海牙国际刑事法庭检察长莫雷诺-奥坎波日前在接受英国《星期日电讯报》采访时表示，布什和布莱尔可能面临战争罪指控。这一言论意味着美英联盟与国际社会的冲突已经越来越严重。 # H; f1 Y, r: r' Q2 O" e! f% L l4 N* v+ }5 E4 {
奥坎波在采访中表示，阿拉伯世界认为海牙国际刑庭总是倾向西方国家，他对这一偏见十分遗憾。当被问到他是否能预见布什和布莱尔将会走上被告席回应关于战争罪的指控时，奥坎波表示：“当然，这是可能的。任何加入海牙国际刑庭的国家都知道，这些国家中所有犯罪者都可以由我来起诉。” / |) j* u, B* z. F9 d/ Q ; w* L0 f5 [3 e* N8 O+ B 国际红十字会此前曾试图以“反人类罪”起诉美国总统、副总统和国防部长，并且也有相应法律程序使他们走上被告席。然而，俄罗斯法律专家认为，只要美国国力仍保持强大，这样的起诉总是“很遥远”。) o2 K7 n" n* Y3 ~% r' ]& m
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数千名反战人士近日在美国、欧洲及世界其它各地集会表示抗议。俄罗斯外交部长拉夫罗夫将这种不满展示在俄罗斯领导人的眼前，并表示俄罗斯需要提高自身的国际形象，与美国抗衡。美国一直拒绝承认国际法庭的权威性，并宣布不会对拒绝签署条约免除美国士兵战争罪的国家给与援助。 . v' A* v" F) X1 J; l9 R% O( a3 |$ D! p
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Court 'can envisage' Blair prosecution . J1 D* i7 k7 {; W; ZTony Blair faces the prospect of an International Criminal Court investigation for alleged coalition war crimes in Iraq. 7 G2 ?. U2 s9 c) j# B 7 [" e: O( Y Q4 J* o, IThe court's chief prosecutor told The Sunday Telegraph that he would be willing to launch an inquiry and could envisage a scenario in which the Prime Minister and American President George W Bush could one day face charges at The Hague. y& a: m; X3 S/ L& n . R" g1 Q/ @7 B* N2 M& BLuis Moreno-Ocampo urged Arab countries, particularly Iraq, to sign up to the court to enable allegations against the West to be pursued. Iraq's ambassador to the United Nations said that his country was actively considering signing up. ( q5 D, n0 R1 k& f, q. z# l( J% k9 @ j$ ^# V, b P R
America has refused to accept the court's jurisdiction and is unlikely to hand over any of its citizens to face trial. However, Britain has signed up and the Government has indicated its willingness to tackle accusations of war crimes against a number of British soldiers. 5 I4 c, f+ k/ S8 f" g( d) B g; p3 W$ h( g0 |1 x9 o/ o' K( o5 S
Mr Moreno-Ocampo said it was frustrating that the court was viewed in the Arab world as biased in favour of the West. Asked whether he could envisage a situation in which Mr Blair and Mr Bush found themselves in the dock answering charges of war crimes in Iraq, he replied: "Of course, that could be a possibility\u2026 whatever country joins the court can know that whoever commits a crime in their country could be prosecuted by me."5 K% M; Y8 |# _- ?# @; F: p. ]
2 D7 t4 h# F$ O2 DHuman rights lawyers remain sceptical about whether charges will ever be brought. + V @8 r$ R2 I' N5 V7 f . W" P) o' K7 _3 OSome Muslim countries have criticised what they claim is the court's reluctance to address offences committed by western governments. " y- Q1 u! N/ ]4 B1 t+ |% V + ^' h" S9 J i2 a' ?Sudan, which has been investigated over its role in the killing of civilians in Darfur, has called for the court to investigate coalition actions in Iraq, while Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia's former prime minister, has announced plans to set up an alternative war crimes tribunal to hear complaints against countries including Britain, Israel and America.& Q7 f. x9 `. c2 u, |
4 n' c6 L" @/ JMr Moreno-Ocampo said that, while he was sympathetic to the views of Arab countries, the answer was for them to get involved in the legal process. d3 P4 j: d0 x+ p3 P# m7 c" T/ p' \9 h3 _& P! m. L2 Y
The court is restricted in what it can investigate. The UN Security Council can ask it to act - as in the case of Darfur - or the court can launch an investigation if it receives a complaint from a state which is party to the Rome agreement that established it. It can also look into alleged offences carried out by, or on the territory of, a party to the agreement.( W6 g; r1 I1 j2 p
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Jordan has signed up and Afghanistan is a signatory, though Sudan is not. Days before the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Saddam Hussein approached lawyers in Britain about signing up but was overtaken by events. Had he succeeded, the actions of the US in Iraq would fall within the court's jurisdiction.1 l- p( O" R6 t& _# |: m, j
! V/ D+ e9 u; F9 d: e" W0 xMr Moreno-Ocampo said it was still possible for an investigation to be launched into coalition actions in Iraq if that country signed up.! @/ m+ u0 ^$ J+ j2 w* w
. L F) F% `( t' m& _7 m+ qHamid al-Bayati, Iraq's ambassador to the UN, said Iraq was actively considering joining. / c5 @8 p R* V" k7 Q* {2 W6 ?+ w3 O' I0 L" m$ O$ R
The court is currently prosecuting cases against the Lords Resistance Army in Uganda, a militia leader in the Democratic Republic of Congo and a number of individuals alleged to have been involved in the conflict in Darfur.
