17 October 2001
Sept. 11 Attacks Were Crimes Against Humanity, Says UNHCR's Robinson
(She spoke October 17 at U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington) (830)
By Wendy S. Ross
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- The September 11 attacks on the United States that
killed thousands were "an attack on the rule of law, democracy and
human rights," and constitute a crime against humanity, United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson said in remarks
October 17 at the United States Institute of Peace -- an independent,
nonpartisan federal institution created and funded by the U.S.
Congress to promote peaceful resolution of international conflicts.
"The targeting with civilian aircraft being commandeered with full
gasoline tanks and being deliberately targeted on buildings where
there were thousands of people working, with the intent to kill as
many as possible, that deliberately planned assault on a large number
of civilians, in my view undoubtedly constitutes a crime against
humanity," Robinson said.
Based on existing jurisprudence, she said her staff reached that
conclusion "within days" of the attack.
"We have had the jurisprudence of the two tribunals -- the
international tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the international
tribunal for Rwanda, but we also have the statute of the International
Criminal Court," she said, and "the work in progress of the
International Law Commission."
Robinson noted that the U.N. Security Council met on the 12th of
September, the day after the attacks, and adopted an anti-terrorism
resolution unanimously. "But more significantly," she said, "it
adopted a further counter-terrorism resolution on the 28th of
September under Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter -- meaning
that it's binding on all 189 member states."
That resolution, Robinson said, specifies a number of things that are
addressed in separate conventions that have been ratified by some
nations and not by others, "but now they are binding obligations on
all member states by virtue of this resolution under Chapter 7,
addressing money laundering, addressing police cooperation and so on."
Characterizing the September 11 attacks as a crime against humanity
"puts a clear responsibility on all governments to seek out the
perpetrators and hand them over to justice," Robinson said. "This can
be done in domestic courts, the courts of the United States would be
qualified, or there could be some kind of tribunal, maybe a Lockerbie
type tribunal or other international tribunal envisaged." Robinson
added that characterizing the September 11 attacks "as a crime against
humanity isolates the perpetrators.
"You cannot, in the name of any religion, much less in the name of
Islam, commit a crime against humanity. It helps to separate the
perpetrators of a crime against humanity from Islamic countries or
countries with large Muslim populations, and above all, it makes it
more difficult to start a holy jihad," said Robinson.
"That's one of the very worrying aspects at the moment," she said,
"not so much that governments would participate in a war in that
sense, but they have young populations, a number of them who have been
to Islamic schools which have taken a very narrow perspective on the
Islamic religion, and there is a very real danger in that kind of
enflamed situation with the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan."
Robinson said the United Nations, along with regional organizations
and non-governmental organizations, seeks to monitor how countries
implement the requirements under the Security Council resolution.
In addition, she said, the United Nations seeks to create awareness of
the immense humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan itself, and for
refugees who have crossed the border into Pakistan, Iran, and other
countries in the region.
She pointed out that borders around Afghanistan have now been closed
and said there is a short window of opportunity to get humanitarian
aid to the people in need there. Winter arrives in Afghanistan by
November 15 or 16, she said, adding that she fears "a real
catastrophic" humanitarian situation for hundreds of thousands of
people there who "will lose their lives" unless aid gets to them.
Robinson also said that the world needs to "exercise vigilance" to
make sure in the coming months that human rights principles are upheld
while, at the same time, confronting the "terrible evils of September
11."
Asked about the conflict in the Middle East, Robinson said any steps
that could be taken to bring about peace and security for the
Palestinians and the Israelis "would be extremely welcome and would
remove one of the flashpoint issues," in the world.
Robinson said it is "appalling to see Usama bin Laden seek to speak on
behalf of the Palestinian people. I find that outrageous but it can
have a very deep impact on impressionable youth in a number of
different countries in Asia and Africa as well as Arab countries, and
we should be aware of how volatile and dangerous the atmosphere is."
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
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