Suliman Baldo
Africa Program Director, International Center for Transitional Justice
"Is a Warrant Against Bashir a Warrant Against Africa?"
"On March 4, 2009, a panel of three ICC judges issued an arrest warrant for Bashir at the prosecutor’s request. The judges found that Bashir had "intentionally directed attacks against an important part of the civilian population of Darfur, Sudan, murdering, exterminating, raping, torturing and forcibly transferring large numbers of civilians and pillaging their property." Read more »
Linda Bishai
Senior Program Officer, Education and Training Center/International, United States Institute of Peace
"Will Truth Bring Peace or Justice?"
"Although the attention of the International Criminal Court has focused on the case of Darfur, the history of all of Sudan since independence in 1956 has been a violent one with millions of lives lost and ways of life permanently affected. The civil war between North and South was one of Africa’s longest and bloodiest, going through several phases and only ending in 2005 with an uneasy power-sharing arrangement. There have also been sustained violent conflicts in Sudan’s Eastern region that have recently come to a negotiated end. When a country has existed with war for so many years it becomes difficult to know what kind of normality might even be possible." Read more »
Lucia DiCicco and John Washburn
The American Non-Governmental Organization Coaltition for the International Criminal Court (AMICC)
"The United States Should Cooperate with the International Criminal Court"
"The United States has always been a leader in fighting for human rights and accountability around the world. In fact, the United States was a leader in the Security Council’s creation of the tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. Moreover, the US played a major role in negotiating the Rome Statute but opposed the final draft of the Statue at the 1998 Rome Conference." Read more »
Anthony Dworkin
Executive Director, Crimes of War Project
"The Challenges of the ICC"
"Indeed, a closer look at the history of these African cases suggests that the real problem for the ICC is not any kind of Western imposition of justice on Africa (in any case, five of the ICC's judges are African) but rather the difficult interplay of international justice and domestic politics. Consider the case of Uganda: The country's president initially called in the ICC to put pressure on the rebel group the Lord's Resistance Army, but then he appeared to want to exclude the court once peace talks were underway. It will not help the credibility of the ICC and international justice generally if states continue to approach the ICC in such an instrumental way, as if it can be summoned and then dismissed in light of changing political or military circumstances." Read more »
Scott Gilmore
Center for Justice and Accountability
"Ending Impunity: The International Criminal Court in the Age of Accountability"
"The ICC's mission is inseparable from that of the broader movement for international justice. The ICC was designed to complement, not to replace, national courts. And, remarkably, after it was formed, some national courts began to take the lead in enforcing accountability." Read more »
Kevin Jon Heller
Senior Lecturer, Melbourne Law School
"Why is the Prosecutor So Focused on Africa?"
"The ICC is often derided as the “African Criminal Court.” That criticism, unfortunately, cannot easily be dismissed: all of the Office of the Prosecutor’s (OTP) current investigations focus on African states ... and it is analyzing the situations in three other African states — Cote D’Ivoire, Kenya, and Chad — to determine whether formal investigation is warranted. At the same time, the OTP has declined to investigate the situations in a number of non-African states, such as Venezuela and Iraq..." Read more »
Naomi Roht-Arriaza
Professor of Law and Author of The Pinochet Effect
"The Paradox of the ICC"
"How do you judge the success of the ICC? If it's by the number of prosecutions and convictions, the Court will probably always be adjudged a failure. It's unlikely to try more than a few cases at a time, and will always have to make hard choices about where to put limited prosecutorial resources. A lot of cases will never come within the Court's purview, including crimes committed before 2002 and those where neither the necessary states nor the Security Council can be convinced to act." Read more »
Brett D. Schaefer and Anthony B. Kim
The Heritage Foundation
"Crimes Need to be Punished, But is the ICC the Right Means?"
"One of the most basic principles of international law is that a state cannot be bound by a treaty to which it is not a party. Further, long-standing international legal norms hold that a state cannot be bound to legal assertions that it has specifically rejected. The ICC, however, directly contravenes these norms and precedents of international law; it claims jurisdiction to prosecute and imprison citizens of countries that are not party to the Rome Statute and, more shockingly, over those who have specifically rejected the court's jurisdiction." Read more »
Talk About This
This is an excellent film, sorely needed for the informing and enlightening of the American public. (Even just the basic history--why, when, and how the ICC started--was helpful; it gave the court a reality it hadn't previously had for this viewer.) I am convinced that whatever the opposition in its early years, this is the way global society must progress--and the sooner the U.S. joins, with full commitment, the better.
by Elsa Marston Harik
July 15, 2009, 12:34 AM
I watched "The Reckoning" tonight. Brilliant...and tragic. So full of hope, yet, so deflating. The ICC must be upheld and supported by America. Where is Obama? Why isn't Darfur high on his priorities list? What could possibly make South Africa a 'supporter' of al Bashir?
Are the cultures, the mores and the sensibilities of some African cultures so alien and/or inbred in tribalism, as to defy all moral logic and human dignity? What do they see in this monster, al Bashir, to come to his defense? Are we mad, are they soulless idiots?
I'll never be the same, again. There is almost no hope for mankind. There is no God. Tutu should become a janitor, or a night watchman. If "The Reckoning", was a true representation of events, then fool's abound.
by gary jenkins
July 15, 2009, 12:56 AM
I am extremely glad I caught this on television. I was completely ignorant to the fact that the ICC even existed. I now know better and I am hopeful that I can learn more about it. I always like to see documentaries that strive to be fair and unbiased in their execution, even if at times their beliefs seep through. It makes sure the facts are presented first whether the evidence is helpful for their case or not. I am hoping that the US can at least reconsider their position or at least weigh their options concerning the ICC. It seems we are isolating ourselves from the world to "protect" the American people but we are abandoning the rest of the world. Is this how we are supposed to remain a world power? It's an issue beyond the ICC at this point.
by Jenni Dunn
July 15, 2009, 12:59 AM
The United States will probably not join because it helps Fund the Israeli Genocide of the Palestine People.
The United States is also dragging its feet on the prosecution of its own War Criminals. President Obama says he does not want to look back. Is it to be expected that he will work to have all the World Wide Holocaust Museums removed?
by Anton Grambihler
July 15, 2009, 2:49 AM
Excellent! Please show it often.
by P Samuel
July 17, 2009, 1:06 AM
I think the United States won't join the ICC is because it may expose the other top nations (Russia and China)that won't join of our own bad support of selling the weapons to these countries and knowingly their purpose. There is much that can be spoken on this and it's not just Africa as some may think but Africa right now is the most unstable. I applaud the work of the ICC.
by David O'neal
July 20, 2009, 12:29 AM