Overcoming Barriers
and Unleashing Opportunities for Social Justice
The history of human beings has reflected the urge to dominate, conquer and demonstrate superiority. Greed, demonstrating superiority and domination, led to the world changing. Forced labour, exploiting the workforce has become common. What the world has seen during the world wars or before the war is still in the people’s memory. But much before, what has happened to poor Africans, forcibly taken to far-off places, or the tea plantation workers in neighbouring countries, continue to face challenges to get integrated with the communities they live. The International Criminal Court was established in 2002. Though the ICC cannot replace national courts, it is used to investigate people suspected of committing crimes against humanity. The ICC’s headquarters is in the Hague, the Netherlands. In recent times, ICC intervention led to the halting of the execution of Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been toiling in Pakistan Jails since 2016. Humans intuitively look for a just world. Ironically, with all the intelligence, humans struggle to accommodate the differences. Hopefully, good sense prevails, and innocent people will not be harmed.
The history of human beings has reflected the urge to dominate, conquer and demonstrate superiority. Over the period, people learned to find their limitations and started living in peace and harmony. Unfortunately, humans did not remain there. Greed, demonstrating superiority and domination, led to the world changing. People travelled long distances in search of wealth and cheap labour. It also led to unjust practices, and atrocities were inflicted on the weaker people. Nations established justice systems to deal with unjustness, and jurisdiction remains the geographical boundaries of the countries. What if two nations are in conflict, and exploitation goes beyond the war? Forced labour, exploiting the workforce has become common. What the world saw during the world wars or before the war is broken is still in the people’s memory. But much before, what has happened to poor Africans who have been forcibly taken to far-off places, or the tea plantation workers in neighbouring countries, continue to face challenges to get integrated with the communities they live. Many continue to live facing injustice. International justice is needed. Organisations like the UN and the International Court of Justice try to intervene and address some issues to bring just solutions. The world observes International Justice on 17 July every year. The day is also called the Day of International Criminal Justice or International Justice Day.
The International Criminal Court was established in 2002, when 120 states adopted the same. The Review Conference of the Rome Statute, held in Uganda in 2010, resolved to observe 17 July as the Day of International Criminal Justice. 17 July was chosen as the treaty that created the International Criminal Court was adopted on this date. The theme for the observation for this year, “Overcoming Barriers and Unleashing Opportunities for Social Justice”, focuses on the need to address obstacles and promote social justice.
Nuremberg trials carried out after the Second World War to bring Nazi war criminals to justice. Another landmark trial around the same time was the Tokyo Trial, which tried and convicted leaders of the Empire of Japan for crimes against humanity.
Though the ICC cannot replace national courts, it is used to investigate people suspected of committing crimes against humanity. The ICC’s headquarters is in the Hague, the Netherlands, with 15 judges. These are elected for a nine-year term of office by the UN. India has one judge currently serving, Judge Dalveer Bhandari. Contributions from UN member states primarily fund the court, the UN Secretary-General’s Trust Fund and donations from Organisations. More than 200 trials have been completed, and the first person to be convicted is Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, a Congolese warlord.
India has been involved in several cases before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Right of Passage over Indian Territory and jurisdiction of the International Civil Aviation Organization Council (India v. Pakistan) are some of them. In recent times, ICC intervention led to the halting of the execution of Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been toiling in Pakistan Jails since 2016. The ICJ ordered Pakistan to suspend Jadhav’s execution and allow effective review and reconsideration of his conviction and sentence.
Recent developments have thrown open the challenge for ICC. It has issued arrest warrant against Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu for the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip, and so has Russian President Vladimir Putin, against whom a warrant has been issued, accusing him of war crimes in Ukraine. Can these actions be practical and lead to solutions? One sees the war continue in Ukraine, and so do the Conflicts in Gaza. It presents to the world the limitations of international organisations like the ICC. Â
The way ahead for humanity is to accommodate and encourage nations to cooperate and have a peaceful co-existence. This global cooperation is essential for avoiding crimes and atrocities across borders and for justice to be served. Humans intuitively look for a just world. Ironically, with all the intelligence, humans struggle to accommodate the differences. Hopefully, good sense prevails, and innocent people will not be harmed.
Toons: Reema
Logs: M Sai Baba
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