War crimes in Afghanistan and Beyond: Will the ICC Weigh in on the “Global Battlefield” Debate?
Written by Elvina Pothelet
The ICC Prosecutor recently announced her decision to request an authorization to open a formal investigation into possible international crimes committed in connection with the conflict in Afghanistan. The outcome of her preliminary examination was long-awaited and expected to be significant because an investigation into the Afghanistan situation would cover all parties involved – that is, not only local actors but also the international coalition, including the US (US nationals would come under the jurisdiction of the Court if they committed crimes in Afghanistan or in any other State party to the Rome Statute).
The Prosecutor’s choice to subject some aspects of the Afghan conflict to judicial scrutiny despite the pressures deserves to be praised as an “act of bravery.” If the Pre-Trial Chamber authorizes this investigation, the road to justice will be long – many have already commented on possible issues of jurisdiction (e.g. here and here), admissibility (e.g. here and here), evidence-gathering and cooperation (e.g. here), etc. In this post, I want to focus on a potential effect of this announcement: the situation in Afghanistan may give the ICC an opportunity to weigh in on the debate over the global applicability of IHL. Fatou Bensouda intends to prosecute acts of torture committed in CIA detention facilities located in Europe, in connection with the armed conflict in Afghanistan, as war crimes. If she does, ICC judges will have to rule on whether IHL applied to those acts and hence more generally on whether IHL applies beyond the territory of a State where a non-international armed conflict (NIAC) is primarily taking place. The geographical scope of IHL remains one of the most vexing debates in international law (as was clear from a heated discussion on this blog and others, just a month ago) but the Afghanistan investigation may help highlight an overlooked aspect of it. Here is why.
In its public announcement, the Prosecutor indicated that she will focus, in line database conformity with the ICC’s jurisdiction,
“solely upon war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed since 1 May 2003 on the territory of Afghanistan as well as war crimes closely linked to the situation in Afghanistan allegedly committed since 1 July 2002 on the territory of other States Parties to the Rome Statute.”
War crimes “closely linked to the situation in Afghanistan” but committed elsewhere are most likely allegations of torture and other forms of ill-treatment committed as part of the infamous CIA’s “extraordinary rendition programme.” The programme implicated the rendition, detention and interrogation of terrorism suspects, with the support of at least 54 States. Some of them, like Poland, Lithuania and Romania, hosted CIA-run secret facilities where detainees were allegedly ill-treated. These three States are parties to the Rome Statute, and as a result, the ICC’s jurisdiction extends to their territory. In her 2016 Preliminary Examinations report, the Prosecutor had already mentioned her determination that “there is a reasonable basis to believe” that:
“War crimes of torture and related ill-treatment, by US military forces deployed to Afghanistan and in secret detention facilities operated by the Central Intelligence Agency, principally in the 2003-2004 period, although allegedly continuing in some cases until 2014” (para 198).
As to secret facilities outside of Afghanistan, the Prosecutor specifically mentions those located in the territories of Poland, Lithuania and Romania (para 199).