Justice for all

For those of you who actually read my blog, you might notice that I haven’t written in a while. Quite a long while, considering I used to write at least twice a week, if not more. But the reason is - I’ve finished my exams at LSE and spent a week traveling around the UK and moving into my room in Geneva, Switzerland! My mother came to visit me, and I showed her around London, while inside I was saying goodbye to a city I had grown to deeply love throughout the past year. I felt not yet ready to be uprooted yet again, to embark on yet another whirlwind adventure, to build a temporary life again in yet another new city. But life doesn’t stop according to our wishes, and so I moved on to another new experience.

When I arrived in Switzerland, I had the opportunity to take a long, winding train ride through the picturesque countryside, replete with verdant farmland and the Alps, chilly and ominous in the distant horizon. We reached Zermatt, a town nestled at the foot of some of the most majestic snow-capped mountains of the country. From there, we took a rickety cable car ride to a frighteningly high point of 13,000 feet - Europe’s highest mountain lift. As we stepped out onto a platform and into the fresh, chilly air, I found myself blinded by the dazzling white mountain peaks we were surrounded by, the most magnificent being the Matterhorn peak. This was true grandeur, and the moment remains fresh in my mind.

So why do I tell you this story? Because on the way back home, as I watched the mountains recede into the distance and basked in the sun on the peaceful train ride, I couldn’t stop thinking about how freaking lucky I was. How many people have the chance to travel the world and to see some of the most amazing sights in the world by the age of 20? This year, I took in the regal air of London, the lovely coastlines of Greece, the cheeriness of Dublin, the literary atmosphere of Scotland, and the international legal experience of the Hague. How many students have such amazing opportunities?

Stepping out into the dazzling view of the Alps - like every other exciting opportunity I’ve had recently - has made me more aware of my status in the world. I’ve enjoyed every moment, but I’ve never stopped appreciating how incredibly lucky I am to have these experiences. I’m well aware that I’m insanely privileged, and that the majority of the world doesn’t have these opportunities - or even anything close. And, I feel that it’s completely unfair for me to be this lucky, while so many others suffer from human rights violations, poverty, or conflict.

What’s ironic is that having the world’s beauty and grandeur thrust in my face gives me a great desire to work towards ensuring that others have these opportunities too. But seeing extreme poverty, somehow, hasn’t given me this drive in the past. I was born in India and have visited several times. I’ve unquestionably seen poverty and underdevelopment - in the rickshaw drivers, the domestic servants and their poor families, the sad state of government education, the utter lack of sanitation and the mounds of trash at every street corner, the pervasive corruption. I’ve seen it, but to be completely honest - seeing poverty and social problems firsthand scared me. It didn’t motivate me to act, but rather made me want to escape. It didn’t inspire me, but made me feel dejected, and powerless. Strangely, having some of the best opportunities to travel, to enjoy, and to experience life - have motivated me more, making me even more aware of my privilege, and the unfairness of it all.

Perhaps it’s because I didn’t work directly with or alongside the underprivileged in India, or perhaps it’s because I was younger and hadn’t reflected on what I saw around me. Perhaps being so close to poverty is just so frightening that I retreated rather than became inspired. Either way, it’s ironic; students and Peace Corps volunteers often cite fieldwork experience in developing countries as the most formative experiences of their life which truly caused them to become dedicated to this work. Maybe for me it’ll be the opposite - and maybe I’ll cite my experiences with the world’s grandeur and beauty as my inspiration to contribute to the incredible change happening around us, so necessary and yet so exciting.

I’m a strong proponent of studying or working abroad, especially for college students in the U.S. who can afford the experience. I’m incredibly lucky, because this year - as a junior in college - I’ve had the absolutely amazing opportunity to study abroad at the London School of Economics (LSE) for the entire school year. Before I left for England, I was afraid that I wouldn’t be gaining too much out of studying abroad considering I was headed to an English speaking country whose culture is admittedly not all that different from American culture. Would I be getting enough out of the experience without language immersion, without suddenly jumping into a wholly unfamiliar situation? Would the similarities between the U.S. and the U.K. really make this learning experience less than extraordinary?

But really, I needn’t have worried at all. True, perhaps I didn’t substantially improve my Spanish skills or live with a host family. Perhaps I didn’t learn too many local customs and traditions, especially since most of my friends are international students. But I learned so much this year that it’s literally changed the way I view the world around me. London is probably one of the most internatonal cities in the world. The student body of LSE, especially, is composed of about 60% international students. This means that I haven’t befriended too many British kids, but instead I’ve met students from all over: Germany, Norway, China, Korea, Colombia, Slovakia, India, Italy, Pakistan, Kenya, Portugal, and of course dear old America. And, as a testament to the international focus of LSE, all my classes include case studies about different countries around the world. I’ve covered issues like economic history in Argentina and Brazil, democratization in Iran and Southern Europe, and economic development in India and Indonesia. I’ve also been so lucky to have the chance to travel: Greece, Spain, Ireland, and Scotland have been my destinations throughout the year.

And you know what? This year in London changed my life. Prior to studying at LSE, I had a much more limited knowledge of critical global issues. I was intending to focus on American government and politics through my political science major, and was hoping to attend law school in the U.S. To be sadly honest, I was much less interested in what was going on in far off places than in domestic politics and issues. But after talking with students about their experiences in Uganda, or Vietnam, or about Norwegian politics - and after traveling so much and becoming something of a nomad - I can’t stop thinking about international issues and development. There is such a vast body of knowledge to be gained by looking beyond the boundaries of America, and I feel the urge to know, learn, and act on this. Studying abroad has opened my eyes - but most importantly, it’s made me feel like a global citizen. Of course, I’m still proud to be an American citizen; but more than that, I’m proud to feel a strong connection and commitment to the world as a whole.

A lot of the undergraduates I’ve met at LSE are older. In Europe, it’s actually very common for students to take a gap year (or years!) after graduating from high school in order to volunteer or work abroad, especially in the developing world. I know students who have gone to Africa and Southeast asia after high school to work in international development and teaching english. Why is it so uncommon in the U.S.? If I had been able to work abroad before entering college, I’d probably have a much clearer idea of my interests and passions, as well as a sense of humility and global citizenship. I’d probably have gained a lot more out of my undergraduate experience if I had worked abroad beforehand. More students need to start having and taking advantage of such opportunities; if not before college, at least during college, or as a gap year after college.

Now, I know not everyone has the financial means or opportunities to go abroad. That’s why I want to highlight an innovative new non-profit organization, Global Citizen Year.

Global Citizen Year is a non-profit organization which is building a movement of young Americans who engage in a transformative “bridge year” between high school and college.  Through an innovative cross-sector model that partners with high schools and colleges in the US, and NGOs around the world, we create opportunities for emerging leaders to work as apprentices in Asia, Africa and Latin America.  By providing intensive training and support, we ensure that our Fellows develop an ethic of service, the ability to communicate across languages and cultures, and a deep commitment to becoming agents for social change.

I think this is what our country really needs. When we young Americans live and work abroad - especially in the developing world, we gain something absolutely invaluable: perspective. We learn to view ourselves as privileged, lucky to have the opportunities we’re afforded. And we learn to feel connected to the world around us - something that we can’t gain from the skewed news reporting, media, and popular culture in the U.S. There’s a sense of disconnect from the globe, that we’re fine in our own little bubble. I hope that Global Citizen Year can change this and play a vital role in changing the perspectives of the young Americans who will grow up to be our country’s leaders.

Picture credit: JPJ Mag

Mr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo

During my recent trip to the Hague, we also had the amazing chance to meet the ICC’s Chief Prosecutor, Mr. Luis Moreno-Ocampo. As students, we had an incredible opportunity to ask Mr. Ocampo critical questions and hear his responses and opinions; this was immensely valuable, especially as it provided me with a completely different perspective. It helped me understand how things actually work - in contrast to the theoretical arguments we consider in class.

Here are some of the more “controversial” questions and answers from the presentation. Keep in mind that these aren’t exact quotes, just paraphrases of general answers I noted down.

How does the court consider the political situation on the ground, and the situation of victims, while choosing to conduct investigations and issue arrest warrants?

The political situation changes every day, and even several times in one day. For example, we’ve had government officials call us up and thank us for issuing the arrest warrant for Lubanga, and soon after call us again to ask us to withdraw the arrest warrant because it was simply not a good time, and the political situation had changed. We can’t cater our indictments to that, and we have to pursue justice regardless of this constantly changing situation. People are saying it’s wrong but at the end of the day, the ICC is working.

How would you respond to people who say that the Court is simply working in Africa, and not taking on any cases outside of Africa, and why?

We are looking into cases outside of Africa, such as in Colombia. There are also preliminary examinations of situations in Georgia and Afghanistan. We are analysing situations from around the world, and conducting investigations into many countries. However you have to keep in mind that the ultimate goal is not to try to have a balance of cases from around the world - but just to do what is necessary and investigate the worst crimes. Some of the worst crimes right now are happening in Africa, and that is why we have so many cases in Africa. It has nothing to do with striving towards balance, but it’s about pursuing justice where it is most necessary.

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Thomas Lubanga Dyilo

During the trip, I also got to sit in on the ICC’s trial of Thomas Lubanga, which was really exciting. These trials are quite intense; they usually have the entire courtroom behind a glass panel, and they show the audience a video of what is going on with headphones so you can listen to the entire trial in your language of choice - usually English, French, and a few more relevant languages. The accused is usually in attendance, so it is a bit surreal to see people accused of genocide sitting peacefully right in front of your eyes. It’s fascinating because usually, the judges speak English to the lawyers, who usually speak to the witness in his or her native language. So people are speaking all different languages to each other within the same courtroom, and everything is translated for you - it’s pretty funny to watch! And finally, the witness is usually sitting in a closed-off area of the courtroom so the judicial officials can see him or her, but the audience can’t - and when they show their image on the video screen, it’s usually blurred so we can’t identify the witness. It’s pretty top-secret and very cool to watch! So the Lubanga trial was very intense for the short time period we were there, since they were showing video footage of a training camp of child soldiers, in which Lubanga and other officials were essentially brainwashing the soldiers into believing that they were “fighting for peace in Ituri.” Very moving, frightening, and powerful footage.

We also went to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and sat in on the trial of Momcilo Perisic. Perisic, the former Chief of the General Staff of the Yugoslav Army (VJ), has also been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. This trial wasn’t as fascinating since they seemed to be discussing various procedural issues during the time we were present.

Peace Palace

And a final highlight of my trip was when we visited Vredesplais, or the Peace Palace, which houses a number of international judicial institutions such as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the Permanent Court for Arbitration (PCA). It was an absolutely beautiful building inside and out, filled with gifts donated by various States. The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, and primarily settles legal disputes between UN member states. Similarly, the PCA was the first global mechanism to settle inter-state disputes. I learned about various conflicts that had been alleviated or even solved through arbitration and adjudication, and it made me realize once again how vast the potential of international justice is, especially in fostering peace.

To be honest, before this trip to the ICC, I was actually a bit more critical of the Court’s policies. This trip actually helped me understand firsthand what the Court is all about, and helped me think more grandly. Although there are numerous problems to be solved in the short-run, and the Court is still so young - this trip opened my eyes to the immense potential the ICC has to help alleviate some of the world’s most complex conflicts in the long-run. Imagine: if it was absolutely sure that the Court would bring a perpetrator responsible for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes to justice — if a leader responsible of such acts was guaranteed to be arrested — imagine how much deterrent power the Court would have. This trip, though it did show me the realities and inefficiencies present within the Court, ultimately gave me hope that someday this dream - on such a grand scale - can and will be achieved.

Just wanted to write to say how incredibly excited I am right now! I’m leaving tomorrow morning for a trip to The Hague in the Netherlands, the seat of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is the first permanent, treaty based, international criminal court established to help end impunity for the perpetrators of serious crimes of concern to the international community, namely genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The ICC is an independent international organization headquartered in The Hague in the Netherlands. The court was established on July 17, 1998 by the Rome Statute, the treaty and legal basis for establishing the permanent court. Currently, 108 countries support the ICC. The ICC has also been established as a court of last resort, and will only act if a national judicial system refuses to investigate or prosecute a particular case.

I’m going on a trip to the ICC with the law society from LSE and will have the exciting opportunity to meet the Chief Prosecutor, sit in on the Lubanga trial, potentially sit in on the Charles Taylor hearing, and attend meetings/briefings with the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Coalition for the ICC, and International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia. I wrote about the Lubanga trial in more detail here, if you’re interested in reading about this exciting new development. I’ll also be able to spend some free time in Amsterdam, which is only 40 minutes away from The Hague. I am incredibly excited for this opportunity and I wish I could liveblog it. I know there will be so many thoughts swirling around in my head, just screaming to be put down on (metaphorical) paper. Unfortunately, I can’t take my computer so I’ll probably stick to taking notes and trying to post them up in my free time, if I can get ahold of a computer. Otherwise I’ll have to put together a sort of “trip report” once I return to London! Either way, I’m going to try to post a ’series’ about the ICC when I get back, chronicling everything I’ve learned.

I feel incredibly lucky and privileged to be able to go to the Hague and observe firsthand my interest in transitional justice, especially in light of all the exciting new developments taking place at the ICC. The ICC is currently holding its first official trial - and I am so lucky that I can attend at precisely this time. This is definitely going to be an experience that I’ll never forget.