The International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), was a body of the United Nations established to prosecute serious crimes committed during the Yugoslav Wars, and to try their perpetrators. The tribunal was an ad hoc court located in The Hague, Netherlands.
Charles McArthur Ghankay Taylor is a Liberian former politician and convicted war criminal who served as the 22nd President of Liberia from 2 August 1997 until his resignation on 11 August 2003.
David M. Crane is an American lawyer who was the Chief Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) from April 2002 until July 15, 2005. During his tenure, he indicted, among others, the then-President of Liberia, Charles Taylor. Crane was replaced as chief prosecutor by his deputy Desmond de Silva. On April 26, 2012, the SCSL, sitting in The Hague, convicted Taylor on various charges.
International criminal law is a body of public international law designed to prohibit certain categories of conduct commonly viewed as serious atrocities and to make perpetrators of such conduct criminally accountable for their perpetration. The core crimes under international law are genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression. This article also discusses crimes against international law, which may not be part of the body of international criminal law.
The Special Court for Sierra Leone, or the "Special Court" (SCSL), also called the Sierra Leone Tribunal, was a judicial body set up by the government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations to "prosecute persons who bear the greatest responsibility for serious violations of international humanitarian law and Sierra Leonean law" committed in Sierra Leone after 30 November 1996 and during the Sierra Leone Civil War. The court's working language was English. The court listed offices in Freetown, The Hague, and New York City.
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), also referred to as the Lebanon Tribunal or the Hariri Tribunal, is a tribunal of international character applying Lebanese criminal law to carry out the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the 14 February 2005 assassination of Rafic Hariri, the former Lebanese prime minister, and the deaths of 21 others, as well as those responsible for connected attacks.
Karim A. A. Khan QC is a British lawyer and a specialist in international criminal law and international human rights law. Following his appointment by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, he is currently an Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations and serves as the Special Adviser and Head of the UN Investigative Team for the Promotion of Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da'esh/ISIL in Iraq (UNITAD), which was established pursuant to Security Council Resolution 2379 (2017) to support domestic efforts to hold ISIL (Da'esh) accountable for acts that may amount to war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity in Iraq.
A new civil war began in 1999 when a rebel group backed by the government of neighboring Guinea, the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), emerged in northern Liberia. By the spring of 2001, they were posing a major threat to the Taylor government. Liberia was now engaged in a complex three-way conflict with Sierra Leone and the Guinea Republic. By the beginning of 2002, both of these countries were supporting the latest addition to the lexicon of Liberian guerrilla outfits – Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), while Taylor was supporting various opposition factions in both countries. By supporting Sierra Leonean rebels, Taylor also drew the enmity of the British and Americans.
Belgisch Park is a neighbourhood in the Scheveningen district of The Hague, Netherlands. The area has around 7,900 residents and contains many trees and the adjoining “Nieuwe Scheveningse Bosjes” and “Oostduinen”. The buildings date from the period 1870–1940. Many of the houses are expensive private residences.
People detained by the International Criminal Court (ICC) are held in the ICC's detention centre, which is located within a Dutch prison in Scheveningen, The Hague. The ICC was established in 2002 as a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. As of June 2018, it has issued public arrest warrants for 42 individuals, six of whom are currently in custody of the court.
The Hague Penitentiary Institution is a Dutch prison that is part of the Judicial Institutions Department of the Ministry of Justice. It can accommodate more than 1,000 detainees and consists of two locations, at Zoetermeer and Scheveningen. The Zoetermeer location is for Systematic offenders and the Scheveningen location serves as a Penitentiary Psychiatric Center, the 'open design' Limited Secured Installation and Judicial Medical Center. A special independent unit in the Scheveningen location serves as a United Nations Detention Unit (UNDU) for international offenders where they remain in pre-trial detention under the responsibility of the United Nations like suspects of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
United Nations Security Council resolution 1315, adopted unanimously on 14 August 2000, after expressing concern at serious crimes committed in Sierra Leone, the Council expressed its intention to establish the Special Court for Sierra Leone to deal with violations of human rights, international law and war crimes in the country.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1436, adopted unanimously on 24 September 2002, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Sierra Leone, the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) for a further six months beginning on 30 September 2002.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1497, adopted on 1 August 2003, after expressing concern at the situation in Liberia, the Council authorised a multinational force to intervene in the civil war to support the implementation of a ceasefire agreement using "all necessary measures".
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1941, adopted unanimously on September 29, 2010, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Sierra Leone, particularly Resolution 1886 (2009), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL) until September 15, 2011.
United Nations Security Council resolution 1638, adopted unanimously on 11 November 2005, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Liberia, Sierra Leone and West Africa, the Council included the apprehension, detention and transfer to the Special Court for Sierra Leone of former Liberian President Charles Taylor in the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1667, adopted unanimously on March 31, 2006, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situations in Liberia and the subregion, particularly resolutions 1626 (2005) and 1638 (2005), the Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) until September 30, 2006.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1689, adopted unanimously on June 20, 2006, after recalling all previous resolutions on the situation in Liberia and West Africa, the Council decided to continue sanctions against the import of diamonds from the country for six months, though similar restrictions relating to timber imports were lifted.
The United Nations Detention Unit (UNDU) is a UN-administered jail. It is part of the Hague Penitentiary Institution's Scheveningen location, more popularly known as Scheveningen Prison, in The Hague, Netherlands. The UNDU was established in 1993 as part of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and currently houses detainees whose cases have been taken over by the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT).
Alain Werner is a Swiss human rights lawyer, specialized in the defence of victims of armed conflicts, founder and director of Civitas Maxima (CM), an international network of lawyers and investigators based in Geneva that since 2012 represents victims of mass crimes in their attempts to obtain justice.
