APPEAL FOR THE PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL PENAL COURT

NOT LONG LEFT TO GATHER THE SUPPORT NEEDED

On 22 July of this year, the International Law Commission (ILC) adopted the draft Statute of the permanent International Penal Court for crimes against humanity.

At the centre of the project are the four crimes generally recognized in international law: genocide, aggression, war crimes and crimes against humanity. An attached document contains another list of crimes: torture, narcotics, apartheid, the hijacking of planes, the taking of hostages, and the protection of diplomats. This list can be reviewed and completed as new crimes are codified in international law (conventions and consuetudinary international law recognize 24 categories of transnational crimes).

The ILC report has been passed to the VI Commission of the United Nations: the subject is already on the agenda. The VI Commission, composed like all the other commissions of the General Assembly by delegates from all member countries, will start to discuss the project in October. A general debate on the subject has already taken place in recent years in the framework of the VI Commission: during this debate strong resistance to the institution of the Court has been expressed, and is still felt, by the representatives of member states: cautious support has been expressed by Bielorussia, France, Hungary, Japan, Marocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Syria, and the United States. Brazil, China, Cuba and Israel have come out against the project.

There is strong pressure to extend the competence of the ad hoc Tribunal on the former Yugoslavia, which is already operative, instead of instituting a special court. If this pressure were to prevail, it would undermine the specific nature of a permanent International Penal Court having a new international jurisdiction as its field of operation.

The VI Commission must now give its opinions on the ILC report, and if necessary prepare a Resolution for final approval by the Assembly General. It is possible that the VI Commission will ask the member states for further opinions on the text of the report; this would almost certainly put an end to the possibility of convening an international Conference for the institution of the court before the 49th session of the General Assembly.

It would be an important political result, however, if we could, by 1995 (the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations), obtain the approval of a General Assembly Resolution convening an international Conference for the institution of the court. This is what is called for in the appeal published below.

The time left to win this battle, for humanity and for democratic law, is fast running out. It is therefore necessary for parliamentarians, eminent figures, and leading exponents of the world of science and culture to gather support for the appeal - published on page two - which is addressed to the Secretary General of the United Nations, the President of the General Assembly, the President of the VI Commission, and the representatives of the member states. We must also gather the support of all citizens who share these objectives in order to make the appeal bring pressure to bear, as soon as possible, on the United Nations, an institution which must grow in strength, and which can only grow in strength if it is able to play a leading role in creating new international law, binding international law.

This is what we are working for, and what we will continue to work for, like Mariateresa Di Lascia, a companion not only in the political arena, who devoted her energy and her intelligence to the campaigns of the Radical Party for fifteen years.

Mariateresa died on Saturday 10 September at the age of 40.

She had been a member of the Secretary's Office of the Radical Party and a deputy in the Italian Parliament, and was a member of the General Council elected at the last Congress.

In the last few years she promoted and co-ordinated the "Hands Off Cain campaign for the abolition of the death penalty in the world by the year 2000".

A few months ago she organized the great Easter March in Rome.

A commitment to life which will not come to an end with her death.

We ask, therefore, that those who receive this issue of Transnational become an active and leading part of an initiative which is so necessary and so urgent.

TO THE GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE UNITED NATIONS

TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE VI COMMISSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

TO THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE MEMBER STATES

We the undersigned,

Parliamentarians, members of government, and citizens of the member states of the UNO:

In consideration of the fact

- that all over the world, from the former Yugoslavia to Rwanda and to the many tragic aggressions and wars, dramatic conflicts persist and continue to flare up in the name of ancient nationalistic and ethnic sentiments or of absurd and unacceptable religious incomprehension, and that these conflicts are marked by atrocities that seem to bring back the violence and the horror of the totalitarian and Communist regimes;

- that it is therefore now necessary to create a valid body of international law and jurisdiction which, by expressing and giving concrete force to the desire for justice felt by men and women of good will, can manage in an effective and credible manner to identify and punish those responsible for crimes condemned by the common conscience;

- that it is up to the international community - and thus to the United Nations, the expression of the will of free peoples and governments - to create and support, as soon as possible, this form of new law and jurisdiction through the institution of a permanent Tribunal on crimes against humanity, which can effectively take up at a global level the work begun by the ad hoc Tribunal on the crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia;

- that the International Law Commission has been working since 1947 on the drafting of a Code of crimes against the peace and security of humanity, a Code which the UN adopted at first reading in 1991;

- that the 48th General Assembly (1993) conferred on the same Commission a priority mandate to draw up the Statute of an International Penal Tribunal, in time for adoption by the 49th General Assembly (1994);

- that the International Law Commission finally completed a draft Statute in its 46th session (May-July 1994);

we appeal to the Secretary General of the United Nations, the President of the General Assembly, the President of the VI Commission of the General Assembly, and the representatives of the member states to assume a determined and urgent procedural initiative to ensure that the General Assembly, on the occasion of its 49th session (September-December 1994)

- discusses the draft Statute drawn up by the Commission and convenes a United Nations Conference in 1995 for the approval of the Treaty relative to the institution and operation of the International Penal Tribunal.

TRIBUNAL ON THE FORMER YUGOSLAVIA: THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ON THE CORFU SUMMIT

In its resolution on the conclusions of the Council of Europe meeting held in Corfu (24 and 25 June), the European Parliament accepts the emendment presented by the Radical Group (ARE), and adopted by the Liberal (LDE), Green and Popular (PPE) Groups, on the ad hoc Tribunal on the crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia. The European Parliament:

[...] repeats that there can be no peace without justice and in this light applauds the appointment of the Public Prosecutor and the revocation of the last obstacle to the effective commencement of the work of the ad hoc international Tribunal on the crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia; insists on the fact that the Tribunal must not restrict its action to the those materially responsible for the crimes but must deal with the question of political responsibility; [...].

DEATH PENALTY: COMMITMENT FROM THE HUNGARIAN GOVERNMENT

Budapest, July-August - On 25 July Massimo Lensi, the Secretary of the General Council of the Radical Party, wrote a letter to Laszlo Kovacs, the new Socialist Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Hungarian government, asking the Hungarian government to place a Resolution on the universal moratorium on executions on the agenda of the next General Assembly of the United Nations, thus supporting the initiative taken by the Italian government. On 17 August Kovacs sent the following letter to Massimo Lensi:

"Dear Secretary,

in reply to your letter, I would first of all like to thank both you and the leaders of the Radical Party for the cordial greeting that I received from you. As far as the content of your letter is concerned, I would like to take this opportunity to reply to you on the proposal for the abolition of the death penaly by the year 2000.

In the development of international law and in the laws of individual states, the problem of the abolition of the death penalty has now been present for a long time. The most relevant documents are the International Convention on the Rights of Man of 4 November 1950, signed in Rome, which declares the right to life, and the VI additional protocol to the Convention (28 April 1980), which prescribes the abolition of the death penalty. A similar text is the Document of the United Nations Convention on civil and political rights of 1966 which, in article 6, declares the right to life and to dignity for all persons. The II Facultative Protocol attached to the 1989 Convention prohibits executions and urges the definitive abolition of the death penalty.

In 1990 the Constitutional Court of the Hungarian Republic declared the death penalty to be unconstitutional because the principles of our Constitution guarantee the right to life and dignity and because Hungary has signed many international agreements that lay down the abolition of the death penalty.

I can assure you that the attitude of the Hungarian delegation to the United Nations will be in line with the above considerations if the issue is placed on the agenda of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Yours faithfully,

Laszlo Kovacs, Minister of Foreign Affairs

Budapest, 17 August 1994

FOR A FREE, JUST AND DEMOCRATIC CUBA

Statistics from Amnesty International, which is always very prudent, talk of at least 500 political prisoners on the island; according to other organizations for human rights, the total is as high as 10,000. It is true that Castro's regime - as is always the case with dictatorships of any colour - denies that its prisons house political prisoners; but Cuba has laws that punish vague "threats to the security of the state", "disturbance of the social order", "illegal association", "anti-social conduct contrary to the rules of the Socialist morality" and similar forms of behaviour, and these constitute political crimes.

It is on this basis - after years of commitment to democracy and human rights in Cuba, as in any other country - that on 26 July, on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the Cuban revolution, the Radical Party organized meetings with diplomatic staff or demonstrations outside the Cuban embassies in Rome, Moscow, Kiev and Sofia. A letter written by the Radical Party asked in particular for the immediate release of a number of Cuban political prisoners, known for their activities in the defence of human rights, who symbolically represent all the others: the prisoners named were Francisco Chavier Gonzales (a member of the Radical Party and President of the National Council for Civil Rights), Maria Elena Aparicio, Indamiro Restano, Sebastian Arcos Bergnes, Omar Del Pozo, Pablo de los Reyes, Nelson Torres Pulido, Luis Alberto Pita Santos and Rodolfo Gonzalez. The letter also expressed sadness and indignation, and asked for information on the death of dozens people who tried on 13 July to escape from Cuba on bo

ard a tug that was sunk by Cuban ships seven miles from the island, and confirms the commitment to mobilize international public opinion in order that everyone - parliaments and governments, international organizations and institutions - should intervene to put an end to the violation of human rights in Cuba. In an interview with Radio Martì, which broadcasts in Spanish from Florida and is also heard in Cuba, an appeal was made to Cubans who wish for democracy to maintain "determination and calm", without turning to violence.

The Radical Party also took part in the international campaign for the Cuban writer and journalist Norberto Fuentes, who went on hunger strike in August and succeeded in obtaining permission from the Cuban government to leave the country to take up invitations from cultural institutions in North America, and who helped to publicize an eight-point appeal launched by a number of democratic Cuban organizations. The text of the appeal is published below.

To our European brothers:

We, the representatives of the Cuban opposition organizations,

declare to public opinion:

1) we recognise in the rebellion of 5 August a clear sign of the civil disobedience of the Cuban people in the face of the collapse of a regime that has oppressed the human and civil rights of its citizens for over thirty-five years;

2) we believe that the Cuban government has tried, in this crisis, to transform the conflict between the Cuban people and the dictatorship into a conflict between Cuba and the USA;

3) we believe that the mass exodus towards the USA was caused by the Cuban government itself, which thus tried to create a vent for the political pressure from within the island;

4) we believe that any concession of an economic nature to Castro's regime will be detrimental to the people and will in reality give Castro a new opportunity to maintain power. What the Cuban people needs is freedom.

5) We reject any negotiation on immigration that ignores the political reality of the country and that takes place behind the back of the Cuban people without taking account of the real causes that have led to the current crisis;

6) we believe that the reduction of economic sanctions must go hand in hand with:

- an amnesty for Cuban political prisoners;

- respect for the principles laid down by the Universal Charter of Human Rights;

- the recognition of opposition organizations;

- the preparation of elections in Cuba, to be held under the supervision of international bodies;

7) in the light of the deterioration in the moral and material conditions of the Cuban people caused by over 35 years of rule by the Castro brothers, we believe that the Castros must be deprived of power in order to allow a climate of real reconciliation so that Cuba can move rapidly towards democracy;

8) we ask our European brothers to support us by expressing all the solidarity that our people needs in the face of Castro's latest efforts to maintain power.

For a free, just and democratic Cuba.

Alianza Democratica Cubana (Rafael Cervantes, José Antonio Font),

Asociacion Pro Arte Libre (Manule de Jesùs Leyva),

Comision Nacional Cubana (Ramòn Saùl Sàanchez), Cuba Independiente y Democratica [CID] (Hùber Matos Benìtez),

Directorio Revolocionario Democratico Cubano (Orlando Gutiérrez, Jainisset Rivero),

Ex-Club [ex presos politicos cubanos] (Rolando Borges), Union Civica (Omar Lòpez Montenegro).

CAIRO CONFERENCE: INTERVIEW WITH EMMA BONINO

The following are excerpts from an interview with Emma Bonino on the Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, published on 8 September by the Italian daily "L'Informazione".

(...) We have declared our backing for the document, because the Conference completely sweeps away all interference from above, both from religious integralism and from state control, putting the individual, and women in particular, back at the centre of development.

(...) Will the Cairo Conference manage to avoid what you call interference from above?

I hope so. The only way to pursue human development is to call on the responsibility of individuals. And this is the real problem which causes fear, especially among religious integralists.

What about all the debate over that ambiguous section that refers to abortion as a means of family planning?

It's all nonsense, if I might say so. The document does not talk about this, and in any case no woman would ever accept it. The document notes, on the other hand, that a high rate of mortality is caused by illegal abortion, which it invites us to reduce. Beyond all forms of hypocrisy, the only way to reduce it is the use of contraception. The conflict is all about this: information on, and the use and availability of contraceptives.

(...) So how do you view the arguments that have erupted over abortion?

I am neither able or willing to go back in time, but it is undoubtedly true that there are politicians, now more than in the past, who have an integralist vision of the ethical state. A vision opposed to that of the lay state, where religion is a question of individual conscience and where the state establishes the rules for the co-existence of its citizens, whatever their religious beliefs. (...)

FORMER YUGOSLAVIA: AN OPEN LETTER TO POPE JOHN PAUL II

Zagreb, 6 September - On the occasion of Pope John Paul II's visit to Croatia, and of his planned visit to Sarajevo, the Radical Party members in these countries appealed to him to declare his support for the immediate commencement of the work of the ad hoc Tribunal on war crimes as the first step towards the constitution of a permanent international Tribunal.

The letter reads as follows:

Holy Father,

millions of people, not only in Sarajevo, Zagreb and Belgrade but in the whole world, are waiting for your word, in your journey to a martyred land which, thanks to your courageous initiative, can now once again become a land of possible peace and hope. Your word will reach peoples who, in the face of the Yugoslavian tragedy and of the many other tragedies which are tormenting them, are lost and impotent. Your message, we are sure, will have a universal character, beyond the confines of the Catholic religion.

For this reason, from a land in which the variety of peoples, languages, and faiths can and must be an admirable example of tolerance and civil harmony, we Croats, Bosnians, Serbs, Orthodox Christians, Catholics and Moslems, parliamentarians and simple citizens, we believers in nonviolence, in the name of so many wounded and injured, orphans and refugees, are here to give you our sincere thanks and to offer you all our support in your mission.

For years we have been suffering from a war against which the chorus of voices has remained silent or has been discordant; for years we have been paying, we directly and the world which observes us from too far away, for a return to barbarity and violence. For a long time we have been waiting for the terrible crimes that have been committed in the land which you are now visiting to meet with the sanctions of law and justice. On Easter Day of this year, the mayors of Vukovar and Osijek, together with the Mayor of Sarajevo Kresevljakovic and many other mayors and citizens from all over the world, turned to you - with the Gandhian nonviolent Radicals - asking you to give your support to a new instrument of law that could finally punish the crimes committed in the territories of the former Yugoslavia with just sanctions. Now it seems that this hope may be realized. This is an important signal. For this reason, Holy Father, we appeal to you once again so that thanks to your authoritative word the irreducible huma

n spirit that makes us all a single community may be further upheld, and so that a wider international jurisdiction may begin to emerge and confer absolute juridical value on the human rights. From this city, Holy Father, express your support. May the international tribunal called to try the crimes committed in the territories of the former Yugoslavia be the first step towards a credible and authoritative International Court that can bring back the human rights that have been denied so horribly in many parts of the world, and make them the essential pillars of a new international jurisdiction.

We call for justice, Holy Father, to affirm the dignity of man and the universal value of his rights.

From Sarajevo and Zagreb, address your solicitations to the human community and to the International Organization of States.

This is our wish. We dare to hope that it is also yours.

From all of us, once again, our greatest thanks.

Snjezana Biga Friganovic, Croatian deputy and member of the RP; Julije Derossi, Croatian deputy and member of the RP; Teresa Ganza-Aras, Croatian deputy and member of the RP; Zivko Juzbasic, Serbian minority deputy and member of the RP; Enes Kisevic, Bosnian poet and actor, member of the RP; Muhamed Kresevljakovic, Bosnian consul in Italy, former mayor of Sarajevo, member of the RP; Rasema Mehadzic Cero, Bosnian deputy and member of the RP; Izet Muhamedagic, Bosnian, Vice Minister of Justice and member of the RP; Bozidar Patrac, President of the Croatian delegation to the CSCE, deputy and member of the RP; Ivan Pauletta, Croatian deputy and member of the RP; Marijana Stefanci Buhin, member of the General Council of the RP; Zdravko Tomac, Croatian deputy and member of the RP; Vijekoslav Zagaj, member of the General Council of the RP and former deputy; Muhamed Zulic, Croatian deputy and member of the RP; Jadranka Cigelj, president of the "Women of Omarska" group; Valter Despalj, cellist; Ranko Marinkovic, writ

er; Jure Kolak, mayor of Vukovar; Zlatko Kramaric, mayor of Osijek, deputy; Dusko Kucina, mayor of Zara.