VOA标准英语2008年-Analyst Says Rushed International Criminal Cour

While one former Congolese warlord has been ordered released by the International Criminal Court at The Hague, proceedings¹ are just beginning against another one. One analyst² says the ICC needs to be more careful about the timing³ of such cases, especially when conflicts are on-going. From our West and Central Africa bureau in Dakar, Brent Latham has more.
　
Alleged⁴ Democratic Republic of Congo warlord Thomas Lubanga attends a public hearing (File photo)

An African analyst says that the International Criminal Court, or ICC, needs to be more careful in the future about intervening in on-going conflicts, after the ICC ordered the release of former Congolese warlord and accused war criminal Thomas Lubanga.

Judges at the court said Lubanga, however, should not leave detention⁵ until the court deals with the prosecution's appeal.

Issaka Souare, Democratic Republic of Congo analyst at South Africa-based Institute for Security Studies, says that the possible release of Lubanga casts doubt on the ability of the court to handle cases against suspected war criminals from areas still in conflict.

"Now that the case is going to be thrown out of court because of the same issues it casts a doubt or begs many questions with regard to the procedure and whether the ICC rushed into the case, or whether the evidence actually was there but there was something in the process that makes them believe today that this evidence is not pertinent," he said.

Lubanga had been accused of enlisting⁶ child soldiers. He has pleaded not guilty. Lubanga has been in ICC custody⁷ since 2006.

The prosecution's case is based on evidence which was not shared with the defense⁸, for fear of reprisals⁹ against those who had provided it. The U.N. had collected the information from witnesses in areas in the eastern part of DRC which are still engaged in conflict.

The ICC judges ruled on Wednesday that because the evidence could not be shared with Lubanga's defense, a fair trial would not be possible.

Souare says the ICC rushed into the case while the conflict in the DRC was still on-going. He suggested that the ICC may now have to rethink its ability to deal with cases which involve unresolved conflicts.

"There was some criticism about the court's decision to deal with armed conflict situations that are on-going, which is unprecedented," he said. "In the past, all the processes have been tried on post-conflict situations or where one side had decisively won the war."

Souare added that ICC intervention¹⁰ in on-going conflicts may also affect future cases.

He cited the case of the Lord's Resistance Army in Northern Uganda, the leaders of which have agreed to sign a comprehensive peace agreement if the ICC agrees to cancel outstanding arrest warrants against them.

Souare also mentioned the case of former DRC vice¹¹ president, rebel leader, and failed presidential candidate Jean-Pierre Bemba, who has been accused of rape¹² and torture. Bemba denies the charges.

"Just yesterday the lawyer of Bemba said that they would actually ask the UN Security Council to intervene, to ask the ICC to suspend the proceedings because Bemba, according to his lawyer, was very much instrumental in bringing about peace in the DRC," said Souare. "One could predict a similar thing, not to do with the evidence itself, but with the possible effect of his arrest on the peace process in the country."

Souare worries that the procedural violations¹³ will lead to impunity¹⁴ for war criminals, and deprive their victims of justice. He says the Lubanga case could help the ICC rethink its overall approach.

"It would probably strengthen the argument of skeptics about the effectiveness of the approach in the first place, or those who are calling for more prudence¹⁵ in the activities of the court," said Souare.

The ICC was established by statute¹⁶ in 1998 and began functioning at The Hague in 2002. With more than 100 member states, it is the first ever permanent, treaty based, international criminal court established to promote the rule of law and ensure that the gravest international crimes do not go unpunished.

　

 

1 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

2 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

3 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

4 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

5 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

6 enlisting   

v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的现在分词 )；获得（帮助或支持）

参考例句：

• He thought about enlisting-about the Spanish legion-about a profession. 他想去打仗，想参加西班牙军团，想找个职业。 来自辞典例句
• They are not enlisting men over thirty-five. 他们不召超过35岁的人入伍。 来自辞典例句

7 custody   

n.监护，照看，羁押，拘留

参考例句：

• He spent a week in custody on remand awaiting sentence.等候判决期间他被还押候审一个星期。
• He was taken into custody immediately after the robbery.抢劫案发生后，他立即被押了起来。

8 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

9 reprisals   

n.报复（行为）( reprisal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They did not want to give evidence for fear of reprisals. 他们因为害怕报复而不想作证。
• They took bloody reprisals against the leaders. 他们对领导进行了血腥的报复。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

11 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

12 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

13 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

14 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

15 prudence   

n.谨慎，精明，节俭

参考例句：

• A lack of prudence may lead to financial problems.不够谨慎可能会导致财政上出现问题。
• The happy impute all their success to prudence or merit.幸运者都把他们的成功归因于谨慎或功德。

16 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。