A UN body has declared that the detention of a long-term Guantánamo inmate, Abu Zubaydah, has no lawful basis and called for his immediate release, warning that the systemic deprivation of liberty at the camp may “constitute crimes against humanity”.
The UN working group on arbitrary detention (UNWGAD), also declared the UK, among other countries, was “jointly responsible for the torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of Mr Zubaydah” over his more than 20 years in detention.
The UNWGAD finding released on Friday specifically addresses the case of Zubaydah, a 52-year-old Palestinian captured in Pakistan in March 2002, and held and tortured in a series of CIA black sites, before being transferred to the Guantánamo Bay prison camp in 2006. The US initially claimed he was “number three” in al-Qaida but later conceded he was not a member at all.
The finding went further to address detention at Guantánamo in general, and “expresses grave concern about the pattern that all these cases follow and recalls that, under certain circumstances, widespread or systematic imprisonment or other severe deprivation of liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law may constitute crimes against humanity”.
The UN working group is a quasi-judicial body, issuing legal judgments on behalf of the international community, but they are not binding, nor does it have the power to enforce its findings. It is made up of five legal experts from around the world: the current panel consists of lawyers, law professors and former judges drawn from Malaysia, New Zealand, Ukraine, Ecuador and Zambia.
Abu Zubaydah. Photograph: AP
Friday marks the first time an international body has referred to the 21-year-old prison camp as a potential crime against humanity, the first time such a body has ruled against the US for Abu Zubaydah’s detention, and the first international case finding against the UK, Morocco, Thailand and Afghanistan, all of whom are deemed complicit in arbitrary detention, rendition and torture.
The decision also found Pakistan, Poland and Lithuania to be part responsible: Pakistan for participation in his arrest and rendition, and Poland and Lithuania for hosting black sites. The European Court of Human Rights has previously ruled against Poland and Lithuania for their participation in the web of secret detention facilities and rendition flights.
Helen Duffy, Zubaydah’s international legal representative, who runs a Hague-based legal group, Human Rights in Practice, said: “Today’s decision is a powerful reminder of the complete unlawfulness of Guantánamo, and our client’s situation in particular.”
“The UK has been found legally responsible for ‘complicity’ in our client’s torture and ongoing unlawful detention, and reparations should follow,” Duffy said. “This can include offers of relocation, recognition and apology, rehabilitation and compensation.”
She added: “We need to reckon with the fact that the ‘war on terror’, as waged for 20 years, has failed. But we cannot pretend to learn lessons from it while perpetuating its most notorious wrongs.”
There are 30 inmates left at the Guantánamo camp, of which only one has been convicted of a crime; 10 are involved in military tribunal proceedings, although in most cases, the trials have not even started; 16 have been recommended for a transfer to another country, pending security guarantees; and the Biden administration has been in quiet negotiations with foreign governments to persuade them to accept transferred inmates.
Zubaydah is one of three “forever prisoners” who have not been charged and not been recommended for transfer.
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( With inputs from : www.theguardian.com )
MUNICH — The United States has determined that Russia is committing crimes against humanity in Ukraine, Vice President Kamala Harris announced Saturday, the latest salvo in the West’s effort to hold Moscow accountable for its wartime atrocities.
In a marquee address at the Munich Security Conference, Harris detailed that Russia is responsible for a “widespread and systematic attack” against Ukraine’s civilian population, citing evidence of execution-style killings, rape, torture and forceful deportations — sometimes perpetrated against children. As a result, Russia has not only committed war crimes, as the administration formally concluded in March, but also illegal acts against non-combatants.
“Their actions are an assault on our common values, an attack on our common humanity,” the vice president said, referencing images of bodies lying in the streets of Bucha and the sexual assault of a four-year-old girl by a Russian soldier. “Barbaric and inhumane.”
Harris then declared: “The United States has formally determined that Russia has committed crimes against humanity.”
The Biden administration will continue to assist Ukraine in its investigation into these alleged crimes, she said, vowing that the perpetrators and “their superiors” will be “held to account.”
She added: “Let us all agree: on behalf of all the victims, both known and unknown: justice must be served.”
The declaration is among the most forceful yet from a Western power as allies grapple with how to punish Russians responsible for violations. And it escalates the judicial side of America’s support for Ukraine, which has long said Russia was guilty of these crimes and that Russian President Vladimir Putin was ultimately responsible.
Harris didn’t cite Putin by name, but the clear implication is that the invasion he launched nearly a year ago is why Ukrainian civilians are now victims of these international law violations.
While “crimes against humanity” are not officially codified in an international treaty, they are still adjudicated in the International Criminal Court and other global bodies. The Biden administration’s determination means the U.S. believes Russian actions have met a broader standard than war crimes but not as specific a violation as genocide.
“In contrast with genocide, crimes against humanity do not need to target a specific group,” according to the United Nations. “Instead, the victim of the attack can be any civilian population, regardless of its affiliation or identity. Another important distinction is that in the case of crimes against humanity, it is not necessary to prove that there is an overall specific intent.”
Some, however, would like the Biden administration to go further. Back in the United States, both of West Virginia’s senators, Democrat Joe Manchin and Republican Shelley Moore Capito, introduced a resolution to recognize Russia’s war on Ukraine as a genocide.
Others like Tom Malinowski, a former member of Congress and senior human rights official at the State Department, believe “these debates about what to call Russia’s atrocities are less important than providing Ukraine the means to stop them.”
Andriy Yermak, the chief of Ukraine’s presidential office, said his country wouldn’t feel safe until Russia’s leadership was punished | Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images
“But yes, there’s no question that Russia is committing crimes against humanity,” he continued, “and we’re right to say so.”
On Friday, shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke via video to the gathering of officials and experts here, Andriy Yermak, the chief of Ukraine’s presidential office, said his country wouldn’t feel safe until Russia’s leadership was punished.
“The fastest and easiest way to build the security of Ukraine and the whole world is to create a special tribunal to try the Russian leadership for the crime of aggression. Europe and the entire civilized world understand why it is necessary,” he said at the opening of the “Ukraine is You” exhibit.
Last November, human rights organization Amnesty International said Russia was “likely” committing crimes against humanity, citing instances of the forceful transfer and deportation of people from Ukraine.
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( With inputs from : www.politico.eu )
GUTEN MORGEN, Grüß Gott and Servus from Bavaria! Welcome to our special Munich Security conference edition of Playbook with that latest news, analysis and gossip from what some affectionately refer to as the “Davos with guns” festival.
We’re smack dab in the middle of the three-day gathering of the global security elite, where (almost) all talk is centered around the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine one year ago. Let’s dive in.
BREAKING
‘CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY’: The United States has determined that Russia is committing crimes against humanity in Ukraine, Vice President Kamala Harris announced Saturday, the latest salvo in the West’s effort to hold Moscow accountable for its wartime atrocities.
In a marquee address at the Munich Security Conference, Harris detailed that Russia is responsible for a “widespread and systematic attack” against Ukraine’s civilian population, citing evidence of execution-style killings, rape, torture and forceful deportations — sometimes perpetrated against children. As a result, Russia has not only committed war crimes, as the administration formally concluded in March, but also illegal acts against non-combatants.
**A message from Google: The Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing war have created a humanitarian disaster, damaged critical infrastructure, upended energy markets and supply chains, and left hundreds of thousands dead or wounded. See how we’re helping people affected by the war in Ukraine.**
Here’s the line: “The United States has formally determined that Russia has committed crimes against humanity,” Harris told the conference just now. Alex Ward has the story.
EUROPE’S LINES
DAVID AND GOLIATH: A year after he came to Munich looking for help as Russian tanks lined up on the Ukrainian border, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy returned via video link to open on the conference on Friday. As the war enters its second year, Zelenskyy — who in 2022 declared “someone is lying” to a Munich audience still in denial about Putin’s true intentions — turned instead to a familiar parable from the Bible.
“The Russian Goliath has already begun to lose,” Zelenskyy said, sitting in his trademark olive green sweatshirt behind a desk in Kyiv.
Speed kills: Even as he thanked the U.S. and Europe for the weapons they’ve sent to help Ukraine defend itself, Zelenskyy made an urgent plea for more, stressing that “speed was crucial.”
Butt out Belarus: He also warned President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus not to get directly involved in the war, as the bellicose Belarusian suggested he might do earlier this week. Zelenskyy said he was confident that local opposition in Belarus to participating Putin’s quest to build a new Russian empire would hold Lukashenko back.
POT OR KETTLE? MSC chairman Christoph Heusgen asked Zelenskyy in a brief Q&A after his speech about his battle against “endemic corruption.” Given the MSC’s own struggles in that department and its recent “outreach” for Qatar, it’s a question perhaps better put to the gray-haired men behind the MSC.
Or they could just consult McKinsey: As promised in yesterday’s Playbook our exposé on the interplay between the MSC and McKinsey is online. Over the past decade, the U.S.-based consultancy has quietly influenced the agenda of the conference, steering everything from the focus of its marquee report to the event’s program, to the guest lists. It gives McKinsey the opportunity to push narratives that serve the firm’s client base, be they in defense, the energy sector or government, people close the conference say. The full story is out now.
NO MORE SCHOLZING: Countries able to send battle tanks to Ukraine should “actually do so now,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Friday, trying to rally support for a Europe-wide fleet of tank donations. Scholz, whose own dithering on the question of sending main battle tanks to Ukraine spawned the German verb scholzen (to Scholz), rebutted his critics in an address to the Munich crowd, calling out NATO partners that have overpromised and underdelivered on the tanks front.
Olaf’s bazooka: Scholz also declared that Germany would “permanently” adhere to the NATO goal of spending 2 percent of its economic output on defense — a target that Berlin is currently set to miss this year and probably also next year, despite a massive €100 billion special fund for military investment. Of course, Germany has made similar pledges before only to break them. But still!
Pissing on the chips: That’s what Brits would call what German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius did on Friday. While his boss was vowing German “leadership” and making new pledges, Pistorius made clear two percent wasn’t enough: “It must be clear to everyone: It will not be possible to fulfill the tasks that lie ahead of us with barely two percent,” Pistorius said. More by Hans von der Burchard
LE SNUB: Scholz was followed onstage by French President Emmanuel Macron. But instead of a hug, a handshake or just a wave and “bonjour,” there was nothing. Rien. The two men appeared to not to have encountered one another at all, in fact, underscoring the ongoing tensions on the Paris-Berlin axis. The two have been at loggerheads for months over everything from energy policy to defense.
For all the thinly veiled resentment and behind-the-curtain sniping on Friday, the overall message from both Macron and Scholz was one of unity and solidarity with Ukraine. How fast Ukraine will get the tanks and other weapons it needs to fend off Russia’s spring offensive is another question, however.
ALLIANCES (AND LACK THEREOF)
CHINA TO EUROPE: COLD WAR IS NIGH, BUT WE CAN STOP IT. China’s chief representative in Munich had his message ready for European leaders and officials: You can avert Cold War.
“The cold war mentality is back,” Wang Yi, Beijing’s top diplomat, said. “China and Europe are two major forces, markets and civilizations in an increasingly multipolar world. The choices we make have a huge impact on where the world goes … Making the right choice is a responsibility we share,” he said.
Dodged #1: When asked whether Wang would rule out an invasion of Taiwan, the Chinese leader instead went in hard in stressing China’s position on the island’s status and slammed U.S. and allies for focusing on its integrity.
Dodged #2: Wang did not answer the MSC’s Wolfgang Ischinger’s question whether he plans to sit down with the U.S. delegation in Munich. (The two sides have talked about a Blinken-Yi meeting for some days but there’s no signs of a breakthrough just yet.)
One line that popped: “Any increase in China’s strength is an increase in the hope for world peace.”
Another line that popped: The U.S. decision to shoot down China’s surveillance balloon was “absurd and hysterical. This is 100 percent abuse of the use of force.”
What else popped? The balloon, earlier this month.
STOLTENBERG TURNS THE TABLES: Just minutes after China’s chief diplomat left the stage, NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was quick to counter Beijing’s pleas, telling the audience it should project the lessons from Russia’s invasion in Ukraine on its dealings with China next.
“What is happening in Europe today … could happen in east Asia tomorrow,” the military alliance chief said, hinting at concerns about Beijing launching an invasion of Taiwan. Moscow, Stoltenberg underscored, “wants a different Europe” while Beijing “is watching closely to see the price Russia pays — or the reward it receives for its aggression.” Lili Bayer has the story.
FINLAND STICKS WITH SWEDEN: Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin reiterated her country’s desire to join NATO together with Sweden, saying it was in “the interest of everyone.” Except, it would appear Turkey, which continues to block Sweden’s bid over Stockholm’s refusal to extradite Kurdish activists Ankara claims are terrorists.
WHAT’S THE EU TO DO? Feed the military-industrial complex. That was the message from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen who called on the defense industry in her Munich speech Saturday to “speed up the production and scale up the production” of weapons for Ukraine.
WHAT’S THE ICC TO DO? Chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Khan is still insisting The Hague-based ICC is the appropriate judicial venue to hold Russia accountable for war crimes in Ukraine, telling POLITICO’s Jamie Dettmer in an exclusive interview the court does have jurisdiction and can mount cases. “Of course, it’s clear. We have that jurisdiction, and we are being very active,” he said.
PROGRAMMING
WE’RE NOT DONE. Here’s a couple of sessions coming up that are bound to pique your interest. (Full schedule and livestream here.)
Saturday
— U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak explains “the U.K. in the world.” (As opposed to the usual explaining it “to” the world.)
— U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken headlines a panel on “Whole, Free, and at Peace: Visions for Ukraine.”
— German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius discussed “Fostering Resilience in Europe’s North-East” with Norwegian PM Jonas Gahr Støre and Latvian President Egils Levits.
— U.S. climate envoy John Kerry talks about “Greener Pastures: Advancing Joint Climate Action.”
— Ruslan Stefanchuk, Chairman of Ukrainian parliament and U.S. Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi on “ The Role of Parliaments in War”
Sunday
— EU foreign policy czar Josep Borrell on “Visions for the European Security Architecture.”
FROM INSIDE THE HOF
PASSLESS AGGRESSIVE: In German, “Bayerischer Hof” (the 19th century hotel that hosts the MSC) means “Bavarian court,” a nod to its founding under the patronage of King Ludwig I.
It’s an apt venue for an event that is also run like a royal court. All participants are “personal guests” of the chairman. That includes members of the fourth estate. Those who write nice things about the event are rewarded with free access to the conference. Some are even invited to the sumptuous Schloss Elmau, “a luxury spa retreat and cultural hideaway” in the Alps, where the MSC holds its “most exclusive” gatherings for policymakers and titans of industry.
And then there are those of us who fall out of favor with the powers that be for committing the sin of journalism. So it was that your humble ink-stained wretch arrived in Munich to discover that his privileges had been revoked! Instead of a coveted blue pass allowing him free reign, he was handed a dreaded yellow pass for the great unwashed masses of hacks and directed to a large container half a kilometer away from the venue.
To add insult to injury, his pass is stamped in red letters with a warning: “Escort Required.” (And no, it’s not a reference to evening entertainment.)
Fear not, dear reader. We have our spies in the hotel feeding us the latest tidbits of what’s happening inside the Kaiser Ischinger’s royal court. Speaking of which…
WHERE’S THE BEEF? Yesterday, multiple attendees complained that while there were no shortage of beverages inside, there was a shortage of food, which may or may not have something to do with the large American delegation in attendance.
DISINFORMATION: We erroneously reported in yesterday’s Playbook that Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba would be addressing the opening day of the conference. It was, of course, Zelenskyy. Mea maxi culpa. The responsible party has been duly punished.
SPOTTED: Disgraced former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, now an emissary for Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel, loitering in the halls of the Bayerischer Hof.
Over 150 guests stopped by our POLITICO and Goals House nightcap on Friday for a drink or two and good chat at the fancy Schreiberei in central Munich. Among those welcomed by POLITICO’s Florian Eder were Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo; deputy Lithuanian Foreign Minister Jonas Survila; Jörg Kukies of the German federal chancellery; Bundestag members Roderich Kiesewetter, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, Sara Nani,Thomas Erndl, Andreas Scheuer, MEPs Eva Maydell and Markus Ferber; Gayle Smith, CEO of the ONE Campaign, Anja Langenbucher of the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation, and author and politician Sawsan Chebli; former Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, director of the School of Transnational Governance in Florence, Ngaire Woods, dean of the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford; U.S. Assistant Secretary of Treasury Paul Rosen; former chief of the U.K.’s National Cyber Security Centre Ciaran Martin, partner at Krebs Stamos Chris Krebs; Ralph Heck of the Bertelsmann Foundation; Manuel Hartung of the Zeit-Stiftung; Lithiania’s Viktorija Urbonavičiūtė, Michael Hinterdobler of the Bavarian state government; Gavi CEO Seth Berkley; Huberta von Voss of ISD Germany; Justin Vaïsse of the Paris Peace Forum; the SWP’s Stefan Mair; Bart Kot of the Warsaw Security Forum; Microsoft’s Christopher Sharrock; Ericsson’s Rene Summer; ITI’s Executive VP Rob Strayer; fellow journalists Gordon Repinski, Stefan Leifert, Benedikt Becker, Andrew Gray, John Hudson; POLITICO’s Matthew Karnitschnig, Jamie Dettmer, Laurens Cerulus, Hans von der Burchard, Andrew Ward and Paul McLeary.
OUR MUNICH PLAYBOOK wouldn’t happen without Laurens Cerulus, Cory Bennett, Heidi Vogt, Dave Brown and Jones Hayden.
**A message from Google: Since the war began, governments, companies, civil society groups and countless others have been working around the clock to support the Ukrainian people and their institutions. At Google, we support these efforts. Our priority has been to stand by the Ukrainian people, the Ukrainian government, and those who are still facing deadly attacks and the realities of life in an active war zone — and against forces seeking to undermine the peace and security of Europe and the stability of the international system. For more on how Google is helping people affected by the war in Ukraine, read here.**
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Washington is trying to “demonize Russia” and “fuel the Ukrainian crisis” by accusing Moscow of crimes against humanity, Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Anatoly Antonov said on Sunday.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris announced Saturday that Washington has formally determined that Russia is committing crimes against humanity in Ukraine, in an address at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.
In a message on the social media network Telegram, Antonov said: “We consider such insinuations as an attempt, unprecedented in terms of its cynicism, to demonize Russia in the course of a hybrid war, unleashed against us. There is no doubt that the purpose of such attacks is to justify Washington’s own actions to fuel the Ukrainian crisis,” he said.
Harris had said Russia is responsible for a “widespread and systematic attack” against Ukraine’s civilian population, committing war crimes — as the administration formally concluded last March — and illegal acts against non-combatants. She cited evidence of execution-style killings, rape, torture and forceful deportations.
The Biden administration will continue to assist Ukraine in investigating these alleged crimes, she said, pledging to hold “to account” the perpetrators and “their superiors.”
“Let us all agree: on behalf of all the victims, both known and unknown: justice must be served,” Harris added.
