Dakar (AFP) - Gambia has announced its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, accusing the Hague-based tribunal of the "persecution and humiliation of people of colour, especially Africans".

The announcement late Tuesday comes after similar decisions this month by South Africa and Burundi to abandon the troubled institution, set up to try the world's worst crimes.

Information Minister Sheriff Bojang said in an announcement on state television that the court had been used "for the persecution of Africans and especially their leaders" while ignoring crimes committed by the West.

He singled out the case of former British prime minister Tony Blair, who the ICC decided not to indict over the Iraq war.

"There are many Western countries, at least 30, that have committed heinous war crimes against independent sovereign states and their citizens since the creation of the ICC and not a single Western war criminal has been indicted."

The withdrawal, he said, "is warranted by the fact that the ICC, despite being called International Criminal Court, is in fact an International Caucasian Court for the persecution and humiliation of people of colour, especially Africans".

The ICC, set up in 2002, is often accused of bias against Africa and has also struggled with a lack of cooperation, including from the United States, which has signed the court's treaty but never ratified it.

Gambia has been trying without success to use the court to punish the European Union for deaths of thousands of African migrants trying to reach its shores.

The decision will also come as a personal blow to the court's chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, a former Gambian justice minister.

The court at the weekend asked South Africa and Burundi to reconsider their decisions to leave, which came as a major blow to the institution.

"I urge them to work together with other States in the fight against impunity, which often causes massive violations of human rights," Sidiki Kaba, president of the assembly of state parties to the ICC founding treaty, said in a statement.

South Africa's decision followed a dispute last year when Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir visited the country despite being the subject of an ICC arrest warrant over alleged war crimes.

Earlier this month, Burundi said it would leave the court, while Namibia and Kenya have also raised the possibility.

Kaba said he was concerned that South Africa and Burundi's decisions would pave the way for other African states to leave the court.

The tribunal is tasked with "prosecuting the most serious crimes that shock the conscience of humanity, namely genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of aggression".

The court's former prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo criticised Burundi and South Africa, accusing them of giving leaders on the continent a free hand "to commit genocide".

"Burundi is leaving the ICC to keep committing crimes against humanity and possible genocide in its territory. Burundi's president wants free hands to attack civilians."

He added that former South African president Nelson Mandela had "promoted the establishment of the Court to avoid new massive crimes in Africa. Now under the Zuma leadership South Africa decided to cover up the crimes and abandoned African victims. The world is going backward".

"The chaos is coming. Genocide in Burundi and a new African war are in motion," he said. </s> Image copyright AFP Image caption President Yahya Jammeh has ruled Gambia since 1994

The Gambia says it will pull of the International Criminal Court (ICC) after accusing the tribunal of persecuting and humiliating Africans.

The small West African nation joins South Africa and Burundi in withdrawing from the court.

The ICC was set up to try the world's worst crimes but has been accused of unfairly targeting African leaders.

Gambian Information Minister Sheriff Bojang said the court had ignored Western war crimes.

He said the ICC, for example, had failed to indict former British Prime Minister Tony Blair over the Iraq war.

Speaking on state television, he said the ICC was "an International Caucasian Court for the persecution and humiliation of people of colour, especially Africans".

The ICC's chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, is a former Gambian justice minister.

President Yahya Jammeh has ruled The Gambia since taking power in a coup in 1994.

Elections are due in December, but opposition leader Ousainou Darboe and 18 others were jailed for three years earlier this year over an unauthorised protest.

The country has been unsuccessfully trying to have the European Union indicted by the court over the deaths of thousands of African migrants trying to reach the continent by boat.

The ICC and global justice:

Came into force in 2002

The Rome Statute that set it up has been ratified by 123 countries, but the US is a notable absence

It aims to prosecute and bring to justice those responsible for the worst crimes - genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes

In the court's 14-year history it has only brought charges against Africans.

What is the International Criminal Court?

South Africa said last week that it had formally begun the process of withdrawing from the ICC because it did not want to execute arrest warrants which would lead to "regime change".

Last year, a South African court criticised the government for refusing to arrest Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the court.

Burundi has also said it will leave the court, while other Africa countries like Kenya and Namibia have said they might.

All but one of the ICC's 10 investigations have been Africa-based. </s> A third African country, Gambia, says it will leave the International Criminal Court as fears grow of a mass pullout from the body that pursues some of the world's worst atrocities.

Gambia announced the decision on television Tuesday night, accusing the court of unfairly targeting Africa and calling it the "International Caucasian Court for the persecution and humiliation of people of color, especially Africans."

The move comes after South Africa, once a strong ICC supporter under former President Nelson Mandela, last week notified the United Nations secretary-general it would leave the court. Early last week, Burundi's president signed legislation to leave the court as well.

The withdrawal of the African countries has been criticized by human rights groups. "Shameful club of leaders who ignore victims of atrocity crimes," the EU director for Human Rights Watch, Lotte Leicht, tweeted Wednesday. The court was set up to pursue cases of alleged genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Gambia's decision is also striking because the ICC's chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, is Gambian.

The information minister of the tiny West African country, Sheriff Baba Bojang, said in the statement late Tuesday that the court is involved in "the persecution of Africans, and especially their leaders."

Only Africans have been charged in the six ICC cases that are ongoing or about to begin, though preliminary ICC investigations have opened elsewhere.

Under the Rome Statute that created the International Criminal Court, signatory countries have a legal obligation to arrest anyone sought by the tribunal, but some African states have allowed people wanted by the ICC, notably Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, to visit, and some say leaders ought to be immune from prosecution.

Gambia's information minister accused "at least 30" Western countries of having committed war crimes against their citizens since the ICC was founded more than a decade ago and said none has been targeted by the court. He singled out former British prime minister Tony Blair for his role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Gambia has begun the process of withdrawing from the ICC, which involves notifying the U.N. secretary-general and takes effect a year after the notification is received, said the minister.

So far, the U.N. has said it has received notification only from South Africa.

Rights groups often accuse Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, one of Africa's longest-serving leaders, of abuses including a clampdown on political opponents. The next presidential election is in December.

Officials with other top African critics of the court, including Uganda and Kenya, have said in recent days they have not yet decided whether to leave the ICC as well. Uganda said it will be a "hot topic" at an African Union meeting in January. </s> Gambia has been trying without success to use the ICC to punish the European Union for deaths of thousands of African migrants trying to reach its shores. By (AFP/File)

Dakar (AFP) - The Gambia has become the latest African nation to announce its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, accusing the war crimes tribunal of persecuting Africans.

The move by the poor West African nation follows similar decisions this month by South Africa and Burundi to abandon the troubled institution, set up to try the world's worst crimes.

Banjul's announcement late Tuesday will be a personal blow to The Hague-based tribunal's chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, a Gambian lawyer and former justice minister.

Gambian Information Minister Sheriff Bojang said on state television that the ICC had been used "for the persecution of Africans and especially their leaders" while ignoring crimes committed by the West.

He singled out the case of former British prime minister Tony Blair, who the court decided not to indict over the Iraq war.

"There are many Western countries, at least 30, that have committed heinous war crimes against independent sovereign states and their citizens since the creation of the ICC and not a single Western war criminal has been indicted."

"The ICC, despite being called International Criminal Court, is in fact an International Caucasian Court for the persecution and humiliation of people of colour, especially Africans".

The ICC, set up in 2002, is often accused of bias against Africa and has also struggled with a lack of cooperation, including from the United States, which has signed the court's treaty but never ratified it.

The Gambia has been trying without success to use the court to punish the European Union for deaths of thousands of African migrants trying to reach its shores.

The announcement comes just weeks before a December 1 presidential election in The Gambia, which has been ruled by Yahya Jammeh since he took power in a 1994 coup.

Rights groups accuse Jammeh, who is seeking a fifth term, of having created a climate of fear and of having quashed any dissent against his regime.

South Africa's announcement on Friday followed a dispute last year when Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir visited the country despite being the subject of an ICC arrest warrant for alleged war crimes including genocide.

The ICC has appealed to both South Africa and Burundi to reconsider.

"I urge them to work together with other States in the fight against impunity, which often causes massive violations of human rights," Sidiki Kaba, president of the assembly of state parties to the ICC's founding treaty, said in a statement Monday.

Kaba had said he was concerned that South Africa and Burundi's decisions would pave the way for other African states to leave the court, a possibility also raised by Kenya and Namibia.

The tribunal was set up in 2002 and is tasked with "prosecuting the most serious crimes that shock the conscience of humanity, namely genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of aggression".

Former ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo accused Burundi and South Africa of giving leaders on the continent a free hand "to commit genocide".

"Burundi is leaving the ICC to keep committing crimes against humanity and possible genocide in its territory. Burundi's president wants free hands to attack civilians," he said.

He added that former South African president Nelson Mandela had "promoted the establishment of the court to avoid new massive crimes in Africa".

"Now under the Zuma leadership South Africa decided to cover up the crimes and abandoned African victims. The world is going backward," he said, referring to current President Jacob Zuma.

"The chaos is coming. Genocide in Burundi and a new African war are in motion." </s> A third African country, Gambia, says it will leave the International Criminal Court as fears grow of a mass pullout from the body that pursues some of the world's worst atrocities.

Gambia announced the decision on television Tuesday night, accusing the court of unfairly targeting Africa and calling it the "International Caucasian Court."

The move comes after South Africa, once a strong ICC supporter under former President Nelson Mandela, notified the United Nations secretary-general it would leave the court.

Early last week, Burundi's president signed legislation to leave the court as well.

Only Africans have been charged in the six ICC cases that are ongoing or about to begin, though preliminary ICC investigations have opened elsewhere.

Gambia's decision is also striking because the ICC's chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, is Gambian.

The information minister of the tiny West African country, Sheriff Baba Bojang, said in the statement late Tuesday that the court is involved in "the persecution of Africans, and especially their leaders." He accused "at least 30" Western countries of having committed war crimes against their citizens since the ICC was founded more than a decade ago and said none has been targeted by the court.

The minister said Gambia has begun the process of withdrawing from the ICC, which involves notifying the U.N. secretary-general and takes effect a year after the notification is received.

Rights groups often accuse Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, one of Africa's longest-serving leaders, of abuses including a clampdown on political opponents. The next presidential election is in December.

Officials with other top African critics of the court, including Uganda and Kenya, have said in recent days they have not yet decided whether to leave the ICC as well. Uganda said it will be a "hot topic" at an African Union meeting in January. </s> South Africa's High Court has ruled the country's decision to leave the International Criminal Court (ICC) is unconstitutional. Last October, South Africa notified the United Nations its decision to leave the court claiming its membership conflicted with diplomatic immunity laws.

It is not clear whether the government would appeal the court's ruling. The process of withdrawal lasts one year and, in the case of South Africa, would take place this October.

The decision to leave the court, accused of bias by some African countries, was opposed by the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA).

Following the ruling on 22 October, the party said on its Twitter page: "We have won in our application to have SA's withdrawal from the #ICC set aside."

South Africa had longed warned it would leave the ICC following widespread criticism for its refusal to arrest Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, wanted by the ICC for alleged crimes including genocide committed during the Darfur conflict, which began in 2003.

Under the Rome Statute, South Africa as an ICC member has an obligation to arrest anyone sought by the tribunal.

Bashir has always rejected the charges and refuses to stand trial as his country does not recognise the ICC's jurisdiction, which the head of state slammed as "a tool to terrorise countries that the West thinks are disobedient."

Earlier this year, the South African Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) upheld a High Court ruling that the government should have arrested Bashir while he was in the country in June 2015. Earlier in October, Burundi became the first nation to announce its intention to leave the ICC.

Is the ICC biased towards Africa?

Some African leaders and analysts have claimed the ICC seems prone to prosecute African figures, while it ignores perpetrators of the same crimes in other parts of the world.

South Africa and Burundi announced their withdrawal in 2016, claiming, among other things, that the ICC was biased towards African nations.

Gambia, under the leadership of former leader Yahya Jammeh, also announced it would pull out from the organisation, arguing the court "ignores war crimes" committed by Western countries. But new leader Adama Barrow said he will revert the decision.

Kenya, which the ICC is currently investigating, said it was watching the withdrawals "with very keen interest."

Earlier this year, the African Union (AU) approved a strategy for a mass withdrawal from the ICC, signalling Africa's increasing frustration towards the perceived biased attitude of the court.

However, in an exclusive interview with IBTimes UK, the court rejected allegations of bias against African countries and denied its investigations focus exclusively on Africa. A spokesperson for the court said the prosecutor's office is conducting preliminary examinations on other continents, including Afghanistan, Colombia, Iraq, Palestine and Ukraine. </s> Gambian Information Minister Sheriff Bojang charged that the ICC had been used "for the persecution of Africans and especially their leaders" while ignoring crimes committed by the West.

"Not a single Western war criminal has been indicted," he said on state television, naming former British prime minister Tony Blair as one who should have faced prosecution in the court.

"The ICC, despite being called International Criminal Court, is in fact an International Caucasian Court for the persecution and humiliation of people of colour, especially Africans," he said.

The Hague-based court, set up in 2002, is often accused of bias against Africa and has struggled with a lack of cooperation, including from the United States, which has signed the court's treaty but never ratified it.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon's spokesman said the body had not received any official communication from either The Gambia or Burundi but added that Ban would "very much regret it" if they left.

"There is obviously a debate going on about the functioning of the ICC but those concerns should be raised within the assembly of state parties before taking any drastic action like leaving the ICC."

"Rather than joining this drastic march away from justice, other African states should follow the lead of Botswana and many concerned African member states which have encouraged countries to work constructively with the Court to resolve any legitimate issues," it said in a statement.

The Gambian information minister's critique of the ICC runs counter to comments in May by President Yahya Jammeh, who has ruled the poor West African country since taking power in a 1994 coup.

"Let those who want to leave the ICC go, but if African countries were less weak and more united, we could have more clout inside the court."

The Gambia has been trying without success to use the court to punish the European Union for the deaths of thousands of African migrants trying to reach its shores.

The announcement comes just weeks before a December 1 presidential election in which the opposition is to field a single candidate against Jammeh, who is seeking a fifth term.

"I urge them to work together with other States in the fight against impunity, which often causes massive violations of human rights," Sidiki Kaba, president of the assembly of state parties to the ICC's founding treaty, said in a statement Monday. </s> Burundian MPs raise their hands to vote for withdrawal from the International Criminal Court on October 12, 2016. PHOTO | AFP

Burundi on Thursday formally notified the UN of its withdrawal from the International Criminal Court, dealing a blow to the tribunal seen as a pillar of international justice.

South Africa was the first to take the formal step at the UN last week and Gambia has also said it plans to pull out of the Rome treaty that created the ICC.

The withdrawal takes effect one year after the letter is received.

The United Nations is calling on South Africa and Burundi to reverse their decisions.

"That withdrawal can be withdrawn," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Burundi's move came after a UN envoy was dispatched to Bujumbura for crisis talks.

UN envoy Jamal Benomar was in Bujumbura meeting with leaders to try to defuse tensions over the ICC pullout and the government's decision to break ties with the UN rights office.

Set up in 2002, the ICC is often accused of bias against Africa.

The ICC in April launched a preliminary investigation of allegations of killings, torture and other rights abuses in Burundi.

A report by UN rights experts has blamed President Pierre Nkurunziza's security forces and police for the violence that has torn the country since 2015. </s> South African government wanted to leave the ICC as a result of the court's alleged bias against African nations.

A South African court has ruled the government's plan to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) was "unconstitutional and invalid", providing a boost to the embattled Hague-based institution.

The court has recently been fighting off allegations of pursuing a neo-colonial agenda in Africa, where most of its investigations have been based.

Three African states - South Africa, The Gambia and Burundi - last year signalled their intention to quit the ICC. The Gambia's President Adama Barrow, elected in December, said earlier this month it will remain in the ICC.

READ MORE: Africa's human rights court and the limits of justice

South Africa announced in October that it had lodged its decision to pull out with the United Nations, after a dispute over Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir visiting the country in 2015.

South African authorities refused to arrest Bashir despite him facing an ICC arrest warrant over alleged war crimes, saying he had immunity as a head of state.

"The cabinet decision to deliver the notice of withdrawal... without prior parliamentary approval is unconstitutional and invalid," said judge Phineas Mojapelo in the North Gauteng High Court.

 

The president and ministers "are ordered forthwith to revoke the notice of withdrawal," he added.

The court ruling was a setback for President Jacob Zuma's government, but Justice Minister Michael Masutha said the government still plans to withdraw from the court.

Masutha described the government's notification to the UN of its intent to withdraw from the Rome Statute, the 1998 treaty establishing the Hague-based court, as a policy decision.

He said the government would decide how to proceed, including a possible appeal, after reading the full judgment.

The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) party, which was one of the groups that brought the court case, on the other hand, welcomed the judgement.

 

"The withdrawal by the South African government from the ICC was irrational and unconstitutional," DA MP James Selfie told AFP news agency.

 

"We would like South Africa to stay in the ICC because we believe that it is consistent with our constitution and with the legacy of Nelson Mandela.

 

"The government should go back to the drawing board and reconsider the thing afresh in light of this judgement."

The ICC, which launched in July 2002 and has 124 member states, is the first legal body with permanent international jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. </s> The International Criminal Court has been used by real criminals to remove uncooperative leaders around the globe. Russia is leaving the fold. More African countries are leaving, too.

The Old World Order continues to crumble…

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order on Russia’s refusal to take part in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, according to a document published on the Russian government’s official portal for legal information.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Putin instructed Russia’s Foreign Ministry to send a relevant notification to the UN secretary-general. The Rome Statute, which took effect in 2002, is the basis for the International Criminal Court’s activity. Russia signed the international treaty in 2000 but has not ratified it so far. “The International Criminal Court has not justified hopes placed on it and did not become a genuinely independent and authoritative body,” the document stated.

Russia is not the first to do it in the last 2 months.

Gambia is the latest African country deciding to pull out of International Criminal Court

NAIROBI — Gambia has announced that it will withdraw from the International Criminal Court, the third African country to declare its departure in just two weeks.

Explaining the country’s decision, Information Minister Sheriff Bojang said on state television late Tuesday that the global judicial body was really “an International Caucasian Court for the persecution and humiliation of people of color, especially Africans.”

Last week, Burundi announced its intention to leave the court, and on Friday South Africa did the same. There are worries that this could be the beginning of an African exodus from the court, a dwindling membership on a continent with a long list of conflicts and human rights abuses.

Experts believe Kenya, Namibia and Uganda could be among the next countries to leave the court.

Why is South Africa pulling out of the International Criminal Court?

South Africa announced on Friday that it would withdraw from the International Criminal Court. This makes it the second country this week to pull out, after Burundi filed to leave on Tuesday.

South Africa argues that a commitment to the peaceful resolution of conflict through dialogue involves hosting foreign leaders on its soil – including, at times, ones who have run afoul of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC binds member countries to turn in visitors wanted for alleged crimes, however.

The departures may be a sign that some African nations have lost faith in the ICC. The Court has faced repeated criticism for allegedly pursuing its own agenda with court cases, which some Africans believe disproportionately target the continent.

All but one of the ICC’s 10 investigations have been based in Africa. All five of the Court’s substantive verdicts have been against African suspects. Though cases against non-African countries, including Britain, are undergoing preliminary examinations, the trend has led to calls for an African regional court.

The push to leave the ICC began when the Court indicted Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta in 2007, charging him with crimes against humanity after more than 1,000 people died in post-election violence. The case ultimately failed because of lobbying, bribery, and allegations that witnesses had been intimidated. But it frustrated African countries, which largely saw the charges against Kenyatta – a sitting president – as a form of international intervention in the affairs of a sovereign country.

This existence of this grossly lopsided world criminal court was ratified by Russia and 120 others, but not the United States and Israel.

The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal that sits in The Hague in the Netherlands. The ICC has the jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The ICC is intended to complement existing national judicial systems and it may therefore only exercise its jurisdiction 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 investigations to the Court. The ICC began functioning on 1 July 2002, the date that the Rome Statute entered into force.

The Rome Statute established four core international crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crime of aggression.

Following years of negotiation, aimed at establishing a permanent international tribunal to prosecute individuals accused of genocideand other serious international crimes, such as crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression, the United Nations General Assembly convened a five-week diplomatic conference in Rome in June 1998 “to finalize and adopt a convention on the establishment of an international criminal court”.[9][10]

On 17 July 1998, the Rome Statute was adopted by a vote of 120 to 7, with 21 countries abstaining.[6] Because the way each delegation voted was officially unrecorded, there is some dispute over the identity of the seven countries that voted against the treaty.[11] It is certain that the People’s Republic of China, Israel, and the United States were three of the seven because they have publicly confirmed their negative votes; India, Indonesia, Iraq, Libya, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Yemen have been identified by various observers and commentators as possible sources for the other four negative votes, with Iraq, Libya, Qatar, and Yemen being the four most commonly identified.[11]

On 11 April 2002, ten countries ratified the statute at the same time at a special ceremony held at the United Nations headquarters in New York City,[12] bringing the total number of signatories to sixty, which was the minimum number required to bring the statute into force, as defined in Article 126.[3] The treaty entered into force on 1 July 2002;[12] the ICC can only prosecute crimes committed on or after that date.[13] The statute was modified in 2010 after the Review Conference in Kampala, Uganda, but the amendments to the statute that were adopted at that time are not effective yet.

The Rome Statute is the result of multiple attempts for the creation of a supranational and international tribunal.

The ICC is a major component of the planned New World Order administered by a One World Government controlled by the Vatican.

The monopoly of Africans in the List of Indictees and Convicted [here], and the absence of any case filed against the perpetrators of the “war of terror” strongly indicate that this is not a court of justice at all.

So, that, the only recourse is to create our own independent Tribunal…

Lawsuit Against Bush and Blair for War Crimes? International Lawyers Seek Justice for Iraqis

International lawyers and activists converged at a conference titled The Iraq Commission, in Brussels, Belgium, April 16 and 17, with the primary aim of bringing to justice government officials who are guilty of war crimes in Iraq.

“Within a few days of this, a lawless atmosphere developed within my unit,” Ross Caputi, a former marine who took part in the brutal November 2004 siege of Fallujah told the Iraq Commission. “There was a lot of looting going on. I saw people searching the pockets of the dead resistance fighters for money. Some people were mutilating corpses.”

The conference represents the most powerful and most current organized attempt in the world to bring justice to those responsible for the catastrophe in Iraq, and included powerful international lawyers like International Court of Justice lawyer Curtis Doebbler and Louie Roberto Zamora Bolanos, a lawyer from Costa Rica who successfully sued the government of his country for supporting the war in Iraq.

Their goal for the conference was to begin taking concrete steps toward international lawsuits that will bring former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and former US President George W. Bush, along with those responsible in their administrations, to justice for the myriad war crimes committed in Iraq.

… While the United States is not a member of the International Criminal Court, former president George W. Bush, along with several members of his cabinet including Donald Rumsfeld, Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice, to name but a few, are guilty of war crimes for their roles in creating the conditions for the invasion and occupation of Iraq, according to lawyers at the conference.

“Lest current events cloud principles, and in order to restore focus on the rules of international rules, such as state responsibility, human rights, war crimes, crimes against humanity, there will be no justice for the victims of this crime against peace,” Al-Mukhtar stated, in concluding his opening remarks. “We will discuss practical approaches to ensure accountability and put an end to impunity.”

Tun Mahatir Muhammad, the fourth prime minister of Malaysia (and also the longest-serving prime minister of the country), backs the Kuala Lumpur Initiative to Criminalize War, which aims to make all acts of war illegal. Mahatir provided the conference a video message for the occasion.

“We must criminalize war because we consider the killing of one person by another as murder, and we are even prepared to punish him by taking his life,” Mohammed said. “But if you kill a million people in war, it is glorified, and the killers are given medals and statues and honored. There is a contradiction here, and it is time that killing be made a crime, whether it be in peace or in war. And if it is a crime, whoever starts an aggressive war should be considered a criminal and tried in a court of law. That is why our tribunal has tried Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair and found them both guilty as war criminals.”

… “This ‘war without borders’ is being carried out at the crossroads of the most serious economic crisis in world history, which has been conducive to the impoverishment of large sectors of the world population,” he said. “The Pentagon’s global military design is one of world conquest. The killing of civilians is part of that agenda. The US agenda in the Middle East is to change countries into territories, this is the basis of destabilizing country after country across the world, and instituting PAX Americana.”

Chossudovsky believes that US worldwide militarization is part of a global economic agenda, and the invasion of Iraq was but one component of this agenda.

… the importance of the commission and of the work activists and lawyers have ahead of them, as they strive to bring justice to George W. Bush, Tony Blair and all other members of their cabinets who are responsible for the violations of international law that have occurred, and continue to occur, in Iraq.

“There has been a rollback of international law,” Nijar explained. “And this is why the role of the people’s tribunal now takes on an important role. Because the people alone are the motivating force in making world history.”

In short, it is a modern day Jesuit Inquisition aimed at eliminating all enemies of the Holy Crown.

Can we expect a Donald Trump to rise to the occasion and bring justice to the people of Iraq, and for all those Americans who died during and after WTC 911, by going against his own party by ordering the arrest and prosecution of the Bushes, et.al.?

Will he follow other world leaders who are already moving away from the Pyramid of Satanists into Knights of the Roundtable, in order to create a multipolar world?

Aside from the fiat monetary scam and bloodsoaked petrodollar, another significant source of funds for the Nazionist Khazarian Mafiais the “healthcare” industry which registered a whopping $3.09 trillion in 2014, and is projected to soar to $3.57 trillion in 2017, in the US alone. We believe that this is just a conservative figure.

We can all help the revolution by avoiding all Khazarian pharmaceutical drugs, defeat any viral attack and scaremongering, like the Zika virus, easily by knowing how to build our own comprehensive antiviral system. Find more about how we can kill three birds with one stone, right here.
Gambia says it will join South Africa and Burundi in withdrawing from the International Criminal Court, accusing the court of ignoring "Western war crimes" like the Kunduz hospital airstrike.