|
OPEN SOCIETY INSTITUTE: OSI WELCOMES NEW
LAW ON GENOCIDE PROSECUTION:
31/12/07
(MaximsNews Network)
|
|
UNITED
NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / - 31
December 2007 -- The Open
Society Institute hailed the coming into force of the Genocide Accountability
Act of 2007. President Bush signed the bill into law following its unanimous
approval by Congress.
The new
legislation fills a critical gap in the law by permitting the U.S. government to
prosecute people in the United States who are believed to have committed
genocide abroad.
"By
passing the Genocide Accountability Act of 2007, Congress has struck a major
blow against the impunity that sustains perpetrators of ghastly crimes. From now
on, those who have violated the basic code of humanity will know they cannot
find sanctuary here," said Diane Orentlicher, currently Special Counsel to
the Open Society Institute and professor at American University's Washington
College of Law.
Prior to
enactment of this law, a non-U.S. national accused of committing genocide abroad
could only be tried for a lesser crimes—such a visa fraud—or be deported to
their country of citizenship, where prosecution might be unlikely or impossible.
In
Senate testimony in February 2007, Orentlicher in her capacity as a professor at
American University's Washington College of Law, urged Congress to consider
"legislation that would enable U.S. courts to prosecute individuals
suspected of genocide . . . when they are present in U.S. territory."
Following the hearing, Senators Durbin Coburn, Leahy and Cornyn introduced
S.888, the Genocide Accountability Act of 2007, which the Senate approved by
unanimous consent.
Congressmen
Howard Berman introduced an identical bill to the House, and in October 23,
2007, Orentlicher, again in her capacity as a professor at American University,
testified in support of the bill before the House Subcommittee and urged swift
enactment of the legislation. She cited the example of Ratko Maslenjak, a member
of an infamous Serb military unit connected to the 1995 massacre in Srebrenica—judged
by two international courts to constitute genocide. But instead of facing trial
for genocide, he was merely convicted of lying about his service in the
Srebrenica unit when he applied for his green card.
The
President signed the bill into law on December 21, 2007. OSI welcomes the law as
a critical step forward toward meeting the American obligation to prevent and
punish acts of genocide, and calls on the US government to vigorously enforce
this statute.
Labels: United
Nations, U.N.,
~~~~~
MaximsNews.com, An Independent Voice from the
U.N., provides commentary and analysis from
leading world figures: King Abdullah II
(Jordan), HRH Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein
(Jordan), Sir Brian Urquhart, Hans Blix, Amb.
Richard Holbrooke, Anwar Ibrahim, Bianca Jagger,
Dr. Nafis Sadik, Shashi Tharoor, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Noeleen Heyzer,
Masood Haider, Kerry
Kennedy, Ian Williams, Stephen Schlesinger, Sen.
Timothy E. Wirth, Marc Morial, Amb. Jayantha
Dhanapala (Sri Lanka), Amb. Pierre Schori
(Sweden), Amb. William H. Luers, Susan Roosevelt
Weld, Rory Kennedy, Mehri
Madarshahi, J. Michael Adams, Gloria Feldt,
Jeffrey Laurenti, Rodney D. Smith, Ashley
Bommer, Rory
O'Connor, Genevieve Stamper, Max Stamper and
others.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MaximsNews®
LLC
NEWS NETWORK FOR THE
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
MaximsNews Network® LLC is a Global News Network reaching over 30,000 in the International Community. It is associated with MediaChannel.org and Globalvision News Network, global news and media information services with more than 350 news affiliates in 135 countries.
Established in 1999.
The views expressed are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of MaximsNews®
LLC.
MaximsNews.com
U.N. ® LLC www.MaximsNews.com
| MaximsNews@MaximsNews.com |
Please
contact us about Republishing:
Syndication@MaximsNews.com ©Copyrights 1999 - 2007, MaximsNews® LLC. All rights
reserved.
|
