Schedule 8 - Genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes: articles 6 to 9
International Criminal Court Bill [Lords]
2:45 pm
Mr Gerald Howarth (Aldershot, Conservative)
Schedule 8 incorporates into English law the crimes set out in articles 6 to 8 of the statute of Rome. Some of those crimes have already been taken from the Geneva conventions, and I understand that some of them have already been incorporated into United Kingdom—I should perhaps say ``English''—law.
I hope that the Committee understands that the amendments have a variety of objectives. On the face of it, no one could possibly condone any of the crimes set out in the articles—some of the most heinous crimes ever committed. Many were ostensibly committed during the second world war, but we have seen elements of those crimes more recently in Sierra Leone and in the Balkans where British troops have been deployed to try to restore order.
I spoke to the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Parachute Regiment, Colonel Gibson, when he returned from Sierra Leone, and he told me of the sense of anger that he and his fellow members of the regiment felt. He said, ``The atrocities that we saw committed by the terrorists in Sierra Leone made our blood boil.'' Children with their arms and other limbs mutilated and other such atrocities gave them a real sense of purpose in the mission that they had been called upon to carry out on behalf of the British people and the Government. As the Committee knows, one member of the Special Air Service died in that operation, so it was not without risk, or, indeed, loss of life. It was made clear to me that they felt a strong sense of purpose in seeking to put right the injustices that had been wreaked on the civilian population of Sierra Leone.
In no sense do I resile from the horror of the atrocities listed, but some of the amendments are designed to be probing amendments while others are designed to extract a response from the Government to deal with the real concerns that have been expressed by senior military officers. The Committee will be pleased to hear that I will not rehearse the arguments again or regurgitate quotes from senior officers that have been heard extensively in Committee. The Committee knows that real concerns have been expressed, as I explained to the right hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Mr. Maclennan). A senior Army officer who recently retired told me of his concern that the measure could hobble our troops—those going into battle to try to put right some of the ills that afflict the world.
Some of the arguments that I wish to deploy in favour of the amendments were rehearsed earlier when we debated new clause 1. At the end of my contribution, I said that
``we must foresee the possibility of the court saying that this country has been unwilling to take action although we believe that it would be inappropriate for our national courts to do so. In such circumstances we must provide maximum protection to our troops.''
I entirely accept what the Minister said in response:
``We shall continue to emphasise that we are determined to ensure that our armed forces are protected properly under law.''—[Official Report, Standing Committee D, 1 May 2001; c. 247-48.]
I do not suggest that the Government do not fully subscribe to that view, but they have not taken on board the potential scenario that we have tried to present. Many years hence—perhaps decades—when the Bill is passed by Parliament and is on the statute books of English law, there may be cases that we try or refuse to try, should we decide on balance that there is no case to answer. It would then be open for the court to say that we were shielding people—who knows how the courts will interpret the question of shielding. We could be accused of shielding military personnel , such as infantry involved in a particular action, or, more likely, those engaged in the delivery of weapons that are capable of inflicting massive destruction—and, in that regard, I am thinking particularly of our Royal Air Force pilots, but sailors serving on ships that fire long-range missiles are another example.