The Global Justice Center (GJC) and the Burma Lawyers' Council (BLC) sent a letter to the International Crisis Group (ICG) expressing concern over the ICG's support for Burma's 2010 elections.
The ICG published a report in August 2009 that calls on states and the United Nations to support Burma's 2008 constitution and the 2010 elections. The 2008 constitution calls for blanket amnesties for SPDC crimes, in direct opposition to jus cogens norms and states' obligations under the Geneva Conventions. The constitution also violates Security Council Resolution 1820, which prohibits amnesties for violence against women in conflict. The ICG report also overlooks the fact that states have legal obligations to prosecute and punish war criminals and perpetrators of crimes against humanity - obligations that are obstructed by the ICG's recommendation that states support the constitution and the elections, which will solidify systematic impunity for perpetrators of heinous crimes.
Link to the full text of the letter in column at right.
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