Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is the first head of state ever indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC). Following his arrest warrant, al-Bashir expelled more than 10 international aid organizations.
Students met Tuesday, January 26 to discuss the role of the ICC in dealing with al-Bashir’s human rights violations in the main library lounge.
The discussion, “The Globalization of Justice,” marked the second event of International Justice Week, the Northwestern chapter of Amnesty International’s week-long campaign to raise campus awareness and engage students.
ICC accused al-Bashir of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur. But according to the ICC, the member states are responsible for investigating and punishing criminals. This means the Sudanese President’s arrest warrant is in the hands of his own government, the least likely body to act upon his indictment for crimes in Darfur.
“It has no police force,” said Weinberg senior Akhila Kolisetty, the president of Northwestern Amnesty International, while leading a discussion during International Justice Week. “The court must rely on individual states to carry out punishments.”
“I want to raise awareness about international justice in a perspective that’s different from what you might learn in a classroom or see on the news,” said Weinberg junior Joanna Tang, Campaign Manager for international justice.
The ICC has 110 member states and can issue arrest warrants for people from any of those countries. However, only one person has ever been arrested and gone through the entire court trial process. Students questioned whether resources could be better spent.
“I’m not convinced that we shouldn’t prosecute people at all,” said sophomore Hayley MacMillen, “I just think we should be asking, ‘how can we move forward?’”
In addition to addressing the ICC’s lack of success intervening in Darfur, students questioned why the U.S. hasn’t signed on to the ICC and whether it should.
“The U.S. has not signed on to it because it doesn’t want U.S. officials to be arrested or committed,” said Kolisetty, referencing the U.S. detention of prisoners linked to the Taliban and al Qaeda in Guantanamo Bay since 2002.
Alongside the discussion, Kolisetty displayed photos taken by students and photojournalists in Brazil, the Philippines, Burundi, Kenya and Malawi through the non-profit International Bridges to Justice. The organization works to ensure that people around the world have access to a lawyer and understand their legal rights, explained Kolisetty, a former intern with IBJ.
International Justice Week began Monday night with a benefit party for Haiti at Blu Lounge.
The next event will be a screening of “The Reckoning — the Battle for the International Criminal Court” on Wednesday at 7pm. Northwestern Law Professor David Scheffer, Director of the Center for International Human Rights will speak Thursday at 7:30pm. Both events will take place in Annenberg G15.