Declaration Signed
Second Humanitarian Law Dialogues CloseBy Benjamin Klein bklein@post-journal.com
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Fact Box
''Tyranny leads to inhumanity and inhumanity leads to death.''
While walking through the ruins and destruction of Nuremberg in March 1946, Henry King made a promise to himself in the then empty city.
''I'm going to dedicate my life to the prevention of this,'' he told himself.
King was one of the many speakers at the second and final day of the International Humanitarian Law Dialogues held at Chautauqua Institution, which came to an end Tuesday.
The event brought the remaining Nuremberg prosecutors together for a panel discussion moderated by John Q. Barrett of the St. John's University School of Law. Giving a historical perspective were Whitney Harris, International Military Tribunal, Nuremberg; Henry King, IMT and United States Military Tribunals, Nuremberg; and Benjamin Ferencz, United States Military Tribunals, Nuremberg.
The Nuremberg trials essentially created the discipline of international law. Firsthand accounts of the process and difficulties these men faced in creating a lasting legacy have resulted in the era of international accountability.
Whitney Harris, the senior Nuremberg participant who continues to write and give lectures, spoke of interrogating Nazi war criminal Rudolph Hess over a three-day period in Nuremberg. It was here that Hess told Harris of the two and a half million people murdered at Auschwitz.
''We must have an effective system of international justice to ensure international law,'' Harris said, adding, ''tyranny leads to inhumanity and inhumanity leads to death.''
King, who continues to practice law in Cleveland and is a professor at Case Western University, spoke of his personal philosophy.
''My philosophy is stumble one foot over another, or keep your eyes on the stars and dream of a better world,'' he said. ''I learned that from my father and at Nuremberg.''
Near the end of his remarks, King spoke about the necessity to continue to prevent further war crimes and human rights atrocities.
''I'm in the late autumn of my life,'' King said. ''As I look at it, Nuremberg was the most meaningful part of my life.''
Ferencz worked as a war crimes investigator, personally witnessing the horror of the concentration camps, which he helped liberate with General Patton's forces. In 1945, he led the single biggest murder case in history with the prosecution of the Einsatzgruppen Case, which dealt with the special extermination groups who were responsible for the death of one million people.
Ferencz's concluding remarks were founded in his conviction for generating political will.
''We must begin planetary thinking, we are all living on this planet,'' he said.
After hearing personal accounts from the men who are responsible for holding the perpetrators of war crimes responsible for the first time in human history, Barrett added, ''On January 20, we will have a new president. I hope they sit down with these three men.''
INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL LAW STATUS REPORT
A report on the status of international criminal law by Michael A. Newton, Vanderbilt University School of Law professor, explored past and present goals for international criminal law. Newton began his report by laying a broad foundation to gain a perspective on the profound effect of the Nuremberg trials. He pointed out that only one percent of the available men fought and won U.S. independence in 1776. An even smaller amount has created the discipline of international law, a legacy he said is real and tangible, and must be recognized.
To describe the current state of the profession of international law, Newton used the term ''variegated vibrancy,'' meaning the field is alive and growing with controversy and debates. All around the world, from the Balkans, Burma, China, Iraq, Peru, Rwanda, and Cambodia, people are following the Nuremberg legacy of documenting human rights violations to bring accountability to those responsible for perpetrating the crimes.
Demonstrating the use of law to restore order to society on the arrest of Charles Taylor, president of Liberia for crimes against humanity, Newton said, ''take a key player out, it crumbles like a house of cards. This makes a difference in the real world.''
''The era of accountability is irreversibly under way,'' said Newton.
He views the powerful momentum of the rule of law as an unstoppable reality of the world which has changed with the development of the discipline of international law.
Current progress can be seen in Georgia, where documents of crimes against humanity are being prepared to be transferred to the International Criminal Court.
In Burma, the credentials of the tyrannical junta will be challenged as they forfeited their rights to govern by denying human aid to the Burmese people.
Newton was optimistic in hoping to open the body of law to the Arabic world. Only a few years ago, areas were completely insulated from international law. The success of past and present cases can demonstrate the applicability of law to the Arab world.
To end his report, four pervasive myths of international law were addressed. The first myth is indicting key leaders undermines the peace process.
''Wrong,'' Newton said.
He said indicting leaders effectively removes them from diplomatic dialogues, proving that high level perpetrators who control their people through state-controlled communication have created a fantasy.
''We step in and call it what it is,'' he said, citing Iraq as an example where people were able for the first time read the truth after the indictment of a key leader.
The second being indictments are just an act of politics.
''Wrong,'' he said again. Those responsible will not be exempt from the exercise of law. There has been an enormous amount of progress ending impunity for the people responsible.
The third myth states the issuance of arrest warrants interferes in the peace process.
''Wrong again,'' Newton said. ''Just ask the people of Bosnia-Herzegovina if they are better off without Slobodan Milosevic,'' added Newton.
The fourth and final myth is that the media lens is always an accurate portrayal of events. Newton says people are not getting the entire scope of reality with snap shots, where all too often broader facts are left out.
CRIES FOR PEACE
The day's distinguished luncheon speaker was Grace Akallo, a former child soldier in the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda. Now as an activist and author, she told her intensely personal narrative of captivity and enforced conscription in the LRA, which seeks to overthrow the government.
Akallo told of the brutal tactics of the LRA - who are led by wanted war criminal Joseph Kony - which include daily beatings, being forced to kill and the long march in southern Sudan where soldiers exchanged children for ammunition.
She attributes her survival after fighting for seven months in southern Sudan to her faith. Her escape left her alone with no plan in a place where, ''hunger, thirst, or Al-Bashir will kill you.''
Her eventual return home and completion of high school led her to ask, ''What can I do for my friends?''
She now talks about the atrocities and how people can help Uganda.
''I'm standing here just not to tell a story, to reflect on who can bring justice?'' she asked. ''What does just look like?''
The issuance of the Second Chautauqua Declaration commenced with host Elizabeth Anderson of the American Society of International Law. This year's declaration contains another list of fugitives from justice, including Ratko Mladic, Felician Kabuga, Joseph Kony, Ahmed Harun, Ali Kushyab. Highlighting the recent arrest of Radovan Karadzic, who appeared on last year's Chautauqua Declaration fugitive list, Anderson said, ''This is a signal to tyrants. Time is not on their side.''
Greg Peterson, Robert H. Jackson Center chairman, said the second annual International Humanitarian Law Dialogues and the second Chautauqua Declaration are significant not just for Chautauqua County, but for prosecution of war crimes around the world.
''It's an incredible gathering of the top international law prosecutors,'' Peterson said. ''They don't get together. The fact that they came to Chautauqua and could share their accomplishments, challenges and opportunities in the serene environment of Chautauqua Institution is an incredible opportunity. And it's a wonderful thing for our area when they are willing to travel great distances and spend serious quality time at Chautauqua to talk about serious international law matters which impact the world.''
