No you don't need to send out an alert. Would you have rather the author wrote "Caricom States"? Or the United States of Caricom? Where's the Commie alert there?
As to your question on why an ICC is necessary? Ask the United Nations. It was 50 years ago when countries of the world saw the need for a court to prosecute perpetrators of genocide etc. "It has been 50 years since the United Nations first recognized the need to establish an international criminal court, to prosecute crimes such as genocide. In resolution 260 of 9 December 1948, the General Assembly, "Recognizing that at all periods of history genocide has inflicted great losses on humanity; and being convinced that, in order to liberate mankind from such an odious scourge, international co-operation is required", adopted the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Article I of that convention characterizes genocide as "a crime under international law", and article VI provides that persons charged with genocide "shall be tried by a competent tribunal of the State in the territory of which the act was committed or by such international penal tribunal as may have jurisdiction . . ." In the same resolution, the General Assembly also invited the International Law Commission "to study the desirability and possibility of establishing an international judicial organ for the trial of persons charged with genocide . . ." "The Judgment of the N�rnberg Tribunal stated that "crimes against international law are committed by men, not by abstract entities, and only by punishing individuals who commit such crimes can the provisions of international law be enforced" ""Crimes under international law by their very nature often require the direct or indirect participation of a number of individuals at least some of whom are in positions of governmental authority or military command." -- Report of the International Law Commission, 1996 " And here goes your argument that it impinges on a Nations sovereignty (kinda ironic coming from the US, where the sovereignty of other nations stops where US 'National Interests' begin): "The International Criminal Court (ICC) has the potential to help put an end to the past century's cycle of impunity for the most serious crimes of international concern. It will decide on the criminal responsibility of individuals and act as a strong deterrent for possible future perpetrators. The ICC's Statute places primary responsibility to prosecute with national jurisdictions. Only when a number of conditions are met will the ICC have jurisdiction over a matter. States parties to the Statute therefore make a commitment to investigate and prosecute such crimes before their own courts. " Let me list the reasons for the International Criminal Court briefly, since it appears that while you seem staunchly against it, your question implies you don't really know what it is. 1) To Achieve justice for all 2) To end impunity 3) To help end conflicts 4) To remedy the deficiencies of Ad Hoc tribunals 5) To take over when national criminal justice institutions are unwilling or unable to act 6) To deter future war criminals. I suppose none of these points fit in with the present Bush Administrations plans for the United States' 'National Interests' in the world. Wouldn't want a US general to be brought to trial for committing war crimes now would they..heaven forbid. Then they'd have to be careful when waging "Liberation Campaigns" to actually follow the articles of International Law which they claim to uphold. -Gel -----Original Message----- From: Heald, Tim [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Do I even need to send out the commie alert on these words? If it's already an international crime why is there a sudden need to create this court? Umm don't kidnap Americans? Hmmm, here I thought it was individual thought, not following along with the herd. Seriously though, the day we sign up for that court is the last day I serve in our nations military. The violation of a nations sovereignty involved is far to great. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?forumid=5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/index.cfm?method=subscribe&forumid=5 This list and all House of Fusion resources hosted by CFHosting.com. The place for dependable ColdFusion Hosting. http://www.cfhosting.com Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=89.70.5
