ICTY allows Seselj to be absent from judgment hearing on 31 March: On Wednesday, 16 March 2016 the ICTY confirmed that the verdict in the war crimes trial of Vojislav Seselj will be announced on 31 March at 10:00 CET. The trial chamber accepted the Serbian government’s argument that it is not possible to interrupt Seselj’s treatment for liver cancer nor continue it in The Hague. Judge Mandiaye Niang said in a dissenting opinion that the verdict will be announced without the presence of the accused, not because his presence is not required, but because he refuses to attend and because Serbian authorities have not done enough to return him to the tribunal. The ICTY ordered Seselj’s attendance at the hearing last month, and requested that Serbia notify the court by 15 March 2016 if any complications arose. (b92, Balkan Insight, b92)
ECCC hears expert testimony on Khmer Rouge ideology in Case 002/02: Expert witness Alexander Hinton provided testimony at the ECCC Tuesday 15 March 2016 in Case 002/02 against Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan. Hinton previously indicated that Democratic Kampuchea propaganda contributed to the “manufacturing of difference” and a dehumanization process that when combined with other social, economic and political factors made possible the perpetration of mass violence against targeted groups. Prosecutor William Smith read an excerpt of a speech by Pol Pot in which he said “there is not one seed of them to be found” in reference to Vietnamese people and asked Mr. Hinton whether it was likely to incite violence.
Mr. Hinton responded that “very clearly it does so” and that “It is referring to the successful completion of a genocide that is taking place, so if you look at the numbers [in] the demographic reports, all the ethnic Vietnamese perished during this period, it’s what might be called a successful genocide in the sense that virtually every Vietnamese disappeared from Cambodia, as is being said in this statement”. (Phnom Penh Post)
Ban Ki-Moon calls for referral of Syrian conflict to the ICC: On Tuesday, 15 March 2016 UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the ICC. Ban stated “In Syria, as elsewhere, peace without justice is not sustainable. He said the Syrian people feel abandoned by the international community and that those responsible should be held to account. Ban noted that more than 250,000 Syrians have been forced from their homes and that the conflict has been “the scene of the use of chemical weapons, siege and starvation as a tool of war, unlawful detention, torture, and the indiscriminate and criminal shelling and aerial bombardment of civilians”. (AA)
US House finds that ISIS crimes amount to genocide: The US House of Representatives has voted 383-0 to call atrocities committed by the Islamic State against Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East “genocide” which could pressure the Obama Administration to hold IS accountable if the Senate also votes in favor of the companion resolution. Before the vote State Department spokesman John Kirby said “Regardless of whether their conduct satisfies certain legal definitions, including genocide and crimes against humanity, the United States has been clear that our interest in accountability for the perpetrators remains undiminished”.
Kirby also stated that John Kerry, who must declare whether the atrocities are genocide by Thursday 17 March, is still evaluating the evidence. “I’ll also just say that [Kerry] has taken [this] very, very seriously and wants to make sure that whatever determination that he makes, it’s fact-based and that it’s adequately reflective of what we’re seeing on the ground.” (the guardian)
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