Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission Explained

The Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Commission (KLWCC), also known as the Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal (KLWCT), is a Malaysian organisation established in 2007 by the country's former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad to unilaterally investigate war crimes.[1] [2] The KLWCC was instigated as an alternative to the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which Mahathir accused of bias in its selection of cases.[3] The tribunal is not recognised by the United Nations, its verdicts being only symbolic.

Governance

The governing body of the KLWCC was established to oversee and investigate complaints from victims of wars and armed conflict in relation to crimes against peace, war crimes, crimes against humanity and other like offences as recognized under international law.[4] Members of the governance body include:

Convictions invoking universal jurisdiction

In November 2011, the tribunal purportedly exercised universal jurisdiction to try in absentia former US President George W. Bush and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, convicting both for crimes against peace because of what the tribunal concluded was the unlawful invasion of Iraq.[7] [8] [9] [10]

In May 2012 after hearing a testimony from victims of torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, the Tribunal unanimously convicted in absentia the former US President George W. Bush, former US Vice President Dick Cheney, former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, former US Deputy Assistant Attorneys General John Yoo and Jay Bybee, former US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, and former US counselors David Addington and William Haynes II of conspiracy to commit war crimes, specifically torture.[11] [12] The Tribunal referred their findings to the chief prosecutor at the International Court of Justice in the Hague.[13]

In November 2013, the Tribunal found Israel guilty of genocide of the Palestinian people.[14]

Legitimacy

The KLWCC did not have the support of any government. The former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, Param Cumaraswamy, called the KLWCC a private enterprise with no legal basis, and questioned its legitimacy.[15] It does not possess a mandate from the United Nations, nor does the UN grant it recognition. It has no power to order arrests or impose sentences, and it is unclear if its verdicts are anything other than symbolic.[16]

External links

Notes and References

  1. "Public papers used in mock war crimes trial of Bush and Blair " November 21, 2011, The Malay Mail.
  2. Web site: BUSH AND BLAIR TO BE TRIED FOR WAR CRIMES.. Nsnbc.wordpress.com . October 29, 2011 . December 20, 2011.
  3. Web site: Philosophers stone . Philosophers Stone . Philosophers Stone . December 20, 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111227224651/http://philosophers-stone.co.uk/wordpress/2011/10/bush-and-blair-to-be-tried-for-war-crimes/ . December 27, 2011 .
  4. Web site: Board of Trustees . Criminalisewar.org . December 20, 2011 . March 31, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120331084214/http://www.criminalisewar.org/trustees.html . dead .
  5. Web site: International News . fr . Internationalnews.over-blog.com . December 20, 2011.
  6. Web site: KLWCC judges . Criminalisewar.org . December 20, 2011 . January 5, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120105171006/http://criminalisewar.org/?page_id=64 . dead .
  7. Web site: Symbolic 'war crimes' tribunal to try Bush, Blair . November 15, 2011 . CBS News . 16 May 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120101115154/http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501712_162-57324770/symbolic-war-crimes-tribunal-to-try-bush-blair . January 1, 2012 .
  8. Web site: Bush, Blair guilty in Malaysia 'war crimes trial' . Ottawa Citizen . November 22, 2011 . November 24, 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111125082844/http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/Bush+Blair+guilty+Malaysia+crimes+trial/5748925/story.html#ixzz1eaKHipRQ . November 25, 2011 .
  9. Web site: Kuala Lumpur tribunal: Bush and Blair guilty . Richard Falk . November 15, 2011 . Al Jazeera.
  10. News: George W. Bush, Tony Blair found guilty of war crimes ... in Malaysia. National Post. November 22, 2011.
  11. Web site: War Tribunal Finds Bush, Cheney Guilty of War Crimes. Common Dreams. May 13, 2012.
  12. Web site: Are George W. Bush and Dick Cheney war criminals? Malaysian court says 'yes' . Holt, Bob . May 15, 2012 . NewJerseyNewsroom.com . 16 May 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120518234850/http://www.newjerseynewsroom.com/international/are-george-w-bush-and-dick-cheney-war-criminals-malaysian-court-says-yes . 18 May 2012.
  13. Web site: Bush Convicted of War Crimes in Absentia. Ridley, Yvonne. May 12, 2011 . Foreign Policy Journal . 16 May 2012.
  14. News: Marquardt-Bigman. Petra. Guess who finds Israel guilty of genocide?. The Jerusalem Post. December 5, 2013. May 12, 2020.
  15. dead.
  16. Web site: Bush and Cheney on Trial. Hunt, Luke. May 15, 2012 . The Diplomat . 17 May 2012.

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