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Τα ανθρώπινα δικαιώματα στο Ιράκ: μια περίπτωση στην απάντηση
Τετάρτη, 30η Μαΐου 2007
Αποκαλυφθείς: Πώς ο Λόρδος Goldsmith συμβούλεψε τους προ!ισταμένους στρατού για να αρνηθεί στους κρατουμένους `την πλήρη» νομική προστασία Από Robert Verkaik, Law EditorΔημοσιευμένος:; 29 Μαΐου 2007Ο γενικός εισαγγελέας, Λόρδος Goldsmith, νόμο αντιμετωπίζει τις κατηγορίες ότι είπε στο στρατό την οι στρατιώτες που του δεν δεσμεύθηκαν από τον των ανθρώπινων δικαιωμάτων κατά σύλληψη, τον κράτηση και το ερώτηση των ιρακινών φυλακισμένων. Τα προηγουμένως εμπιστευτικά ηλεκτρονικά ταχυδρομεία, που είδαν από νόμου τον ανεξάρτητο, μεταξύ του Λονδίνου και της βρετανικής στρατιωτικής έδρας στο Ιράκ σύντομα αφότου προτείνει η έναρξη του πολέμου τις συμβουλές Λόρδου Goldsmith's επρόκειτο να υιοθετήσουν μια «πραγματική» προσέγγιση όταν ο χειρισμός των φυλακισμένων και αυτό δεν ήταν απαραίτητος για να ακολουθήσει τα» υψηλότερα πρότυπα» της προστασίας του των ανθρώπινων δικαιωμάτων. Αυτός, σύμφωνα με τους δικηγόρους των ανθρώπινων δικαιωμάτων, νόμο ήταν ισοδύναμος προς το γενικό εισαγγελέα που συμβουλεύει τους στρατιωτικούς για να αγνοήσει τον των ανθρώπινων δικαιωμάτων και για να παρατηρήσει απλά τις Συνθήκες της Γενεύης. Ήταν επίσης αντίθετο προς τις συμβουλές που δόθηκαν από τον ανώτερο δικηγόρο του στρατού στο Ιράκ, το οποίο ώθησε τα υψηλότερα πρότυπα για να ανταποκριθεί. Σήμερα, οι ομάδες δικαιωμάτων και οι εμπειρογνώμονες στο διεθνές δίκαιο θα καλέσουν την κυβέρνηση για να αποκαλύψουν τη νομική άποψη Λόρδου Goldsmith's, η οποία λένε θα μπορούσε να έχει βοηθήσει να δημιουργήσει έναν πολιτισμό της κακοποίησης Ιρακινών από τους βρετανικούς στρατιώτες. Τον περασμένο μήνα, ο πρώτος βρετανικός στρατιώτης που καταδικάστηκε ενός πολεμικού εγκλήματος φυλακίστηκε για ένα έτος και απομακρύνθηκε από το στρατό μετά από να καταδικαστεί της κακής μεταχείρησης των ιρακινών πολιτών, συμπεριλαμβανομένου του εργαζομένου Baha Mousa ξενοδοχείων, ο οποίος πέθανε των τραυματισμών του στα χέρια των βρετανικών στρατιωτών. Το 2005, τρεις βρετανικοί στρατιώτες φυλακίστηκαν από ένα δικαστήριο στρατιωτικό στη Γερμανία αφότου προέκυψαν οι φωτογραφίες «τροπαίων», παρουσιάζοντας ιρακινούς κρατουμένους που δεν χρησιμοποιούνται σωστά σε ένα κέντρο ενίσχυσης αποκαλούμενο σιτοβολώνα στρατόπεδων. Υπάρχουν περίπου 60 περισσότεροι ισχυρισμοί του προετοιμασίας της κατάχρησης για τις νομικές αξιώσεις από τις ομάδες δικαιωμάτων. Την προηγούμενη εβδομάδα, η Μικτή Επιτροπή του Κοινοβουλίου των ανθρώπινων δικαιωμάτων έγραψε στην κυβέρνηση που ρωτά για μια «εξήγηση» για τα στοιχεία των βασανιστηρίων στο δικαστήριο Baha Mousa στρατιωτικό. Ο Andrew Dismore MP, καρέκλα της επιτροπής, είπε: «Έχουμε ζητήσει από το Υπουργείο άμυνας για να εξηγήσουμε τι εμφανίζεται να είναι άκαμπτες ασυνέπειες στα στοιχεία που παρουσιάζονται στην επιτροπή μας για τη χρήση των απάνθρωπων και υποβιβάζοντας τεχνικών ερώτησης που απαγορεύονται τόσο πολύ καιρό πριν όπως 1972.» But emails sent just after the invasion indicate Lord Goldsmith’s belief that British soldiers in Iraq were not bound by the Human Rights Act. The documents also show a wide differing of opinion between him and Lieutenant-Colonel Nicholas Mercer, the Army’s most senior legal adviser on the ground, who wrote to say he felt “the ECHR would apply” to troops in Iraq. On one occasion, Rachel Quick, the legal adviser to Permanent Joint Headquarters who had regularly sought and been given guidance from Lord Goldsmith on the treatment of Iraqi prisoners, wrote to Colonel Mercer giving her interpretation of the Attorney General’s advice. His view, she said, “was that the HRA was only intended to protect rights conferred by the Convention and must look to international law to determine the scope of those rights”. Ms Quick went on say that the advice of the Attorney General, supported by Professor Christopher Greenwood [the barrister who advised Lord Goldsmith on the legality of the war], was that, in the circumstances, the HRA did not apply. “For your purposes,” she wrote, “I would suggest this means no requirement for you to provide guidance on the application of the HRA. I hope this is clear.” Ms Quick, who in November 2003, was appointed OBE, added: “With regard to the detention of civilians - I will look at your documents in more detail and discuss with FCO, MoD legal advisers. Although my initial thoughts are you are trying to introduce UK procedures to a Geneva Convention IV context. Whilst this may be the perfect solution it may not be the pragmatic solution. Again we raised this issue with the AG and got a helpful steer on the procedures. I’ll aim to try to produce guidance, taking into account their advice on the detention of civilians.” Such were the concerns of legal advisers on the ground over the Attorney General’s views that the MoD arranged for the senior legal adviser at the Foreign Office, Gavin Hood, to visit Permanent Joint Headquarters to settle any worries. Crucially, the emails make clear Lord Goldsmith’s legal opinion was not shared by Colonel Mercer, who contacted his superiors in London to ask for guidance after he had witnessed the hooding of 40 Iraqis at a British PoW camp in March. The men were all forced to kneel in the sun and had their hands cuffed behind their backs. Worried this could leave the soldiers vulnerable to prosecutions, he told the MoD that in his view soldiers should behave in accordance with the “higher standard” of the Human Rights Act. But the response from the military’s Permanent Joint Headquarters in Qatar was that Lord Goldsmith had told the MoD the human rights law did not apply and soldiers should simply observe the Geneva Conventions. When Colonel Mercer said he disagreed with the Government’s most senior law officer he was told that “perhaps you should put yourself up as the next Attorney General”. Colonel Mercer also asked for a British judge to be flown out to oversee the procedures for the detention of Iraqi prisoners, but this also was blocked at a high level. Colonel Mercer’s interpretation of the law has since proved correct. Thirty months after he first raised his concerns during the Iraq conflict, the Court of Appeal ruled that British soldiers were bound by the Human Rights Act, which bans torture or degrading of prisoners. The emails, part of court documents being prepared to support a judicial review in the High Court this year, reveal considerable disquiet among the military about the Attorney General’s advice. The documents show that as early as March 2003, the International Committee of the Red Cross had begun investigating complaints of possible war crimes by British soldiers at the same PoW camp in south-east Iraq that had prompted Colonel Mercer’s original intervention. The Government was so worried about this that it flew out a political adviser from London to address the Red Cross’s concerns about hooding and other practices. International law * Torture is defined by international law as any threat or use of severe pain, physical or mental, against an individual with the intention of obtaining a confession or other information. Under the UN Convention Against Torture, 40 states - including Britain - have agreed not to engage in such practices. During military conflict the third and fourth Geneva Conventions protect prisoners of war and civilians who are held by soldiers. Torture is also defined as a war crime by the International Criminal Court, which describes it as the unlawful infliction of severe pain. Many of the incidents of abuse committed by British soldiers on Iraqi civilians may fall outside the strict definition of torture under international law. But under the European Convention of Human Rights, incorporated in the Human Rights Act 1998, there is no requirement that the threat or use of pain should be severe for an act to fall foul of the law. Lord Goldsmith argued that because UK forces did not have full control of Iraq, the country was not part of its jurisdiction and therefore the Human Rights Act did not apply. He lost this argument when the Court of Appeal ruled that Iraqi civilians held in custody and the soldiers detaining them were subject to the Human Rights Act. The case is to be settled later this year by the House of Lords. If the Government loses then it is expected that full and independent inquiries will be held into the deaths, disappearances and torture of Iraqis by British soldiers. Have Your Say: Human rights in Iraq: a case to answer Please read our posting guidelines before posting. Alternatively you can discuss this report here. Related News
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