Yuriy Ukazkin
According to the Rome Statute of the Hague Tribunal, war crimes are serious violations of the Geneva Conventions of 1949. These are actions carried out during the conduct of a war that violates accepted international rules of war.
In September 2012, Desmond Mpilo Tutu, a famous South African social rights activist and retired Anglican bishop, urged the International Criminal Court to bring to trial Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and George W. Bush, ex-President of the USA, for starting the war in Iraq.
What are the criteria of war crimes according to the Statute of the Hague Tribunal? Can Desmond Tutu prove that they are guilty?
War Crimes: Criteria
The International Criminal Court (the ICC or Hague Tribunal) is governed by the Rome Statute, which reads:
“The jurisdiction of the Court shall be limited to the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole. The Court has jurisdiction in accordance with this Statute with respect to the following crimes:
(a) The crime of genocide;
(b) Crimes against humanity;
(c) War crimes;
(d) The crime of aggression.”
For more details on the issue, please visit the Rome Stature page of the UN website.
After World War II, the following personalities were tried as war criminals:
· Muammar Gaddafi (International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on 27 June for Gaddafi, but he was then killed by NLA fighters).
Are Bush and Blair War Criminals?
According to Desmond Tutu, the 2 former leaders of the USA and Great Britain invaded the sovereign stage of Iraq under the pretext that Saddam Hussein owned weapons of mass destruction, which caused mass civilian casualties.
Desmond Tutu says that this fact alone is enough for the International Criminal Court to consider the 2 politicians as war criminals. However, the problem is that the USA (as well as Russia and China) hasn’t signed the agreement to found this institution (it was founded in 1998, not to be confused with the International Court of Justice).
Therefore, such trials look improbable. Tony Blair says Tutu’s accusations are groundless. George W. Bush hasn’t commented on the matter.
Success Is Never Blamed
The Nuremberg and Tokyo Trials confirm that. Obviously, Desmond Tutu has forgotten the old saying.
Since World War II, Americans and British have never been brought to trail abroad as war criminals (apart from isolated cases concerning prisoners of war and spies). A rhetorical question arises: Who will dare try the (former) president of such a powerful country as the USA or Great Britain?
Yuriy Ukazkin
