Africa to succeed Louise Arbour as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Judge Pillay brings a distinguished professional career in law and human rights to her new post; she also has been a prominent voice over many years in support of women’s rights, particularly leading the international community to take strong positions on crimes perpetrated against women during conflict.

Judge Pillay currently serves as a judge of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and had previously been president of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). In this latter position, she was responsible for the administration and management of the tribunal and worked hard to overcome allegations of shortcomings in the operation of the ICTR. Judge Pillay led the tribunal to take advanced positions on crimes against women, especially establishing mass rape as a crime rather than assimilating it into more general criminal categories such as assault. The institutional impact of her work is undeniable: the Rome Statute creating the ICC recognizes such crimes, and the ICC has charged some of its present suspects and defendants with crimes against women.

Judge Pillay becomes High Commissioner for Human Rights at a pivotal moment in the history of this important United Nations post. Sixty years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations is more than ever called upon to address human rights violations whenever and wherever they may occur. Judge Pillay has a strong reputation both as a leader and as an advocate for human rights and international justice that should enable her to work effectively with UN member states and with such UN institutions as the Human Rights Council.

UNA-USA calls upon all UN member states, particularly the United States, to support the nomination of Judge Pillay. We believe that Judge Pillay is singularly qualified to serve as High Commissioner in an era when human rights issues increasingly take center stage in relations among nations.

UNA-USA Statement in Support of ICC Prosecutor Action on Darfur and United States Engagement to Ensure Arrest Warrants are not Blocked 

Ambassador William H. Luers, president of the United Nations Association of the USA, issued the following statement concerning the International Criminal Court's Darfur investigation:

The United Nations Association of the USA (UNA-USA) supports the decision of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to bring justice to the victims of atrocities in Darfur and calls on the United States to ensure that the UN Security Council does not block any efforts to execute arrest warrants for Darfur suspects, including a potential arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir.

The ICC Prosecutor’s application for an arrest warrant for President Bashir of Sudan is an important step to ensure that there is no impunity for alleged crimes committed in Darfur. UNA-USA applauds this action and others by the ICC to bring justice where otherwise there would be no accountability.

UNA-USA has supported the ICC investigation in Darfur since the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1593 on March 31, 2005 which referred the situation to the Court. Despite a Bush Administration policy of opposition to the ICC, the US did not veto the resolution. The ICC opened a formal investigation in June 2006 and named its first Darfur suspects, Sudanese Humanitarian Affairs Minister Ahmed Harun and Janjaweed militia leader Ali Kushayb, in February 2007. Both individuals are still at large and the Government of Sudan has refused to hand them over.

On July 14, 2008, the ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo filed an application for an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir on 10 counts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. A decision on the arrest warrant for President Bashir is expected in the fall. The Rome Statute, the treaty which governs the ICC, specifies that heads of state will not have immunity or amnesty for crimes within the ICC’s jurisdiction.

UNA-USA believes that the Security Council should seek enforcement of the mandate it gave to the ICC by all parties concerned. The UN Security Council conferred jurisdiction over Darfur to the ICC and asked it to investigate atrocity crimes committed by the parties to the conflict. Under Resolution 1593, all parties to the Darfur conflict must cooperate with the ICC, including the arrest and surrender of individuals to the Court. The Government of Sudan, which has signed but not ratified the Rome Statute, must cooperate with the Court as a UN member state. As a signatory, Sudan is obligated not to defeat the Statute’s object and purpose.

The ICC is a judicial institution and accordingly it carries out its mandate under the Rome Statute. The Rome Statute permits the Court to accept a Security Council resolution under Chapter VII of the UN Charter to refer cases to the ICC. It also requires the Court’s judges to act on Security Council resolutions deferring investigations and prosecutions for renewable periods of 12 months. The Court’s founders anticipated dilemmas of peace and justice and Article 16 of the Statute leaves it the Council to make political decisions on stopping cases for the purpose of maintaining international peace and security.

Despite its formal opposition to the Court, the US has continued its shift toward the ICC in practice in response to the Darfur situation. It has offered its cooperation on the investigation and this month acknowledged that it was considering a request for information. In June 2008, the Security Council under US leadership issued a Presidential Statement reiterating that the Government of Sudan must cooperate with the ICC. UNA-USA urges the US to ensure that the Security Council does not invoke its ICC deferral power to block this action or similar future actions. The US should join other Security Council members in opposing any resolution ordering the Court not to act on this case.

Achieving justice for the over 2,000,000 victims in Darfur is an important step for ensuring lasting peace. In the near term, we believe that decisions about peace and justice are political ones appropriate for the Security Council, not for the Court. For the long run, we are convinced, as were the founders of the United Nations, that justice provides the only secure foundation for peace.

The ICC is the world’s first permanent international court, established on July 17, 1998 at a UN-sponsored diplomatic conference. The Court is also investigating atrocities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda and the Central African Republic. UNA-USA advocated for the Court leading up to and following its establishment. Its AMICC program is a leader in educating Americans about the Court and is an internationally-respected resource on US-ICC policy.