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HUMAN RIGHTS TRUMP SOVEREIGNTY IN 1



Subject: HUMAN RIGHTS TRUMP SOVEREIGNTY IN 1999

HUMAN RIGHTS TRUMP SOVEREIGNTY IN 1999
Crimes Against Humanity Provoke International Action

(Washington D.C., December 9, 1999) -- National sovereignty is now a
less important obstacle to curbing serious human rights crimes than it
has been in previous years, Human Rights Watch said today in its annual
global survey.

"We will remember 1999 as the year in which sovereignty gave way in
places where crimes against humanity were being committed," said Kenneth
Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. He noted that sustained
international pressure forced the Indonesian government to consent to
the deployment of foreign troops in East Timor, after the Indonesian
military failed to stop bloodshed there.  The national sovereignty
claims of the Indonesian generals, like those of Yugoslav President
Slobodan Milosevic in Kosovo this year, lost their legitimacy in the
wake of gross human rights crimes.

"Ordinarily we depend on sovereign states to defend human rights," said
Roth. "But sovereignty cannot be used as an excuse to avoid human rights
commitments." While regretting the need for military force, Roth praised
the decision to overrule the claims of tyrants and war criminals to be
protected by the cloak of national sovereignty.

Human Rights Watch cautioned, however, that the use of military force to
redress crimes against humanity, such as the NATO campaign in Kosovo
this year, is also a sign of failure to respond to the early warning
signs of gross human rights abuse. The group warned that serious abuses
in countries such as Colombia, Burundi, and the Aceh region of Indonesia
could lead to major crises if they are not promptly addressed through
strong political and economic pressure.




Roth also noted that governments using military force in the name of
human rights should be subjected to close scrutiny, both for the methods
they use in warfare, and the objectives they pursue. "Human rights
should not be used as a pretext for other ventures," said Roth.

Roth presented Human Rights Watch's "World Report 2000" at a news
conference at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. today. The
517-page report covers human rights developments in 68 countries,
including the United States.

In another illustration of the breakdown of national sovereignty when
crimes against humanity occur, Roth observed that many people accused of
serious human rights crimes are being tried outside their native
countries, a triumph of the  principle of "universal jurisdiction." Gen.
Augusto Pinochet, who faces extradition hearings in Great Britain, is
the best-known example, but many other people accused of participating
in the Bosnian and Rwandan genocides have also been indicted outside
their home countries.

 "Pinochet is being prosecuted abroad because local courts in Chile have
failed to do so," said Roth. "This is a real victory for justice."

International war crimes tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia
have a growing number of people in custody. The latter court took the
significant step of indicting a sitting head of state, Yugoslav
president Slobodan Milosevic, for war crimes this year.

Despite the U.S. government's opposition, a growing number of countries
are signing the treaty for an international criminal court, which will
be a critically important tool for human rights protection. "No matter
what Washington thinks, there's no question now that the court will be
established," said Roth. "The only question is when."

Human Rights Watch supported Secretary-General Kofi Annan of the United
Nations in his statements that national leaders risk prosecution if they
do not either stop crimes against humanity or permit other countries to
do so. However, the group criticized U.N. operations in many countries,
such as Angola and Sierra Leone, for failing to respond vigorously
enough when human rights crimes pushed those countries toward war.

Human Rights Watch is an international monitoring organization based in
New York. It is funded entirely by contributions from private
individuals and foundations, and receives no financial support from any
government.

The full text of the Human Rights Watch World Report 2000 is available
on the web at www.hrw.org




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