Thursday, December 13, 2007

What's The Matter With France?

Maybe they do not wish to be bombed by Bush, if they put Rummy on trial for war crimes.

In Wake of French Immunity to Rumsfeld, Rights Groups Ask -

Will France Become a Safe Haven for Torturers?

Contact:

Jen Nessel, press@ccrjustice.org

The letter is directed at Kouchner because the Paris prosecutor cited a Foreign Ministry opinion that Rumsfeld was immune from prosecution despite specific language to the contrary in international laws and treaties, particularly the 1984 Convention Against Torture, to which France is a signatory. It also points out contradictions in the Ministry’s support for the prosecutions of former heads of state for serious crimes and questions the motives and the independence of the decision.

The letter states, “Your Department's interpretation amounts to giving de facto impunity for all former high-level officials responsible for international crimes and turns the French territory into a haven for torturers. Its only objective is to give priority to the diplomatic and political relationships between states over justice and the rule of law.”

“The Foreign Minister’s interpretation is a giant step backward from the movement toward accountability for heinous crimes which has characterized the development of international law since Nuremberg,”
said CCR President Michael Ratner.

According to attorneys in the case, former Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, on a private visit to France, cannot be granted criminal immunity under conventional or customary international law. On the contrary it has been well established that, after leaving office, immunity from criminal jurisdiction cannot be applied to acts of such gravity, defined as crimes under international law, as illustrated by the statute of the International Criminal Court which does not uphold any immunity. According to rights experts, acts of torture cannot seriously be considered part of anyone’s official functions.

The same principle has been applied to former heads of state, as demonstrated in the case of General Augusto Pinochet, against whom no immunity was found following an order issued by a Belgian investigating judge, as well as in a decision of the United Kingdom’s House of Lords.

This international jurisprudence should be very well known to the Paris Prosecutor in charge of the Rumsfeld case, who signed an order himself calling for General Pinochet to appear before the Paris Court of Appeals.

The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a non-profit legal and educational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change.


(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. I.U. has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is I.U endorsed or sponsored by the originator.)


The Nazis, Fascists and Communists were political parties before they became enemies of liberty and mass murderers.

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