Page 123 - Encyclopedia Of World History Vol III

942 berkshire encyclopedia of world history

by the Alien Tort Claims Act, which was enacted by the will gain jurisdiction over the crime of aggression, after
First Federal Congress in 1789, and the Torture Victim that term is defined in further detail. Although some
Protection Act, enacted in 1992. A claim was brought in important nations, including the United States, remain
1986 in the federal court in Hawaii, for example, by a reluctant to ratify the court’s statute, its establishment
class of 9,500 victims of torture, murder, and disappear- stands as a landmark achievement in the quest to protect
ance in the Philippines during the dictatorial regime of human rights globally.
Ferdinand Marcos, which lasted from 1972 to 1986. A
U.S. federal jury determined that Marcos was personally Human Rights in the
liable for these atrocities, and awarded the class members Twenty-First Century
$775 million in compensatory damages and $1.2 billion Although nations continue to disagree about the univer-
in exemplary or punitive damages. Efforts to collect this sality of certain human rights, a clear global consensus
judgment have been frustrated, but are continuing. has emerged about the necessity of protecting the fun-
Other countries, including Spain and Belgium in par- damental rights of every individual. The nations of the
ticular, have also utilized universal jurisdiction to bring world have made enormous strides in defining these
human rights abusers to justice. In late 1998, after for- rights during the past sixty years. Although the mecha-
mer Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet arrived nisms for protecting human rights are still evolving, the
in London for a herniated disc operation, a Spanish mix of national, regional, and international tribunals cur-
judge asked the United Kingdom to extradite him to rently being employed to prosecute wrongdoers and
Spain for prosecution for torture and murder during his provide compensation for victims is beginning to show
seventeen-year rule from 1973 to 1990. The British promise.The dream of having a world where every indi-
House of Lords ruled that Pinochet did not have any vidual’s rights are protected has not yet been attained,
immunity from such prosecution and that he should be but progress toward that goal is continuing.
extradited, but the transfer never took place because of
Jon M.Van Dyke
Pinochet’s declining health.
In the 1990s, the U.N. Security Council established See also Gay and Lesbian Rights Movement; Genocide;
criminal tribunals to prosecute those who had commit- Indigenous Peoples Movements; Labor Union Move-
ted war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide ments; Race and Racism; Roosevelt, Eleanor; Social
during the civil war in the former Yugoslavia and the eth- Welfare; United Nations; Women’s Emancipation Move-
nic slaughter in Rwanda. More recently, tribunals utiliz- ments; Women’s Reproductive Rights Movements;
ing both local and international judges have been Women’s Suffrage Movements
established to prosecute those who engaged in criminal
behavior in Sierra Leone and East Timor, and efforts are
Further Reading
continuing to establish a similar tribunal in Cambodia.
Buergenthal,T., Norris, R., & Shelton, D. (1986). Protecting human rights
To establish a permanent court to deal with future sys- in the Americas (2nd ed.). Kehl, Germany: N. P. Engel Publisher.
tematic abuses, the countries of the world met in Rome Buergenthal,T., Shelton, D., & Stewart, D. (2002). International human
rights. St. Paul, MN: West Group.
in the summer of 1998 to draft a treaty creating an Inter-
Henkin, L., Neuman, G. L., Orentlicher, D. F., & Leegbron, D. W.
national Criminal Court. The treaty needed sixty ratifi- (1999). Human rights. New York: Foundation Press.
cations, which were obtained relatively rapidly, and the Janis, M.W., & Kay, R. S. (1990). European human rights law. Hartford:
University of Connecticut Law School Foundation Press.
court came into existence in March 2003, when its eight- Joseph, S., Schultz, J., & Castan, M. (2000). The international covenant
een judges from all over the world were sworn in. The on civil and political rights: Cases, materials, and commentary.
Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
International Criminal Court has jurisdiction over war
Ratner, S. R., & Abrams, J. S. (1997). Accountability for human rights
crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, and it atrocities in international law. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.