Posted on 10/28/2004 3:47:07 PM PDT by americandarnproud
The United Nations has refused a U.S. request to assist Iraqi judges and prosecutors seeking to try former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and his top lieutenants for war crimes, saying that a new Iraqi special tribunal includes a death penalty provision opposed by the United Nations and fails to meet the minimum standards of justice.
The Bush administration appealed to the U.N. war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to send some judges and prosecutors to a training conference in London for members of the Iraqi tribunal. But U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan's office sent the court's chief prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, a letter barring her staff from attending the week-long conference, which ended Monday, according to U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
"The United Nations noted that serious doubts exist regarding the capability of the Iraqi special tribunal to meet relevant international standards," Dujarric said at a news conference at U.N. headquarters Friday. He added that Annan maintains that "U.N. officials should not be directly involved in lending assistance to any court or tribunal that is empowered to impose the death penalty."
The United Nations was constrained in its ability to cooperate with the court without a "specific mandate" from "a competent political organ," such as the U.N. Security Council or the General Assembly, Dujarric said.
The decision was a blow to the United States and Iraq's interim government, who had hoped that a U.N. imprimatur on the court's activities would lend it greater international credibility. In a meeting at U.N. headquarters last month, interim Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi personally appealed to Annan to support Iraq's efforts to bring the country's former leaders to justice. But Annan warned Allawi that the United Nations has serious concerns about the statute that established the court, which allows the death penalty, according to a U.N. official.
I'd be laughing at the UN if they weren't so dangerous. The UN has almost single-handedly promoted islamic terrorism to the world stage.
US out of UN now!!!
Preferable after Clinton is named Sec. Gen. - 2 sh_tbirds with one stone!
The UN is a joke and will be saddened and shocked on 01/20/05!
They sure wanted to if it involved our military !
They sure as hell don't want the nitty-gritty of their dealings with Hussein out before the world
"U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan's office sent the court's chief prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, a letter barring her staff from attending the week-long conference..."
So now we have Emperor Kofi? HE makes all the decisions?
Yep the UN is definitely in trouble and headed out of
New York, I hope!
I can't imagine why Bush made this request, unless he knew he'd be turned down. Involving the UN in the process would be a total disaster from every point of view. Not only because they would do a lousy job in Iraq, but because it would lend the UN further legitimacy in the bogus field of international law.
The UN needs to be kicked out of the US. Now. They are rendering themselves totally irrelevant. Rendering, as the process of turning roadkill carcasses into pure lard.
Of course they don't want to be involved in any legally applied death penalty. After all, that would be something legal. But, it's OK to drag feet while tens of thousands are murdered, starved, tortured in various places around the world as islamic terrorists grip more and more political power.
Their hatred is so pronounced against the U.S., that they can't even see their way clear to help U.S. ally Iraq carry out a legitimate war crimes trial.
Iraq could have decided to do a closed door trial, but instead wanted to make sure the procedings were above board and fair.
Hussein's actions killed millions, but the U.N. determins it's inhumane to consider his execution. This is a highly immoral stance.
The UN and it's various members hate the US because we won't just go away and let them 'feel good' about what they do [don't do]. We have the audacity of making them see things like torture, murder, starvation and won't let them just play with all that money and pat each other on the back about what good guys they are!
I agree with you Ruth, but I'd add this. The U.N. hates the United States because it is the 'only' nation on the planet that is powerful enough to overpower it's decisions. The U.N. wants to be the global governance body of the planet, and they've been waging an effort for decades to make it happen.
Ruth, don't let anyone kid you, they are making it happen. Stand up against the U.N. and any of our elected officials who by open agreement, or by clandestine subtrifuge assist the U.N. in attaining it's goals.
Kyoto, Biosphere Preserves, international trade agreements, open borders, international bodies of governance, NGOs, UNICEF, these are all measures utilized by the U.N. to take self-determination out of the hands of U.S. citizens.
Take care.
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