The Future of Global Criminal Prevention

This week I chose to focus on the recent indictment of Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir by the International Criminal Court-- an action that will surely reverberate throughout the world. If the charges stick, the seven year old council will have the ability to display its power as a worldwide preventer and prosecutor of crimes against humanity. The joint efforts of 108 nations will hopefully provide an unbiased trial for Bashir, whether he be found guilty or not guilty on the accusations of murder, extermination, rape, torture, forced relocation of civilians and pillaging. As we discussed in class, the verdicts of past events like the Eichmann and Nuremberg Trials were surely influenced by personal belief. The presence of the ICC may help to establish a balance for which to try future criminals among the likes of Hitler and Bashir. The United States is not currently a member and has not expressed its intention to join, however maybe one day all the world’s nations will be fortunate enough to have the opportunity to work hand in hand to bring about justice on a global scale. The charge of genocide has been strangely omitted from Bashir’s counts, maybe due in part to a lack of evidence or the ability to pursue such a severe crime. We have heard tales of the horrific events occurring in Darfur, and many people are doing what they can to assist those in need, but now the ICC’s actions demonstrate that those in power are also committed to end such travesties. By bringing this situation to light, it really puts a nation’s problems in perspective. However low Former President Bush’s ratings reached, we as a people never came anywhere remotely close to the level of fear of government that those in Sudan are experiencing. The ICC is doing what is necessary to stop the crimes of humanity that are currently happening in other parts of the world, and I can only hope that the outcome of Bashir’s trial will help prevent similar events from occurring in the future.