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16 February 2006

Iraq Needs Immediate Aid To Prosecute Saddam Hussein's Regime

U.S. encourages nations to join in providing legal, forensic support

By David I. McKeeby
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Iraqi officials need the world’s help to document the abuses of Saddam Hussein’s regime and bring its deposed leader to justice, says State Department legal adviser John Bellinger.

“This is a process that the Iraqis want to do themselves. They have experienced judges who are leading this process. But nonetheless, there is a need for international assistance,” Bellinger told journalists at a February 15 briefing in Washington.

Among Iraq’s most immediate needs, Bellinger said, are forensic experts to investigate mass grave sites, support for witness interviews and protection and legal experts to advise prosecutors.

Bellinger observed that prior to the Iraq war, “The human rights organizations, the United Nations, the international community had roundly condemned Saddam for his atrocities and had called, in fact, for the world to do something about it.”

Among the first actions of the new Iraqi government, said Bellinger, was the creation of a special tribunal so that “justice could be done locally.”

The Iraqi Special Tribunal originally mandated the assignment of international advisers to the court, but few countries have stepped forward to join the United States in that role, Bellinger said.

The U.S. Department of Justice, for example, created the Regime Crimes Liaison Office to provide security and technical assistance to Iraqi justice officials, he said.

The Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jafari wrote to more than 20 countries appealing directly for assistance, he said.  The U.N. Security Council also passed Resolution 1483, calling on countries to support justice and accountability in Iraq.

Unfortunately, said Bellinger, the absence of greater support makes it appear that “the international community has essentially turned its back on justice and accountability in Iraq.”

For addition information, see Iraq Update.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)