US President Biden Signs Major Legislation in favor of WAR victims
The United State Parliament has finally chosen a bill to expand the US Government’s supremacy to sue those that committed deadly atrocity and other International war crimes, suspects who are in the US, letting them be tried in the Federal Court regardless of Nationality of the victim or perpetrator or where the crimes were committed.
The new ruling code name: The Justice for victims of war crimes has already been signed by United State President Joe Biden, A victory for victims and survivors of war across the Globe”, Experts said.
This comes after the US Congress finally voted on a bill to expand the US Government’s power to prosecute international war crimes suspects who are in the US, allowing them to be tried in the Federal Court regardless of the Nationality of the victim or perpetrator or where the crimes were committed.
According to Human Rights Advocates in Liberia, the pronouncement also means that there is no more freedom for war crimes criminals in Liberia as their days to face justice are now numbered.
“By passing this vital legislation, we are sending a clear message to Vladimir Putin: Perpetrators committing unspeakable war crimes, such as those unfolding before our very eyes in Ukraine, must be held to account,” Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois”, said in a recent statement.
“We hailed the US President Joe Bidden and Congress for such a meaningful decision and a great boost to our advocacy for the establishment of war and economic crimes court in Liberia”, lead Advocate Adama Dempster said.
He maintained that it is now time that those who committed war crimes against innocent people in Liberia and the globe at large be made to pay for their actions through legal and due process.
Currently, the quest to seek justice for victims and survivals against war criminals is said to be well on the course as the advocacy to close the gap and end impunity against war crimes criminals in order to serve as a deterrent to would-be war Crimes criminals has now taken giant size step further.
Amongst other things, The act amends the war crimes provision in the federal criminal code to ensure that U.S. courts can prosecute perpetrators of war crimes who are present in the United States, regardless of the perpetrator or victim’s nationality or where the crime took place.
The amendment was long pushed for by human rights advocates as well as government officials globally including Liberia.
It also brings U.S. war crimes legislation in line with Geneva Convention obligations. It better aligns U.S. jurisdiction over war crimes with that for torture, genocide, and recruitment of child soldiers.
Although the amendment increases the prospect of U.S. prosecutions for war crimes, it will not result in a deluge of war crimes trials.
It can be recalled in March 2022, U.S. authorities arrested Laye Sekou Camara. A resident of Pennsylvania.
During the crisis in 2011, Camara previously served as a leading member of Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), an armed group responsible for more than 18,000 violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Liberia’s civil wars, including shelling, massacres, and summary executions of civilians.
However, rather than facing war crimes charges for his actions in Liberia, Camara instead was charged with immigration fraud for denying prior involvement with armed groups on his visa and green card applications.
The failure to charge Camara with war crimes was due to a legal loophole in the U.S. war crimes statute. Until last week, U.S. courts could only prosecute war crimes if either the victim or the perpetrator was a U.S. Nationale or a member of the U.S. armed forces.
Thus, despite calling the United States home for more than ten years, Camara—a non-U.S. national accused of war crimes against non-U.S. national victims—was immune from war crimes charges.
And Camara was not the only alleged war criminal escaping justice in the United States.federal
Federal prosecutors have never brought war crimes charges against any suspect, in part due to the strict nationality requirement.
