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Reply to Our Open Letter on Universal Jurisdiction

December 31st, 2010 • Action, Awareness, News
Tags: alok sharma, amnesty international, human rights watch, justice, ken clarke, MP, open letter, parliament, reading, rob wilson, uk, universal jurisdiction, vote

The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill was debated recently in the Commons. Within the bill is Clause 151: “Arrest warrants : Restriction on issue of arrest warrants in private prosecutions”, which gives the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) a veto over whether or not an arrest warrant can be issued for war crime suspects.

As part of our effort to defeat this change, we sent an open letter from Members of Reading PSC to Rob Wilson (Con), Member of Parliament for Reading East.

This is the reply from Rob Wilson, sent 23 December 2010:

Thank you for contacting me about universal jurisdiction.

I believe it is vital for Israeli Government Ministers for example to be able to travel to foreign capitals. A country such as the UK needs to be able to tell Israelis that their actions are not acceptable, and this would not be possible if their travelling to western capitals was prohibited. I do not think it is advisable to further reinforce a bunker mentality within Israel.

As you know, the United Kingdom has asserted universal jurisdiction over war crimes under the Geneva Conventions Act, and over a few other offences of exceptional gravity, because of our international obligations and our commitment to ensuring that there is no impunity for those accused of such crimes. This commitment is unwavering.

It is important, however, that universal jurisdiction cases should be proceeded with in this country only on the basis of solid evidence that is likely to lead to a successful prosecution, otherwise there is a risk of damaging our ability to help in conflict resolution or to pursue a coherent foreign policy. It is unsatisfactory that, as things stand, an arrest warrant for these grave offences can be issued on the application of a private prosecutor on the basis of evidence that would be insufficient to sustain a prosecution.

Currently, anyone can apply to the courts for an arrest warrant. That is a right that the Government wants to protect. However, because the evidence necessary to issue an arrest warrant may be far less than would be needed for a prosecution, the system is open to possible abuse by people trying to obtain arrest warrants for grave crimes on the basis of flimsy evidence to make a political statement or to cause embarrassment.

The Government’s has, after careful consideration, decided that it would be appropriate to require the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions before an universal jurisdiction arrest warrant can be issued to a private prosecutor. The Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill includes provisions to introduce this change. As such, I will not be signing EDM 108.

However, let me reiterate that this will interfere as little as possible with the existing rights of private prosecutors, and will not prevent them from initiating prosecutions for these offences where the evidence justified that course.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.

ROB WILSON MP
Member of Parliament for Reading East

Our original letter can be read here…
Watch coverage of the commons debate here…

“WHAT CAN I DO?”

It is important that you send a message to YOUR MP asking them to vote against the proposed changes. PSC have set up an easy to use e-tool to allow you to send a model letter to your MP: click here…

Background Information

PSC Briefing: No Change to Universal Jurisdiction
UK Government announcement, 22/7/10: New rules on universal jurisdiction
Amnesty International UK, 1/12/10: War crimes arrests: New measures show UK is ‘soft’ on war crimes and torture
The Guardian, 1/12/10: Amnesty International say police bill will let war criminals go free
Human Rights Watch, 27/1/10: Briefing to Parliamentarians by the UK Universal Jurisdiction Group
HRW, 10/01: The Case For Universal Jurisdiction

America: The Silence of a Nation

December 30th, 2010 • News
Tags: submitted

On the 2nd Anniversary of Operation Cast Lead, let us remember…

Political Repression in Silwan

December 30th, 2010 • News
Tags: submitted

American Governments Double Standards on the Right to Peaceful Protest

December 19th, 2010 • News
Tags: submitted

Mark Thomas Coming to Reading!

December 18th, 2010 • Events, Film & Documentary, News
Tags: comedy, EXTREME RAMBLING, mark thomas, reading, show, south street, stage, Walking The Wall

EXTREME RAMBLING – Walking The Wall

South Street, Reading / 11-14 January 2011 / Book Now…

Comment: Nick Clegg, human rights, Palestine and amnesia

December 18th, 2010 • Action, News
Tags: amnesia, comment, Gareth Epps, human rights, liberal democrats, Liberal Democrats Friends of Palestine, MP, nick clegg, palestine, Reading East

Gareth Epps‘, 2010 Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Reading East and new member of the Liberal Democrat Federal Policy Committee, recent post on his blog:

In the past, Nick Clegg has unequivocally condemned the blockade of Gaza, called for the EU/Israel Association Agreement to be suspended.

Now, he’s making speeches saying he got it wrong on Israel, speaking to pro-Israeli audiences while giving Palestinian campaigners the cold shoulder (see http://www.ldfp.eu/2010/11/15/mr-clegg-the-lib-dems-and-the-small-case-of-international-law/) and is about to author a change in the Universal Jurisdiction law to protect human rights abusers including representatives of the Israeli regime from attempts to bring them to justice.

I have raised at senior level the dangers of this stance, which runs the risk of unpicking years of carefully balanced and thought-out statements on Israel/Palestine (which in my view and that of many others could have gone a lot further in criticising discrimination and flagrant breaches of international law by successive Israeli governments, which have pandered to and increasingly contain people with outrageous extremist views).

We know that the Conservatives of the major political parties have the most one-dimensional view of this conflict, and will take the side of Israel. That does not legitimise the stance the Coalition government is taking on a fundamental issue of human rights. Rather than believe the spin that the change is ‘technical’, as I have been told by senior Liberal Democrats, I think it’s right to go public on this. Call it Conservative influence in Government, call it what you want, but Universal Jurisdiction is supposed to ensure that there is no hiding place for war criminals. The change of law has been condemned by a cluster of human rights groups including Amnesty who say it “will undermine the capacity of victims of serious international crimes to hold accountable alleged perpetrators who come within the UK’s jurisdiction by making all arrest decisions in such cases subject to political considerations rather than being based on the legal merits. Suspects may therefore find a safe haven in the UK, and the already considerable barriers to bringing such suspects to justice will be heightened.

“Instead of making it more difficult to arrest with a view to prosecuting such suspects, the UK should be seeking to enhance its capacity to do so, and mooted legislative changes are a step entirely in the wrong direction.”

There is no political sense in Nick Clegg pandering to the friends of the Israeli regime. These are people who are not Liberals and who would never consider voting for a party that gives the other side the time of day. He will gain no votes. Indeed, he will lose credibility among the many people such as myself who believe that the Palestinian people are long overdue justice, not collective punishment.

Oh, and Nick? If you’re really serious about being even-handed, then maybe you could answer positively to requests to speak to Lib Dem Friends of Palestine. It’s only fair.

Please contact Gareth to thank and congratulate him for this statement…

Universal Jurisdiction Debate Update

December 14th, 2010 • News
Tags: debate, Kaufman, MP, parliament, Police Reform Bill, universal jurisdiction

POLICE REFORM BILL PASSED SECOND READING: 320–230

The vote went in favour of the bill, 320–230, and will now pass to the committee stage. Summary of Reading and surrounding Berkshire MPs:

Reading West, Alok Sharma (Con) – AYE
Reading East, Rob Wilson (Con) – ABSENT
Bracknell, Dr Phillip Lee (Con) – AYE
Maidenhead, Theresa May (Con) – AYE
Newbury, Richard Benyon (Con) – ABSENT
Slough, Fiona Mactaggart (Lab) – NOE
Windsor, Adam Afriyie (Con) – AYE
Wokingham, John Redwood (Con) – AYE

As you can see, only Slough Labour MP, Fiona Mactaggart, opposed the Bill. See how your MP voted in these plain text lists of AYES & NOES.

Watch all parts (42mins) of the debate mentioning Universal Jurisdiction:

Clips above follow JFJFP’s transcript

Excerpts: Sir Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton) & Ann Clwyd (Cynon Valley):

–
Clips via BBC Democracy Live

JFJFP has the edited transcript mentioning UJ here… (full text)

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister was around the corner at the Conservative Friends of Israel annual business lunch. Lauding Israel as a “modern, dynamic, enterprise economy” and that his and the Conservative Party’s friendship with Israel “thrived in opposition [and] will be strengthened in government.” – he closed with… “You have a Prime Minister whose belief in Israel is indestructible.”

John Pilger: The War You Don’t See

December 14th, 2010 • Film & Documentary, News
Tags: assange, documentary, ITV, john pilger, journalism, rageh omaar, the guardian, The War You Don't See, war, Wikileaks

UPDATE #2: The War You Don’t See is now on YouTube…

UPDATE #1: UK readers can watch The War You Don’t See on the ITV website.

The documentary is a powerful indictment of the media’s failure over Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel/Palestine and other conflicts. Some, including Rageh Omaar (then-BBC, now-AJE), admit to as much.

A MUST SEE!

The documentary is playing at the Regal Picturehouse in Henley and other venues around the country – we can not recommend this film highly enough!

Here’s the section on Palestine, Israeli propaganda and the Gaza Flotilla (includes interviews with Greg Philo):

John Pilger‘s new documentary, The War You Don’t See, will be shown on ITV this evening, Tuesday December 14th, 2010 at 10.35pm.

This powerful film exposes the media’s complicity in war. Featuring interviews with senior figures at major UK and US broadcasters and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange (before his arrest). From ITV Press Office:

In this new documentary John Pilger, the winner of journalism’s top awards for both press and broadcasting, including academy awards in the UK and US, questions the role of the media in war. In The War You Don’t See, Pilger, himself a renowned correspondent, asks whether mainstream news has become an integral part of war-making.

Focusing on the current conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, Pilger reflects on the history of the relationship between the media and government in times of conflict stretching back to World War I and explores the impact on the information fed to the public of the modern day practice of public relations in the guise of ‘embedding’ journalists with the military.

Featuring interviews with senior figures at major UK broadcasters, the BBC and ITV, and high profile journalists on both sides of the Atlantic, including Rageh Omaar and Dan Rather, the film investigates the reporting of government claims that Iraq harboured weapons of mass destruction.

Read more at ITV.com >>>

In a rare move, the documentary is also playing at the Regal Picturehouse in Henley and other venues around the country.

Interviews: New Internationalist interview & Radio 4 Today programme
Read Pilger’s Guardian article: Why are wars not being reported honestly? and the accompanying video clips from the film.

Bethlehem Fundraiser in Caversham! – UPDATE

December 11th, 2010 • 1 comment Events, News
Tags: bethlehem, caversham, Church House, Fundraiser, stall, The Friends of Wadi Fuqeen, Waitrose

THANKS TO ALL THOSE THAT VISITED US IN CAVERSHAM!

We had an extremely successful and enjoyable Saturday in Caversham. Between the sale in Church House, and the street stall outside Watrose, we were able to raise a significant amount for Friends of Wadi Fuqeen and raise awareness of issues in the West Bank and Palestine.

Reading PSC members did a wonderful job spreading cheer, good will and olive oil amongst the Xmas shoppers in Caversham, despite the cold weather!

We’ll be keeping all those that left their contact details informed about future events. Don’t forget our next meeting is at 8pm Thursday December 16th in Room 3 at RISC.

Please do get in touch if you have any questions or comments…

December 9th, 2010 • Action, Awareness, News
Tags: alok sharma, amnesty international, human rights watch, justice, ken clarke, MP, open letter, parliament, reading, rob wilson, uk, universal jurisdiction, vote

UPDATE #1 – Monday 13/12/10

The police reform bill debate started at 6pm, watch live on BBC’s Democracy Live or BBC Parliament on Freeview 81, Freesat 201, Sky 504, Virgin 612.

Also, a letter was published in The Guardian today: “Grave dangers in police reform bill” – signed by Baroness Jenny Tonge, Jeremy Corbin MP, Michael Mansfield QC, Betty Hunter, Hugh Lanning, Gerald Kaufman MP and many others.

On Monday 13th December the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Bill will be debated in the Commons. Within the bill is Clause 151: “Arrest warrants : Restriction on issue of arrest warrants in private prosecutions”, which gives the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) a veto over whether or not an arrest warrant can be issued for war crime suspects.

As part of our effort to defeat this change, we have sent an open letter from Members of Reading PSC to Rob Wilson (Con), Member of Parliament for Reading East. The open letter appears below:

Dear Rob,

You are receiving this open letter on behalf of the members of the Reading branch of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC). We are sure you are aware of our organisation as you have met several of our members in the past to discuss our concerns about the treatment of Palestinians at the hands of the State of Israel.

Our organisation represents a wide spread of people in both Reading East and West. We are men and women. We are young and old. We are people of faith and no faith. We are the people of Reading.

We spend our time trying to raise awareness of the issues surrounding the catastrophe that has befallen the Palestinians, not because we enjoy it, but because we feel compelled by our conscience and simple human understanding and empathy to do so.

We understand that you are planning to support changes to the current Universal Jurisdiction laws in the UK. As we are sure you are aware, the current position is that a private individual may apply to a magistrate for an arrest warrant if a war crimes suspect is visiting the country or a visit is anticipated.

The issue of an arrest warrant for a war crime is decided only by specialist and legally qualified magistrates. In any case, the consent of the Attorney General is currently required for any prosecution to go ahead, but, in the absence of consent, a warrant may be issued if the magistrate considers that:

there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence under such legislation has been committed;

admissible evidence has been presented which (if uncontradicted) establishes the elements of the offence alleged;

s/he has jurisdiction to issue the warrant and has ruled out the immunity of the suspect.

Any belief, therefore, that arrest warrants have ever been – or can still be – issued with little or no evidence to support a legitimate prosecution is a fundamental misconception of the existing law. If you think otherwise, we invite you to cite a single case in which an arrest warrant has been issued under Universal Jurisdiction law which could reasonably be considered an abuse of the existing system.

In the case of visiting Israeli ministers or leaders, the Goldstone Report, accepted by the UN, concluded that war crimes had been committed in Gaza by Israel during Operation Cast Lead in December 2008 – January 2009. It is not surprising, therefore, that a senior magistrate found there was enough evidence to warrant the arrest of former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni had she visited the UK.

The argument that we must allow elected ministers to visit the UK and be immune from our laws in order to engage them diplomatic talks is misleading. There is nothing, for instance, to stop British ministers from visiting the home countries of suspected war criminals where they are immune from prosecution. Additionally, the serving Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and Minister of Defence of any sovereign country can visit the UK under the principle of sovereign immunity.

Any attempt to involve the Attorney General in the decision to issue the arrest warrant would be a regressive step in many ways. You must surely agree that the independence of the judiciary in the UK from political interference is critical. In fact, your voting record, Rob, proves this. In the past you voted against giving Ministers the right to intervene in inquests. But you apparently now think that the Attorney General – not exactly a wholly independent branch of Government – should have the right to intervene in cases brought by private individuals against people reasonably suspected of war crimes. How do you explain or justify this stance given that there is no case that you can cite where an arrest warrant was issued under the principle of Universal Jurisdiction which was not a valid use of the legal process?

Having to wait for an Attorney General decision on issuing an arrest warrant will simply allow suspected war criminals time to flee the country as well as the possibility of political interference in the rule of law.

Our views are not outlandish. They are supported by many other respected Human Rights organisations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Federation for Human Rights, Global Witness, Justice and REDRESS who issued a joint statement saying they were:

“… gravely concerned that any changes to existing law and procedure will undermine the capacity of victims of serious international crimes to hold accountable alleged perpetrators who come within the UK’s jurisdiction by making all arrest decisions in such cases subject to political considerations rather than being based on the legal merits. Suspects may therefore find a safe haven in the UK, and the already considerable barriers to bringing such suspects to justice will be heightened.

Instead of making it more difficult to arrest with a view to prosecuting such suspects, the UK should be seeking to enhance its capacity to do so, and mooted legislative changes are a step entirely in the wrong direction.”

The Conservative party itself advocates the Big Society, a society where power is removed from a central political entity, and given to local people and communities. It seems it is fine for the general public to on the one hand ‘share the pain’ of budget cuts, but on the other they can not be trusted to share the responsibility of holding war criminals to account. A responsibility which you apparently wish to now restrict to a small but elite minority in Government.

In the the past the point has been made to us by you, Rob, to different members of our organisation, at different times, that not enough ‘pressure’ is being applied on parliament on the issues that we discuss with you. Please consider this letter as pressure. Please also consider the fact that the major Human Rights related organisations in the UK do not support any change to Universal Jurisdiction as pressure – and we know that they are undertaking to lobby MPs across the political spectrum. Consider the fact that no one has yet produced any example of a case where the existing Universal Jurisdiction law can be said to have been abused as further pressure upon your judgement.

We implore you to oppose any change to the law on Universal Jurisdiction on behalf of the people of Reading. We believe this is an issue that fundamentally alters the moral integrity of our country, and could well call your personal integrity into question should you support the changes.

Kind Regards,
Reading PSC
info@readingpsc.org.uk
http://readingpsc.org.uk
Sent via email @ 3.40pm Thursday December 9th, 2010

All replies to this letter will be posted on the Reading PSC website.
The Open Letter will also be sent to Alok Sharma, Member of Parliament for Reading West.