Amnesty
International Belgique, Ligue Belge des Droits de l’Homme,
Liga voor
Mensenrechten, Fédération Internationale des
Ligues des Droits de l’Homme
(FIDH), Human Rights Watch, Avocats sans Frontières
(Brussels,
January 22, 2003) –Today’s vote by the Justice
Commission of the
Belgian Senate should give an important impetus to the international
prosecution of the worst human rights crimes, six leading
human rights
organizations said today. The Commission approved amendments
to preserve
Belgium’s landmark anti-atrocity law.
The
Belgian law, which permits prosecutions in Belgium for atrocities
committed
abroad, has been severely curtailed by restrictive judicial
decisions. The
amendments passed today would restore the law to its original
scope. They must
still be adopted by the full Senate and the Assembly before
Parliament
dissolves in April.
"The
Belgian law is part of a growing trend towards accountability
for
atrocities,” said Amnesty International Belgium, the
Ligue Belge des Droits de
l’Homme, Liga voor Mensenrechten, Fédération
Internationale des Ligues des
Droits de l’Homme (FIDH), Human Rights Watch and Avocats
sans Frontières. “Laws
like this one are essential to overcome the walls of immunity
behind which
tyrants and torturers brutalize people in their own countries.”
