Below you will find an exchange of letters sent to the British newspaper The Guardian regarding the use of universal jurisdiction in the United Kingdom to ensure accountability for war crimes.
The first is the original of a letter written by PCHR and the UK law firm Hickman and Rose. The version of the letter that was published by the Guardian on 5 January 2010 was edited and somewhat shorter. An Israeli response to the letter, published on 9 January 2010, makes allegations which PCHR and Hickman Rose had already addressed in their original, unedited letter, but to which we saw the need to respond again on 10 January 2010.
Raji Sourani
1. Original letter sent to the Guardian by PCHR and Hickman and Rose
27th December 2009
Dear Sir,
On the first anniversary of Israel’s large scale military operation in Gaza and amid renewed debate in the UK on courts exercising universal jurisdiction over crimes against humanity, we learn with some concern that Baroness Scotland is to address the Hebrew University on 5th January under the explosive rubric: “Lawfare - Time for Rules of Engagement?”[1] We write to urge that any characterisation she offers of universal jurisdiction cases, in which we have long been engaged, is an accurate one.
Hickman and Rose (H&R) has asked the UK police to investigate the cases of injured, tortured or bereaved citizens from several countries who are denied remedies in their domestic courts and seek the protection of international law. In some of those cases, applications for judicial arrest warrants have become necessary or might be needed in future. The exercise of universal jurisdiction and the arrest warrant procedure has become an increasingly important part of the protection which international criminal law was designed to create. It will have a significant deterrent effect to future regimes which might otherwise resort to mass murder, torture and war crimes.
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), a non-partisan NGO based in Gaza, and H&R work together on cases that arise from events in Gaza, which are prepared on the basis of evidence collected by caseworkers at PCHR. We have met all our clients in the Gaza Strip and learned directly from them what has happened to them and their families. We have been scrupulously careful in provenancing all documents on which we rely. The evidence we collect includes consultation with international experts in weaponry, forensic pathology and international law.
It is a longstanding policy of H&R and PCHR not to work with any government bodies in pursuing such cases.
We hope that the majority of right thinking people will applaud the fact that the UK does not allow close political ties with another government to over-ride its proper duty as a nation to enforce the rule of law. We trust that Baroness Scotland delivers that message when she addresses her audience in Jerusalem next year.
Yours faithfully,
Daniel Machover & Kate Maynard (Partners, Hickman & Rose)
Raji Sourani (Director, Palestinian Centre for Human Rights)
2. Letter by PCHR and Hickman and Rose, as published in the Guardian, 5 January 2010
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
Letters: Lawfare over Gaza war and blocade
On the first anniversary of Israel's large-scale military operation in Gaza (Gaza war, one year on, 28 December) and amid renewed debate in the UK on courts exercising universal jurisdiction over crimes against humanity (Outcry over plan to give attorney general veto on issuing of war crimes warrants, 17 December), the attorney general, Patricia Scotland, addresses the Hebrew University in Jerusalem today under the rubric: "Lawfare – Time for Rules of Engagement?". We hope that any characterisation she offers of universal jurisdiction cases is an accurate one. The exercise of universal jurisdiction and the arrest warrant procedure has become an increasingly important part of international criminal law and will have a significant deterrent effect on future regimes which might otherwise resort to mass murder, torture and war crimes.
Hickman & Rose and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), a non-partisan NGO based in Gaza, work together on cases that arise from events in Gaza, which are prepared on the basis of evidence collected by caseworkers at PCHR. We have met all our clients in the Gaza Strip and have been scrupulously careful in provenancing all documentation. We hope that most people will applaud the fact that the UK does not allow close political ties with another government to override its proper duty to enforce the rule of law. We trust that Baroness Scotland delivers that message in Jerusalem.
Daniel Machover and Kate Maynard Hickman & Rose, Raji Sourani PCHR
3. One of the responses by Guardian readers, published 9 January 2010
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
The lawyers for Hickman and Rose claim they are "scrupulously careful in provenancing all documentation" about alleged war crimes in Gaza (Letters, 5 January). Unfortunately, they seem to be undermined by the Hamas government, which announced that it was the source of such documentation. British human rights lawyers seem to be simply a conduit for a Hamas campaign.
Robin Stamler
Jerusalem, Israel
4. Response to Robin Stamler's Letter, submitted to the Guardian on 10 January 2010
Dear Sir,
In reply to our letter of 5 January, Robin Stamler (Letters, 9 January) invokes the statements of a ‘documentation centre’ established in 2009 by the Hamas government, as the basis for his claim that British human rights lawyers are ‘simply a conduit for a Hamas campaign’. It is a longstanding policy of Hickman and Rose and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights not to work with any government bodies in pursuing cases for victims of alleged war crimes, torture or crimes against humanity. Specifically, the documentation centre funded by the Gaza Ministry of Justice is not the source of any documents relied upon by our clients. Further, we are not a conduit for campaigns by any political party, but act for individual victims. We hope that the focus of debate will remain on access to justice by such victims and rule of law issues, which should arguably command the support of all political parties, whether in this country or in the region.
Yours faithfully,
Daniel Machover & Kate Maynard (Partners, Hickman & Rose)
Raji Sourani (Director, Palestinian Centre for Human Rights)
Public Document
For more information please call PCHR office in Gaza, Gaza Strip, on +972 8 2824776 - 2825893
PCHR, 29 Omer El Mukhtar St., El Remal, PO Box 1328 Gaza, Gaza Strip. E-mail: pchr@pchrgaza.org, Webpage http://www.pchrgaza.org
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