Colombia's war crimes tribunal investigating the atrocities committed during a five-decade-long war has begun collecting testimony and evidence.

It comes a year after the signing of an historic peace agreement between the former FARC rebels and the government.

But as Al Jazeera's Alessandro Rampietti reports, it's unlikely to heal the wounds that so deeply divide the country. </s> * Proposed bill being debated as peace talks take place in Cuba

Nov 27 The United Nations warned on Tuesday that a proposed constitutional reform in Colombia could lead to soldiers and police being let off the hook for alleged war crimes committed during the country's long-running conflict.

The office of U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called on President Juan Manuel Santos and the head of Congress Roy Barreras to "reconsider" their support for the reform.

The proposed changes to the military justice system come amid peace talks with FARC rebels aimed at ending five decades of war, in which tens of thousands of people have died and millions have been displaced.

"If adopted, this reform would seriously undermine previous efforts undertaken by the Colombian government to ensure that human rights violations, allegedly committed by members of the Colombian military and police forces, are duly investigated and perpetrators held to account," U.N. rights spokeswoman Cecile Pouilly told a news briefing in Geneva.

Under the proposed bill, war crimes and arbitrary detention carried out by the army or police would be tried in military courts. Determination of the crimes would be handled by a military body, "with the consequent risk of impunity", she said.

Crimes against humanity and most gross violations would be excluded from the military criminal jurisdiction, she said.

But a preliminary investigation phase, essential for clarifying facts and identifying suspects, would be conducted by military or police criminal justice institutions, rather than an independent evaluation by competent judicial authorities.

Independent U.N. rights investigators, who report to the U.N. Human Rights Council, warned last month that military and police forces suspected of war crimes could escape prosecution under the proposed constitutional reforms.

"Noting that this bill comes at a time when the government and the FARC guerrillas are in the middle of peace negotiations, we wish to stress that transitional justice mechanisms are available for Colombia to address the serious human rights and humanitarian law violations that occurred and continue occurring during the internal armed conflict," Pouilly said.

"Only justice can bring true peace and reconciliation." (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; editing by Jason Webb) </s> Colombia’s war crimes tribunal said Tuesday that it will not allow politicians who aligned themselves with paramilitary death squads to seek benefits through transitional justice.

The court’s refusal to admit benefits to former Senator Alvaro Ashton and dynasty politician David Char sets a major precedent; more than 30 politicians reportedly have sought judicial benefits in exchange for their collaboration with justice and reparation of justice.

According to war crime tribunal JEP, however, “the majority of congressmen investigated for and convicted of ‘parapolitics’ associated themselves with the paramilitary structure not to sustain it or to win the war, but to serve political interests and private ends.”

Consequently, their trials fall under the “jurisdiction of the ordinary courts for crimes not related to the armed conflict.”

This means that, unlike combatants and commanders of the military and illegal armed groups, politicians will face prison sentences if convicted of terrorism support or other crimes.

The court did agree to examine each politician’s request to determine whether they aligned themselves with illegal armed groups for reasons related to the armed conflict or for personal reasons.

More than 60 congressmen, at least seven governors and an unknown number of mayors have been sentenced to sometimes lengthy prison sentences for teaming up with death squads to get elected.

Many others, including former President Alvaro Uribe, have been accused of involvement with illegal armed groups.

Colombia’s prosecution initially took into account that the war crimes tribunal could be prosecuting more than 24,500 (former) state officials and politicians and more than 11,000 civilians and businessmen that allegedly aligned with paramilitary groups.

The constitutional court, however, ruled last year that only members of the military and illegal armed groups could be obligated to appear.

Other suspects in war crime cases were allowed to voluntarily submit to the transitional system.

Those who find themselves embroiled in human rights violations because they sought personal gain rather than victory in the armed conflict, however, will have to face ordinary justice.

was last modified: by </s> He has been convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity in Fulbaria.

A three-member bench of the International Crimes Tribunal headed by Justice Md Shahinur Islam passed the judgement on Thursday after wrapping up a hearing from prosecutors and the defendant on Mar 21.

It is the 32nd verdict in war crimes cases since the tribunal was formed in 2010.

According to the verdict, four allegations brought against Fakir have been proved. He was sentenced to death on two charges and jailed for life for the other two.

Fakir has been behind bars since the trial began on Dec 11, 2016.

According to the investigation agency, Fakir was a member of Al-Badr, a paramilitary force responsible for mass killings during Bangladesh’s Liberation War against Pakistan in 1971. He was involved with Jamaat-e-Islami that openly opposed the liberation struggle.

Charges submitted to the tribunal in 2016 linked Fakir to five war crimes. The 69-year-old man was in the dock during the verdict.

Initially three persons were accused in the case but later Amjad Ali’s name had been dropped from the list as he fell sick after being arrested and died in jail.

The tribunal removed the name of another suspect Wajuddin after he had died while on the run.

Of the 74 people accused in 32 cases in war crimes so far, five died during trials.

Of them, 69 people were punished, with 42 sentenced to death. </s> Both houses of Colombia's congress have approved legislation on amnesty for leftist rebels under the government's peace accord with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia to end a half century of conflict.

The measure covers most offenses committed by fighters but it does not absolve any guerrillas who committed war crimes or human rights violations during a war that caused more than 220,000 deaths and displaced nearly 6 million Colombians.

The Chamber of Deputies passed the measure Wednesday morning, and the Senate followed suit later in the day.

Amnesty was a key step in implementing the peace deal, which calls for FARC fighters to begin disarming at U.N.-monitored camps across Colombia. Officials said Wednesday that 27 demobilization sites are under construction. </s> National Security Advisor John Bolton listens as US President Donald Trump addresses the nation on the situation in Syria April 13, 2018 at the White House in Washington, DC.

WASHINGTON – White House National Security Adviser John Bolton unleashed a scathing attack Monday on the International Criminal Court, saying the Trump administration would sanction the court and ban its judges from the U.S. if it moves forward with a probe into alleged U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan.

"The United States will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court," Bolton said in a speech Monday to the conservative Federalist Society. "The ICC is already dead to us."

The ICC has long been controversial, with critics like Bolton suggesting it's a threat to American sovereignty. Supporters say the international court, based in the Netherlands, offers recourse for victims of genocide and other war crimes in lawless countries.

The ICC was first envisioned in 1998 by the Rome Treaty as a tribunal that could prosecute genocide, war crimes and other crimes against humanity. “As a court of last resort, it seeks to complement, not replace, national courts,” the ICC says on its website.

In his speech Monday, Bolton blasted the ICC as a “supranational tribunal" that claims "unfettered discretion to investigate, charge, and prosecute individuals, regardless of whether their countries have acceded to the Rome Statute." The U.S. is not a signatory to the Rome agreement.

"In theory, the ICC holds perpetrators of the most egregious atrocities accountable for their crimes, provides justice to the victims, and deters future abuses,” Bolton told a receptive audience of Federal Society members. “In practice, however, the court has been ineffective, unaccountable, and indeed, outright dangerous.”

Bolton said he made the announcement now because the Trump administration feared the ICC was about to take action in the Afghanistan matter.

Last November, the court’s prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, announced plans to seek a probe into allegations that the U.S. military and CIA personnel were involved in acts of torture in Afghanistan.

"In due course, I will file my request for judicial authorization to open an investigation, submitting that there is a reasonable basis to believe that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in connection with the armed conflict in Afghanistan," she said at the time.

But Bolton cited another factor in his broadside against the ICC: a possible investigation of Israel, a key U.S. ally. The Palestinians asked the ICC in May to probe alleged human rights abuses by Israel.

"We will not allow the ICC, or any other organization, to constrain Israel's right to self defense," Bolton said Monday.

If the ICC tries to prosecute the U.S., Israel, or other allies, Bolton said the Trump administration would not only sanction the ICC but also any company or state that works with the court in such a probe. The U.S. could even cut off foreign aid to those countries, he said.

"We will remember that cooperation when setting U.S. foreign assistance, military assistance, and intelligence sharing levels," Bolton said.

In a related move, the Trump administration announced Monday it would shutter the Palestine Liberation Organization’s office in Washington – a move that drew an immediate rebuke from Palestinian officials who said the White House is trying to bully them.

The State Department's spokeswoman, Heather Nauert, said the administration was closing the office because the PLO has not been a productive partner in efforts to achieve a peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

"The PLO has not taken steps to advance the start of direct and meaningful negotiations with Israel," Nauert said in a statement Monday. "To the contrary, PLO leadership has condemned a U.S. peace plan they have not yet seen and refused to engage with the U.S. government with respect to peace efforts and otherwise.

"The United States continues to believe that direct negotiations between the two parties are the only way forward," she added. "This action should not be exploited by those who seek to act as spoilers to distract from the imperative of reaching a peace agreement. We are not retreating from our efforts to achieve a lasting and comprehensive peace."

Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said in a statement Monday that Monday's announcement was "another affirmation of the Trump administration’s policy to collectively punish the Palestinian people, including by cutting financial support for humanitarian services including health and education."

The Trump administration first threatened to close down the PLO's office in Washington last fall but later backed off. The State Department's decision to finalize that move will further inflame tensions between the U.S. and the Palestinians – coming on the heels of the Trump administration's decision to nix funding for U.S. aid to the West Bank and Gaza and to freeze support for the United Nation's program that supports Palestinian refugees.

"This dangerous escalation shows that the U.S. is willing to disband the international system in order to protect Israeli crimes and attacks against the land and people of Palestine as well as against peace and security in the rest of our region," Erekat said Monday.

He said the Palestinians would "take the necessary measures to protect the rights of our citizens living in the United States to access their consular services."

Human rights advocates and other critics said the twin moves would further undermine America's global standing and cripple U.S. efforts to be seen as a legitimate peace broker in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"The first casualty of this (ICC) decision is America’s credibility when it comes to international justice," said Brett Bruen, who served as director of global engagement in the Obama administration. Bruen said Obama tried to balance concerns about the ICC, in terms of its impact on U.S. national security and sovereignty, with America's role as a champion of rule of law around the world.

"What Bolton is essentially doing is taking one our most powerful deterrents and removing it from the equation, which will result in more gross human rights violations taking place in places like Venezuela and Myanmar," Bruen said. "It will ultimately result in more American blood and treasure having to be spent to remove those who are committing these kinds of war crimes."

Amnesty International also blasted the move and called on the U.S. to join the ICC as a full-fledged member.

“Rather than imposing sanctions, the United States should instead once and for all reaffirm its signature of the Rome Statute establishing the ICC, and support – not impede – its investigations," said Adotei Akwei, deputy director of advocacy and Government Relations at Amnesty International USA. </s> BOGOTÁ, Colombia—The man accused of carrying out the bombing of a police academy that killed 20 people here was identified by Colombian authorities as a longtime member of a Marxist rebel group whose guerrilla fighters operate along the porous border with Venezuela.

The attack is likely to further complicate efforts to restart peace negotiations with the insurgent group, the National Liberation Army, or ELN, and heighten tensions with Venezuela, where Colombian officials say ELN commanders operate freely. </s> Colombia's Congress has approved an amnesty law protecting the FARC guerrilla group from prosecution for minor crimes. The law is part of a historic peace deal signed last month ending more than 50 years of civil war.... </s> Bosnian Serb wartime leader Karadzic appears for his appeals judgement at the International Criminal Tribunal for Former Yugoslavia in The Hague Thomson Reuters By Stephanie van den Berg

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic will take the courtroom floor again on Monday when he contests his conviction for genocide and a 40-year prison sentence before U.N. appeals judges.

Karadzic was convicted in 2016 for some of the worst war crimes committed as the former Yugoslavia broke apart, including the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.

Now 72, Karadzic was found guilty on 10 counts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for the brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia he oversaw as the president of the breakaway Bosnian Serb Republic.

He has filed 50 grounds of appeal in an effort to overturn his conviction and sentence. Acting as his own lawyer, with help of legal counsel, he has asked for the entire judgment to be reversed and for a "new and fair trial" to be ordered.

His conviction was handed down by U.N. judges at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) which said he was "at the apex of power" of the Bosnian Serb military and political hierarchy when atrocities were committed by his troops.

It was the last major verdict at the ICTY, which closed at the end of 2017.

The two-day appeals hearing will be held at the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (MICT), which is handling outstanding U.N. war crimes cases for the Balkans and Rwanda.

After Karadzic has presented his appeal on Monday, prosecutors are due to speak on Tuesday. A verdict is expected by the end of the year.

The prosecutors will appeal Karadzic's acquittal on a second count of genocide in various towns across Bosnia during the war of the 1990s. They will seek a life sentence.

In their verdict, judges said the 44-month siege of Sarajevo could not have happened without Karadzic; that he committed crimes against humanity in an attempt to purge Muslims and Croats from parts of Bosnia; and that he had intended to eliminate the Bosnian Muslim males of the town of Srebrenica.
A war crimes tribunal in Colombia begins investigating atrocities during the war which began in the 1960s.