Why genocide is difficult to prove before an international criminal court

Why genocide is difficult to prove before an international criminal court

Transcript¹

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to war crimes expert Leila Sadat of Washington University in St. Luis, about what options the international community has for recourse over alleged² war crimes in Ukraine.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

As civilian³ deaths mount in Ukraine, some in the international community accuse Russia of war crimes. Others, including Ukraine's president, use another word - genocide. But that word is specifically defined as killing⁴ or other actions committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic⁵, racial or religious group. Is that what we're witnessing?

Leila Sadat is an international law professor at Washington University in St. Louis and advises the International Criminal Court prosecutor⁶ on crimes against humanity.

LEILA SADAT: Genocide is extremely difficult to prove before an international criminal court. That said, this does look like a pattern of ethnic cleansing⁷ or crimes against humanity.

FADEL: So what's the difference there? If it looks like ethnic cleansing, do Russia's actions in Ukraine then constitute genocide?

SADAT: That is a complicated question, Leila. The international community has said that sometimes ethnic cleansing can be a form of genocide. And we've seen that in early decisions from the International Criminal Court in the situation involving Darfur, where the prosecutor did charge genocide because there was, in fact, a pattern of ethnic cleansing - destroying villages, driving people away from their homes, terrorizing a civilian population - very similar pattern to what we saw in the former Yugoslavia, what we saw in Darfur and we are now seeing today in Ukraine.

FADEL: Why the international outcry here? I mean, Russian forces conducted themselves similarly in Syria - civilians⁸ being targeted and killed. We saw it in Chechnya - and now a call for war crime charges and possible genocide charges.

SADAT: We definitely have seen this before, and it's a really awful movie. Right now, Mariupol looks like Aleppo. In fairness, there were calls for criminal prosecution⁹. We had two vetoes by the Russian Federation¹⁰ in the Security Council with respect to Syria, and we did not have the international political well sufficient to overcome that through either the establishment of a no-fly zone to stop the atrocities¹¹ or creating a special tribunal to try those crimes, because the vehicle for getting to the International Criminal Court was blocked. Fortunately, Ukraine had the foresight¹² to declare that the International Criminal Court statute¹³ was applicable to its territory in 2014 and 2015. So unlike Syria's Assad - who would never, never accept the jurisdiction¹⁴ of the ICC - the Ukrainian president and parliament has done that. And so the ICC does have jurisdiction here. And one also has to say that I think at some point the fact that the invasion was done in such a blatant¹⁵ fashion to a European neighbor clearly played a part.

FADEL: You mentioned that genocide is really hard to prove, but right now what we're seeing in Bucha and Chernihiv - these places that have been liberated¹⁶ from Russian forces - are these pockets of genocide, or is that ethnic cleansing? I think for me, it's still kind of unclear to me legally what the difference is.

SADAT: So in the former Yugoslavia, the massacre¹⁷ at Srebrenica, for example, was labeled and adjudicated a genocide, even though some of the violence in other communities around the former Yugoslavia was labeled crimes against humanity. The differentiation¹⁸ that the tribunal made was that with respect to Srebrenica, we had a specific intent that we could demonstrate, and they actually used cell phone intercepts¹⁹ and documents and communications in order to show that. And they also showed that a substantial part of the population was exterminated²⁰ and that by exterminating²¹ the men and boys of Srebrenica - these 8,000 individuals who were slaughtered²² - that actually made it impossible for the community to ever be constituted again.

FADEL: Is it easy to assess based off the fact that we've seen mass graves, that we've seen these burned bodies, these bodies that have been stripped and people who had seemingly been executed, the mock executions, the sexual violence, all of this stuff?

SADAT: We are definitely seeing evidence of crimes against humanity and war crimes. Genocide requires this special intent. So we actually have to show that they're committing all these terrible crimes in order to destroy, in part or in whole, the particular group. And so that's why genocide is more difficult, because you have to get into the mind of the perpetrator, as opposed to being a look-in at the circumstantial evidence that we can see with our own eyes and our own ears.

FADEL: Yeah.

SADAT: The other thing I would say, Leila, is that crimes against humanity are just as serious as genocide. There's no hierarchy²³ here. Crimes against humanity is what the Nazis²⁴ were charged with for the Holocaust²⁵.

FADEL: Yeah.

SADAT: And so I know that the international community and victim groups tend to grab for this concept of genocide because we have a treaty on it, and we don't yet have the treaty on crimes against humanity, so it seems as if they're less important. They're not less important. They are absolutely horrific crimes that involve attacks on a civilian population and the dehumanization of the human spirit and human beings.

FADEL: Yeah.

SADAT: So it's really important to note that this idea of ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity is a very, very serious crime.

FADEL: Now, the U.S. has promised to help with any type of investigation²⁶ into possible Russian war crimes. But, you know, some people would point to the U.S. and say, well, this is hypocritical or politically motivated when the U.S. is not a member of the ICC and does not appear to want to be held accountable for its own alleged war crimes.

SADAT: It is hypocritical, and yet it's a really good thing. The Biden administration is seriously considering dismantling²⁷ some of the obstacles to cooperation with the International Criminal Court because it can see that this is exactly the kind of situation the ICC was created to address. We have a prosecutor already with jurisdiction. We have judges already to approve arrest warrants and hear confirmation²⁸ cases. We don't have to staff up and hire new people and figure out what laws should be applied²⁹. We have a court ready and willing to do the job, and those of us who have been involved with the International Criminal Court for 20 years have been making this argument for 20 years. So is the United States coming a day late to the party? It absolutely is. And I think it's great that it's finally getting there.

FADEL: Leila Sadat is a professor of international law at Washington University in St. Louis. Thank you for speaking with us.

SADAT: Thank you. It was really a pleasure.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

3 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

4 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

5 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

6 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

7 cleansing   

n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词

参考例句：

• medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin 敏感皮肤药物清洗棉
• Soap is not the only cleansing agent. 肥皂并不是唯一的清洁剂。

8 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

9 prosecution   

n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营

参考例句：

• The Smiths brought a prosecution against the organizers.史密斯家对组织者们提出起诉。
• He attempts to rebut the assertion made by the prosecution witness.他试图反驳原告方证人所作的断言。

10 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

11 atrocities   

n.邪恶，暴行( atrocity的名词复数 )；滔天大罪

参考例句：

• They were guilty of the most barbarous and inhuman atrocities. 他们犯有最野蛮、最灭绝人性的残暴罪行。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The enemy's atrocities made one boil with anger. 敌人的暴行令人发指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 foresight   

n.先见之明，深谋远虑

参考例句：

• The failure is the result of our lack of foresight.这次失败是由于我们缺乏远虑而造成的。
• It required a statesman's foresight and sagacity to make the decision.作出这个决定需要政治家的远见卓识。

13 statute   

n.成文法，法令，法规；章程，规则，条例

参考例句：

• Protection for the consumer is laid down by statute.保障消费者利益已在法令里作了规定。
• The next section will consider this environmental statute in detail.下一部分将详细论述环境法令的问题。

14 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

15 blatant   

adj.厚颜无耻的；显眼的；炫耀的

参考例句：

• I cannot believe that so blatant a comedy can hoodwink anybody.我无法相信这么显眼的一出喜剧能够欺骗谁。
• His treatment of his secretary was a blatant example of managerial arrogance.他管理的傲慢作风在他对待秘书的态度上表露无遗。

16 liberated   

a.无拘束的，放纵的

参考例句：

• The city was liberated by the advancing army. 军队向前挺进，解放了那座城市。
• The heat brings about a chemical reaction, and oxygen is liberated. 热量引起化学反应，释放出氧气。

17 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

18 differentiation   

n.区别，区分

参考例句：

• There can be no differentiation without contrast. 有比较才有差别。
• The operation that is the inverse of differentiation is called integration. 与微分相反的运算叫做积分。

19 intercepts   

（数学）截距( intercept的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It intercepts a portion of the light impinging on the photocell. 它遮住一部分照射在光电管上的光。
• The pelletfilter intercepts the particulate matter. 颗粒过滤器将颗粒物进行拦截。

20 exterminated   

v.消灭，根绝( exterminate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It was exterminated root and branch. 它被彻底剪除了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The insects can be exterminated by spraying DDT. 可以用喷撒滴滴涕的方法大量杀死这种昆虫。 来自《用法词典》

21 exterminating   

v.消灭，根绝( exterminate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Man is exterminating too many species for zoos to be much help. 人类正在导致过多物种灭绝，动物园也无济于事。 来自辞典例句
• Germany is exterminating the Jews of Europe. 德国正在灭绝欧洲犹太人。 来自辞典例句

22 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 hierarchy   

n.等级制度；统治集团，领导层

参考例句：

• There is a rigid hierarchy of power in that country.那个国家有一套严密的权力等级制度。
• She's high up in the management hierarchy.她在管理阶层中地位很高。

24 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

25 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

26 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

27 dismantling   

（枪支）分解

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。
• The dismantling of a nuclear reprocessing plant caused a leak of radioactivity yesterday. 昨天拆除核后处理工厂引起了放射物泄漏。

28 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

29 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。