Crimes of War

February 15, 2002

International Court of Justice Strikes Blow to Belgium’s Attempts to Prosecute War Crimes

The International Court of Justice ruled on February 14, 2002, that Belgium would not be permitted to prosecute a foreign government minister for war crimes because representatives of foreign governments are entitled to diplomatic immunity.

The Belgian government brought charges against Congolese foreign minister Yerodia Ndombasi in April of 2000 for the 1998 killings of ethnic Tutsis in the Democratic Republic of Congo under a Belgian law that allows its national courts to hear cases of war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity - no matter where they were committed.

Human rights activists, fearing the ruling would likely stymie attempts to charge world leaders with war crimes, expressed disappointment about the ruling.

"This is a disappointing decision because it effectively shields some state officials from prosecution for atrocities," said Reed Brody, Advocacy Director of Human Rights Watch. "Government ministers who commit crimes against humanity and war crimes are not likely to be prosecuted at home, and this ruling means they will enjoy impunity abroad as well. This decision goes against the international trend towards accountability for the worst abuses."

Belgium had attempted to file similar charges against Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon for his role in the killings of hundreds of civilians at the Sabra and Chatila refugee camps by a Lebanese Christian militia allied to Israel in 1982. Sharon was Israel's defense minister at the time.

The case against Sharon had been suspended while an appeals court decided whether Belgium has jurisdiction on the matter. A spokesman for the Belgian foreign ministry said he believed the case against the Israeli prime minister would now be dropped in light of the Court's ruling.

Belgian courts had also been deliberating over a case filed against Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for his roll in a series of bomb attacks and killings over the past two decades.

The Belgian legislation, passed in 1993, was used in the spring of 2001 to prosecute two Rwandan nuns for their role in the country's genocide. They were sentenced to 12 and 15 years in prison.

Legal experts and human rights said the Belgian legislation was a part of a growing trend towards accountability for war crimes and that the court's ruling dealt a major blow to the concept of universal jurisdiction, an essential tool in the emerging system of international justice.