Russian, Chinese stance on Syria criticised

The French ambassador in Lebanon has criticised the Russian and the Chinese position towards the current situation in Syria, and expressed his country’s disappointment for “the unjustified silence, which cannot last for long, because the Security Council will not be able to take a decision on the current situation in Syria due to Russia’s and China’s stance.” A seminar was held to discuss the fate of international justice within the 18th Francophone Book gallery, attended by the French Ambassador, Denis Pieton, Belgian Ambassador Collette Takeyh, and the Pope, Fadi Fadel. The seminar was dedicated to the soul of the president of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon late judge, Antonio Cassese, the lawman and the founding father of the special court, in which his impact still exists. Pieton gave a speech in which he discussed the changes in the Arab world, and pointed out to “the international criminal justice issue of human rights and respect for human life and the evolution of justice to democracy in time.” He said: “Decent life is in the heart of every Arab spring.” The French ambassador has declared that “France was and remains amongst the most prominent promoters for the international justice, it is, along with Britain, a permanent member of the Rome Treaty. French policy maintains the strongest commitment to fight impunity for those who commit crimes.” Pieton also spoke about the events experienced by the Arab world. “The Arab spring in Egypt, Libya, Yemen and Syria raises the question of honest respect for human rights and the right to life with dignity,” he said. Egypt and Tunisia have committed to the international legal path to prosecute their former officers. Libya also can choose its way to prosecute the people via the International Criminal Court (ICC). He also suggested to move the Libyan file from the UN Security Council to the ICC, which issued after three months of investigations an arrest warrant to Muammar Gaddafi, Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi and Abdel Alah Al-Sanonsi. Belgian ambassador Takeyh said that the Belgian reply to the challenges faced by international justice came through the adoption of universal jurisdiction law, which allowed Belgian courts to hear cases of serious violations of human rights without taking into account political immunities. This created many problems between 2001-2003, wherein a complaint submitted against Ariel Sharon, Yasser Arafat, Fidel Castro, George Bush and Dick Cheney led to strained relations between Belgium and the countries concerned. She concluded by saying: “International justice is not practised out of nowhere.” She also spoke about the relationship between law and power, which sometimes could be either an ally or a rival. She said that according to the Belgian experience, many victims are eager to pursue cases within an international jurisdiction. Fadi Fadel said: “Talking about the international justice in Lebanon means looking at the contribution of to keep peace and security in the country, which means the political contribution, not the actual role in making peace.” He also talked about the political role of international justice, and challenges that are to be faced to have an effective, non-politicised international justice system.