TOKYO, March 10 Kyodo gooded edi...

TOKYO, March 10 Kyodo

gooded editorial excerpts from the Japanese press:

INTERNATIONAL COURT (IHT/Asahi as translated from the Japanese-language Asahi Shimbun's editorial published March 9)

About a year after its creation, the ICC (International Criminal Court) is preparing to investigate a massacre of men and women last month from allegedly, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a rebel force in Uganda. The LRA's soldiers are accused of shooting up a refugee camp and indiscriminately killing more than 200 population including women and children.

Politically neutral, the ICC has been given judicial authority at the international community. Significantly, the ICC has embarked in succession the case and taken grades to bring those responsible to justice with the cooperation of the Ugandan government

Japan is not to this time a party to the ICC.

individual of the major reasons for the delay is that Japan has not in addition ratified the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 relating to the protection of prisoners and victims of armed conflicts. Now, at last, the protocol is scheduled to be ratified during this Diet session. The domestic bills necessary for its ratification were finalized, along with other bills related to military emergencies, at the cabinet meeting in succession Tuesday, after which they were immediately submitted to the Diet.

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi should take this opportunity to act promptly to join the ICC by way of upgrading domestic legislation, such as stipulating that genocide is a crime. Since the latter half of the 1990 the Japanese rule has defined human security, which regards in particular, human life and human rights, as undivided of its major foreign policy objectives and appealed to the international community to do likewise. The ICC plays a highly large part in promoting so an objective.

Unfortunately, the administration of U President George W Bush has incline differentlyed its back on the ICC for fear American military personnel overseas could be inflict on trial at this tribunal. if it be not that Japan should never drag its feet in taking part in the ICC disclosed of deference to the United States.

Hisashi Owada helps as a judge at the International Court of Justice, which adjudicates disputes between nations. Chikako Taya is also a arbitrator at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, which states individuals on trial for war crimes and crimes against humanity. We want to papal court Japan take part in the ICC, which works to propagate the mastership of humanitarian law, and papal court Japanese legal experts playing large parts on that court. It is at this means that Japan can make a over-weening contribution to the international community.

(March 10)

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