International court
The Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is a UN tribunal charged with bringing to justice those who commit such inhumane acts as war crimes, genocide and maltreatment of citizens. No one, not politicians, soldiers or members of a militia, are exempt from standing trial for illegal acts. The ICC stands as the embodiment of people's desire to see the rule of law strengthened, if only incrementally, in a world where the law of the jungle and cruel deeds are all too common.
About a year after its creation, the ICC is preparing to investigate a massacre of men and women last month by, allegedly, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel force in Uganda. The LRA's soldiers are accused of shooting up a refugee camp and indiscriminately killing more than 200 people, including women and children. The LRA is also suspected of having committed a number of other massacres, and forcing children to join its ranks as soldiers.
Under normal circumstances, a case such as this should be handled by a Ugandan court. But for many years, Uganda has been ruled in effect by a single party. And under the present government, doubts would be raised about the fairness of the trial, whose outcome could trigger renewed violence.
Politically neutral, the ICC has been given judicial authority by the international community. Significantly, the ICC has embarked on the case and taken steps to bring those responsible to justice with the cooperation of the Ugandan government.
The ICC's chief prosecutor is poised to bring a formal charge against the leader who allegedly ordered his soldiers to commit the massacre. In itself, the court's taking such action will serve as a deterrent to further barbarous acts by the LRA.
At the disposal of the ICC is a legal system composed of laws governing warfare and international conventions on inhumane acts, known collectively as international humanitarian law. The ICC is the major watchdog of such a legal structure and more than 90 countries-mostly in Europe, Latin American and Africa-have already taken part in its court system. But Japan is not yet a party to the ICC.
One of the major reasons for the delay is that Japan has not yet ratified the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, relating to the protection of prisoners and victims of armed conflicts. Now, at last, the protocol is scheduled to be ratified during this Diet session. The domestic bills necessary for its ratification were finalized, along with other bills related to military emergencies, at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, after which they were immediately submitted to the Diet.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi should take this opportunity to act promptly to join the ICC by upgrading domestic legislation, such as stipulating that genocide is a crime. Since the latter half of the 1990s, the Japanese government has defined human security, which respects, in particular, human life and human rights, as one of its major foreign policy objectives and appealed to the international community to do likewise. The ICC plays a very large part in promoting such an objective.
Unfortunately, the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush has turned its back on the ICC for fear American military personnel overseas could be put on trial at this tribunal. But Japan should never drag its feet in taking part in the ICC out of deference to the United States.
Hisashi Owada serves as a judge at the International Court of Justice, which adjudicates disputes between nations. Chikako Taya is also a judge at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, which puts individuals on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity. We want to see Japan take part in the ICC, which works to propagate the rule of humanitarian law, and see Japanese legal experts playing large roles on that court. It is by this means that Japan can make a proud contribution to the international community.