HRJP Human Rights Joint Platform
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Although important developments have been realized on the path of building mechanisms to prevent human rights violations through the last century, especially preventive mechanisms to eliminate collective violations committed under control of the legal or de facto holders of power, who are also state or non state actors, were underestimated; and non governmental organizations working in this field did not be able to eliminate these kinds of violations.
In our age, local, regional, and global conflicts, civil wars, and military interventions between the states forced the concept of war, which is totally unacceptable in terms of human rights, turn into a method of using force against the humankind, rather than an inter-armies conflict. The twentieth century is full of examples showing how the wars can create grave and inhuman problems which are also devaluing human life. These grave problems are not only results of the wars, but types of ruling which are shaped by racist, discriminative, and nationalist ideologies also use inhuman treatments against the communities which are in fact under legal protection of themselves and even try to implement genocide policies aiming to totally destroy those communities.
In this age of the nation states, the global failure in the fight against genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes is a result of the understanding which perceives the field of security, a huge space from public order to war, as an integral part of the state sovereignty. World War II showed that the concept of human rights is not an area to be left to the monopoly of the states. Therefore, the mechanisms related with the protection of human rights have been developed on the global level. However, these mechanisms are not effective enough in terms of collective violations. Being established after World War II and having protection of human rights as an important part of its function, the United Nations could not be influential in protecting human rights, and legal mechanism against impunity were not given a room under this roof because of its structure based on decision making bodies which are totally dependant on the individual states.
In today’s world, important and effective tools for eliminating human rights violations are institutions and bodies which will aim to avoid violations, punish the perpetrators, and also create a system of justice which is global, not under mandate of individual states, fair and legitimate for everyone. Although a progress for preventive mechanisms has not been realized, a foundation for a global judicial body to punish the perpetrators of human rights violations has been laid by signing the Rome Statute in 1998, and International Criminal Court started its work after being established in 2002 on the basis of this Statute.
The utter helplessness of the states and non-governmental organizations in preventing genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Bosnia, Somalia, Kosovo, Eastern Zaire, and Palestine during the 90s, and punishing the responsible individuals had also played an important role in the establishment process of the Court. As a result of this failure, the idea of establishing a permanent court has been developed and promoted by all the institutions and bodies sensitive to human rights issues.
The Rome Statute has been supported by many states and more than 100 states accepted the jurisdiction of the Court by ratifying the Statute. However, there are also some other states like the USA, and Israel which did not ratify the Statute yet. Moreover some of these states do not hesitate to enact international agreements to paralyze the Court. For instance, the USA forces the states, which are parties to the Statute, or not, to violate the Statute by signing bilateral agreements.
Having legislated a legal mechanism for “repatriation of criminals” for the crimes under the jurisdiction of ICC (article 38) with the constitutional amendments in 2004, Turkey still did not show a will to be a party of the Statute.
We, the founding members of the International Criminal Court Coalition Turkey, want Turkey to have the statute of a party state as soon as possible because of the following reasons:
1. International Criminal Court is a body established to realize a mechanism to guarantee
that the perpetrators of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes will not be subject of impunity and its success is dependant on the support from all the states in the world.
2. The Rome Statute is the first step for a new global order where any understanding or initiative seeing security only its own mandate, trying to hide its responsibility for its own acts by economic or military power; and therefore becoming a threat to the humanity will not be subject of impunity.
3. With this mechanism, the party states will empower their own legal systems against the mentioned crimes, because of their commitment to the jurisdiction of ICC which interferes to punish those crimes, if a party state is not able to punish them effectively.
4. Being a party to the Rome Statute is an important step taken to make the rule of law accepted far beyond the borders, on the global level. Any party state which has this title, will contribute to the realization of peace and well being on the global level by agreeing to be away from committing genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
If Turkey really wants to react the threats against humanity and peace, she should support all the political and legal initiatives in this context.
International Criminal Court should not be driven into a corner where it has been dealt only as a judicial body or a technical issue related with the jurists.
Keeping in mind that ICC, which means a struggle for establishing a rule of law serving to the goal of a life in dignity for anyone; from children to women, from the disabled to the elderly, or any groups having potential to be target of discrimination because of their ethnic, religious, lingual, and racial differences, is an issue which should be attended by all the segments of the society; we, the founders of the coalition, invite the civil society organizations to actively participate in and take responsibility for promoting the Rome Statute to the public, and making Turkey be a party of the Statute as soon as possible.
ICC Coalition Turkey Founding Members
Amnesty International Turkey
Diyarbakır Bar Association
Helsinki Citizens Assembly
Human Rights Agenda Association
Human Rights Association
Human Rights Foundation of Turkey
Organization of Human Rights and Solidarity For Oppressed People
