{"id":1518,"date":"2019-02-05T09:18:30","date_gmt":"2019-02-05T14:18:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=1518"},"modified":"2019-02-05T09:18:37","modified_gmt":"2019-02-05T14:18:37","slug":"crimes-against-humanity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2019\/02\/05\/crimes-against-humanity\/","title":{"rendered":"Crimes Against Humanity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Crimes Against Humanity<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I grew up in the sixties.\u00a0During that time, some Americans had the \u201cJohn Wayne\u201d view:\u00a0\u00a0we were the \u201cgood guys\u201d in the \u201cwhite hats\u201d riding in to save the world, or at least the settlers in the wagon train.\u00a0\u00a0We, the United States, \u201cdid good.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0And at the same time, the \u201cnot good\u201d parts of America\u2019s actions were being thrust onto our TV screens and into our faces:\u00a0\u00a0the need for civil rights marches, the summer riots in the cities, the protests against the War, and the nightly visions of death and destruction in Vietnam.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This has been the historic place of the United States, a nation founded on principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that from the moment of its inception failed to live up to that standard.  The inherent conflict of the founding fathers, fighting for their independence from Great Britain while holding other humans in bondage, has haunted our heritage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They knew that what they said and did was important.  Washington and Jefferson, Hamilton and Madison, Paine and Henry; they wrote and spoke not just for the present, but for the future.  They knew:  the awkward wording of \u201cmore perfect union\u201d in the Constitution was not a grammatical flaw, but a recognition of the hope that future generations would redress the wrongs they committed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The horrors of World War II, beyond even the extremes of modern warfare, led us to find a way to describe actions so far out of bounds that they are never acceptable.  First defined as War Crimes, the end of the war saw the attempt to hold individuals responsible for their horrific acts. Unlike historic \u201cretribution\u201d at the end of war, lining defeated enemies in front of a firing squad; this was an attempt to seek justice for those consumed as part of the horrific ideology of Nazism.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Out of those trials came a concept that was even greater than warfare:  crimes against humanity.  The idea is that nation\/states can commit actions against civilians in war or in peace that are outside of the boundaries of human decency, and that they could be held accountable for those actions in the eyes of the world.  If a crime is committed, then a place of justice must be found that can hear evidence and reach conclusions about that crime.  The world has created the World Court in the Hague, including the International Criminal Court (adjudicating individuals) and the International Court of Justice (adjudicating countries.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a crime against humanity if a country commits:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201c\u2026<\/em>as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack:\u2026 (items \u2018a\u2019 through \u2018h\u2019)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

i.    Enforced disappearance of persons\u2026; (item \u2018j\u2019)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n