Let’s Bring Trump to The Hague!

 

Can we bring Trump to The Hague for an international trial for human rights abuses? Before an international tribune with the world watching, he will be convicted of crimes against humanity. 

 

The International Criminal Court at The Hague can prosecute individuals for crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes “when certain conditions are met, such as when national courts are unwilling or unable to prosecute criminals or when the United Nations Security Council or individual states refer situations to the Court.”

 

Currently, these individuals have been or or currently being charged. Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony, Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo, and Congolese vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba. Let’s add Trump to the list.

 

The Prosecutor may open an investigation under three circumstances:

 

1. when a situation is referred to him or her by a state party;

 

2. when a situation is referred to him or her by the United Nations Security Council, acting to address a threat to international peace and security; or

 

3. when the Pre-Trial Chamber authorises him or her to open an investigation on the basis of information received from other sources, such as individuals or non-governmental organisations.”

 

These are the crimes for which an individual can be charged:

 

1. genocide (defined in article 6),

 

2. crimes against humanity (defined in article 7), 

 

3. war crimes (defined in article 8), and crimes of aggression (defined in article 8 bis) (which is not yet within the jurisdiction of the Court; see below).[65] In addition, article 70 defines offences against the administration of justice, which is a fifth category of crime for which individuals can be prosecuted.

 

Genocide Article 6 defines the crime of genocide as "acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group".[66] There are five such acts which constitute crimes of genocide under article 6:[67]

 

1. Killing members of a group

 

2.     Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group

 

3. Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction

 

4. Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group

 

5. Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group

 

 

Crimes against humanity Article 7 defines crimes against humanity as acts "committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack".[68] The article lists 16 such as individual crimes:[69]

 

1. Murder

2. Extermination

3. Enslavement

4. Deportation or forcible transfer of population

5. Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty

6. Torture

7. Rape

8. Sexual slavery

9. Enforced prostitution

10. Forced pregnancy

11. Enforced sterilization

12. Sexual violence

13. Persecution

14. Enforced disappearance of persons

15. Apartheid

16. Other inhumane act

 

War crimes Article 8 defines war crimes depending on whether an armed conflict is either international (which generally means it is fought between states) or non-international (which generally means that it is fought between non-state actors, such as rebel groups, or between a state and such non-state actors). In total there are 74 war crimes listed in article 8.[69] The most serious crimes, however, are those that constitute either grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, which only apply to international conflicts,[69] and serious violations of article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions of 1949, which apply to non-international conflicts.[70]

 

There are seven crimes which constitute serious violations of article 3 common to the Geneva Conventions and which are applicable only to non-international armed conflicts:[69]

 

1. Murder

2. Mutilation

3. Cruel treatment

4. Torture

5. Outrages upon personal dignity

6. Taking hostages

7. Sentencing or execution without due process

 

Additionally, there are 56 other crimes defined by article 8: 35 that apply to international armed conflicts and 21 that apply to non-international armed conflicts.[69] Such crimes include attacking civilians or civilian objects, attacking peacekeepers, causing excessive incidental death or damage, transferring populations into occupied territories, treacherously killing or wounding, denying quarter, pillaging, employing poison, using expanding bullets, rape and other forms of sexual violence, and conscripting or using child soldiers.[71]

 

Summary:

 

There are several crimes under which Trump can be tried. They are:

 

Genocide: 

1. Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group

2. Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group

 

Crimes against humanity:

1. Deportation or forcible transfer of population

2. Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty

3. Persecution

4. Enforced disappearance of persons

 

War crimes:

1. Denying a fair trial

2. Unlawful deportation and transfer

3. Unlawful confinement

 

It seems clear that Trump is eligible for prosecution by The Hague for crimes against humanity. The next step is to explore how we can get the United Nations to press charges. I think there are many members of the international community who would be happy to work on this project. I also think there may be several attorneys specializing in International Law who would be happy to assist.

--