_WORLD WATCH______________________________
________________Belgium_______________
Change proposed on “crimes against humanity”
Current law allows prosecution of foreigners
Belgium’s foreign minister has indicated that the government is considering changes in the country’s controversial law that allows foreigners to be tried for crimes against humanity, no matter where those crimes took place. He made his remarks after the prime minister of Israel was sued in a Belgian court.
“The law can be changed—only insofar as there are some aspects of the procedure which do not give enough rights to the defense,” said Louis Michel. The law currently allows a single judge to decide if a case is admissible, but a new proposal would have two or three judges making that determination. Michel also acknowledged the law has created some political and diplomatic problems for the country.
Earlier this year, four Rwandans, including two Catholic nuns, were convicted of crimes related to genocide in the African country in 1994, on the basis of the same law. The Belgian law provides for actions against defendants who are not Belgian citizens, for actions taken outside Belgian jurisdiction.
Survivors of the 1982 massacre of Palestinians in Lebanese refugee camps had filed a case in Brussels against Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who was then the country’s defense minister. Their complaint is now subject to review, under the single-judge system. An Israeli state inquiry in 1983 found Sharon indirectly responsible for the killing of several hundred men, women, and children by an Israeli-backed Lebanese militia group. The slaughter took place after the Israeli army allowed the militia to enter the camps.
Back to Catholic World Report August/September 2001 Table of Contents