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World Criminal Court Rejects Probe Into U.S. Actions In Afghanistan
Source: NPR
World Criminal Court Rejects Probe Into U.S. Actions In Afghanistan
April 12, 2019 5:16 PM ET
MERRIT KENNEDY
A panel of judges at the International Criminal Court has rejected a request to proceed with investigating possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan, including those allegedly involving U.S. armed forces and the CIA.
This is in response to a request from ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda in 2017, a prospect that U.S. officials have strongly criticized.
In their unanimous decision released Friday, the judges said that the prosecutor's request is within the court's jurisdiction and the crimes are of sufficient gravity for it to consider the case. But it said that it was ultimately rejecting the request because "the current circumstances of the situation in Afghanistan are such as to make the prospects for a successful investigation and prosecution extremely limited."
The decision noted that the prosecutor hasn't been able to secure cooperation from the parties, making it very unlikely the probe would succeed. A significant amount of time has passed since many of the crimes were allegedly committed, the judges said, and there's a need for the ICC "to use its resources prioritizing activities that would have a better changes to succeed."
Some human rights advocates are slamming the decision as a dangerous precedent.
-snip-
April 12, 2019 5:16 PM ET
MERRIT KENNEDY
A panel of judges at the International Criminal Court has rejected a request to proceed with investigating possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan, including those allegedly involving U.S. armed forces and the CIA.
This is in response to a request from ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda in 2017, a prospect that U.S. officials have strongly criticized.
In their unanimous decision released Friday, the judges said that the prosecutor's request is within the court's jurisdiction and the crimes are of sufficient gravity for it to consider the case. But it said that it was ultimately rejecting the request because "the current circumstances of the situation in Afghanistan are such as to make the prospects for a successful investigation and prosecution extremely limited."
The decision noted that the prosecutor hasn't been able to secure cooperation from the parties, making it very unlikely the probe would succeed. A significant amount of time has passed since many of the crimes were allegedly committed, the judges said, and there's a need for the ICC "to use its resources prioritizing activities that would have a better changes to succeed."
Some human rights advocates are slamming the decision as a dangerous precedent.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2019/04/12/712721556/world-criminal-court-rejects-probe-into-u-s-actions-in-afghanistan
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