Some of the US army officers targeted by the complaint being currently present on the German soil, this initiative is based on the principle of universal jurisdiction and relies on the German Code of crimes against International law, which allows for the prosecution of perpetrators of serious violations of international Human rights and humanitarian law, wherever committed and whatever the nationality of the victims and the perpetrators.
The prohibition of torture is explicitly affirmed in several international treaties and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Furthermore, acts of torture and ill treatments constitute grave breaches of the Third Geneva Convention relative to the protection of prisoners of wars. The FIDH recalls that, according to international law, all States have a duty to prosecute or extradite perpetrators of such acts.
US operations in Afghanistan and Iraq have been the scene of a number of violations of basic rules of international law, in particular regarding the treatment of detainees. The effozts of the US administration to escape the application of the Geneva Conventions in the context of the “war on terror” sent the worst signal to US soldiers in the field. The complaint extensively reports on the unacceptable behavior of some elements of the US army and other governmental agencies in Afghanistan, Iraq and in Guantanamo.
The deprivation of basic rights - including those attached to the status of prisoner of war - to “unlawful combatants”, has created a legal vacuum, which remains to be addressed. The US authorities, until today, failed to adequately prosecute the perpetrators of these violations and to deal with the responsibility of their superiors. Victims of these acts and their family still lack access to a fair effective remedy.
The FIDH considers the exercise of universal jurisdiction as an essential tool in the fight against impunity. Moreover, universal jurisdiction is often the only mechanism available to victims of international crimes seeking justice.
The FIDH calls on the German prosecuting authorities to consider this complaint with full impartiality and independence.
Press contact :
– Michael Ratner, lawyer, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) : (+1 212) 614 64 34
– Wolfgang Kaleck, lawyer and member of the Legal Action Group of FIDH :(+49) 171 33 50 649
– Patrick Baudouin, Honorary President of FIDH and coordinator of the Legal Action Group of FIDH: (+33) 6 07 62 10 78
– FIDH press office : +33 1 43 55 25 18