The
www.ictj.org
June 30, 2006
HEADLINES
The
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Government Reports 40,000 have Benefited from Reconciliation
Charter
June 27, 2006
The Algerian government released a preliminary three-month
progress report, suggesting that its Charter on Peace and Reconciliation has
benefited more than 40,000 people. The report claims that a vast number of
Algerians, both domestically and living abroad, have received a range of
benefits, which may include amnesty, reinstatement of employment, and
psychological counseling. Critics have since responded that the Charter has
failed to quell remaining outbursts of violence by “armed rebels”
and that—due to its lack of truth-seeking or justice mechanisms for
victims—it has done little to advance the cause of national
reconciliation. The Charter provided a blanket amnesty to members of the
security forces and criminalized public discussion of the “national
tragedy.”
See, Liberté, 40
000 personnes ont bénéficié de la charte
NY Times, Many
Algerians Are Not Reconciled by Amnesty Law
Daily
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nation Prepares for “Dirty War” Trials
June 20, 2006
Miguel Etchecolatz, a 77-year old former police
investigator, went on trial last week in a landmark case that marks the first
in a new series of attempts to punish human rights abusers from the "dirty
war" waged by the 1976-1983 military junta, under which an estimated
30,000 opponents of the regime were “disappeared.” Etchecolatz is
the first former officer to face trial since the Argentine Supreme Court
overturned a pair of amnesty laws passed during the 1980s, which had shielded
hundreds from criminal charges. It is estimated that up to 400 former officers
will face similar charges in Argentine courts in the coming years.
See, Associated Press, Argentina
readies for dirty war trial
Voice of
For more detailed daily updates on the trials, please see
the newly established trial web log by the Center for Legal
and Social Studies (CELS), available in English and Spanish.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Former Republika Srpska Prime Minister Fails to Appear in
Court, Arrest Warrant Issued
June 27, 2006
The United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the
Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) declared former Republika Srpska Prime Minister Branko
Djeric in contempt of court and issued a warrant for his arrest following his
failure to appear in court. In early June, Djeric was subpoenaed to testify as
a witness in the case against former Bosnian Serb political leader Momcilo
Krajisnik at the ICTY. According to police records, Djeric was informed that
failure to appear in court would result in the issuing of a subpoena, possible
jail time, and fines.
See, United Press International, U.N.
tribunal seeks arrest of Bosnian Serb
For more detailed weekly updates on the ICTY, please see Tribunal Update by the
Institute for War and Peace Reporting, the U.N. Public Information Services' ICTY Weekly Update, and the
Coalition for International Justice's Latest
Reports. See also the
Milosevic trial.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Khmer Rouge Tribunal Judges and Prosecutors to be Sworn in
on July 3, 2006
June 15, 2006
The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC),
formerly known as the Khmer Rouge Tribunal (KRT), has announced that it is on
schedule to swear in 30 jurists to the recently established legal body at the
See, Voice of
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Prime Minister Offers Symbolic Payment for Victims of
“Head-tax”
June 22, 2006
The Canadian government has announced its plan to offer
compensation to surviving Chinese-Canadian victims of a racist head tax imposed
on Chinese immigrants from 1885 until 1923, when the Exclusion Act barred all
immigration from
See, The Star, PM
offers head-tax amends
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AU Summit in July to Determine Fate of Hissene Habre
June 26, 2006
The African Union (AU) announced it will decide on the fate
of former Chadian leader Hissene Habre at its summit in July, when its members
will vote on whether to pressure Senegal to extradite Habre to face charges of
war crimes in Belgium or at an alternate venue. The AU is establishing an
See, The East African, Former
Chadian leader's fate to be decided by AU
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
High Court Rejects Role in Genocide Probe
June 29, 2006
A Guatemalan court denied access for Spanish Judge Santiago
Pedraz to use the Spanish embassy there as a base to conduct his investigations
into human rights abuses that took place in
See, JURIST, Spain
judge begins investigation in Guatemala genocide case
El Pais, Manifestación
en Guatemala en apoyo al juez Pedraz
Reuters AlertNew, Spanish judge in
Guatemala for genocide probe
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Second Trial of Saddam Hussein to Open August 21
June 27, 2006
The second trial against former Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein and six co-defendants—on charges of genocide—is scheduled
to begin on August 21. Hussein and members of his former Ba‘ath party
regime will be tried for their alleged role in Operation Anfal, a campaign
which killed an estimated 100,000 Kurds and displaced thousands of villagers in
the 1987-88 operation. The first trial against Hussein, for his role in authorizing
the killings of 148 Shiite Muslims in the town of
See, Associated Press, Tribunal:
2nd Saddam trial to open Aug. 21
Reuters, Saddam
to go on Trial in August for Kurd Genocide
Government Unveils National Reconciliation Plan
June 26, 2006
The Iraqi government presented a draft of its 28-point national
reconciliation plan to parliament. The proposal could grant amnesty to
thousands of Iraqi prisoners and contains unspecified plans for Iraqi forces to
resume control of their national security. The plan proposes a general pardon
for thousands of prisoners who are determined not to have committed
"crimes and clear terrorist actions" as well as promises to
incorporate Sunni Arab demands in a review of the country’s newest
constitution, all in the name of advancing hopes for reconciliation and peace for
the war-torn nation.
See, BBC, Main points of
Iraq's peace plan
AP, Iraq Reconciliation May Include
Amnesty
BBC, Iraq plan part of
grand strategy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Truth and Reconciliation Commission Officially Launched
June 22, 2006
The Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC)
officially began its work following an inaugural ceremony in
See,
All Africa, Liberia Launches Truth
and Reconciliation Commission
Independent online, Liberian
leader hopes TRC will bring closure
All
All
Star
For more details on the TRC process, see the official
website of the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE
June 20, 2006
Following his March arrest and subsequent transfer to the
custody of the
See, BBC, Taylor flies in for Hague
trial
African News Dimension, Taylor's
trial may begin in January 2007
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tribunal Investigates 12 on UN Payroll for Role in Genocide
June 29, 2006
The UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) has
announced that it is investigating 12 individuals on the court’s payroll
for their alleged participation in the 1994 Rwandan genocide. While some of the
suspects were indirectly supported through the UN payroll, others, such as
Simeon Nshamihigo, were working as investigators for the court. ICTR officials
announced that they initially learned about the 12 suspects in March and that
they expect to complete their probe by August.
See, Reuters AlertNet, UN
tribunal investigating 12 on its payroll
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kony Denies Responsibility for Mass Atrocities; LRA Leaders
Offered Safe Passage to
Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army
(LRA), claimed his innocence in an exclusive interview with a BBC journalist,
alleging that the Ugandan government was responsible for the atrocities
committed against civilians in
See, BBC News, Ugandan rebel denies war
crimes
BBC News, Disbelief at LRA war
crime denial
Sudan Tribune, Ugandan rebel
head seeks peace, denies war crimes
Independent online, Uganda
rejects torture claims by rebels
The Monitor, Kony offered free passage
to The Hague
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ADVISORY: The ICTJ
As of June 12, 2006, the new mailing address and main telephone
number of the ICTJ New York office are:
Phone: + 1.917.637.3800
Our
email addresses remain the same.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Editors:
Contributing Editors:
This semimonthly newsletter summarizes major news events in
the field of transitional justice. To unsubscribe, please e-mail unsubscribe@ictj.org.
To subscribe, please send an e-mail request to communications@ictj.org.
The
In order to promote justice, peace, and reconciliation,
government officials and nongovernmental advocates are likely to consider a
variety of transitional justice approaches including both judicial and
nonjudicial responses to human rights crimes. The ICTJ assists in the
development of integrated, comprehensive, and localized approaches to
transitional justice comprising five key elements: prosecuting perpetrators,
documenting and acknowledging violations through nonjudicial means such as
truth commissions, reforming abusive institutions, providing reparations to
victims, and facilitating reconciliation processes.
The Center is committed to building local capacity and
generally strengthening the emerging field of transitional justice, and works
closely with organizations and experts around the world to do so. By working in
the field through local languages, the ICTJ provides comparative information,
legal and policy analysis, documentation, and strategic research to justice and
truth-seeking institutions, nongovernmental organizations, governments and
others.
The ICTJ gratefully acknowledges the support of our donors. Click here for more
information.
24th Floor
917.637.3800
www.ictj.org
info@ictj.org
Please note: All links to news stories were active on the day this
newsletter was sent.