New ICC President Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi: 'Trials in Argentina have been an example for world' [View all]
Buenos Aires Herald
March 15, 2015
Argentine jurist Silvia Fernández de Gurmendi became the president of the International Criminal Court (ICC) last week. In conversation with the Herald, the lawyer — the second Argentine to arrive at The Hague after Luis Moreno Ocampo was first appointed prosecutor before the ICC — said the 1985 trial against the Junta leaders was the example to follow when it came to prosecuting heinous crimes.
“Trials in Argentina have been an example for the rest of the world,” Fernández de Gurmendi said in a telephone conversation with this newspaper two days after she was appointed to head the ICC for the next three years. Soon after the Cold War was over, countries around the world started debating the creation of an international court to end with the impunity of criminal perpetrators. The milestone came in 1998 when the Rome Statute was approved, which entered into force four years later when it was ratified by more than 100 nations.
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Q:Some authors say that the 1985 trial against the leaders of the 1976-83 dictatorship triggered a “cascade of justice” around the world. Do you agree?
A:Of course. Proceedings in Argentina influenced other trials around the world and were taken as example of how criminal justice can be applied to these crimes. The Argentine experience is an example.
At: http://buenosairesherald.com/article/184340/%E2%80%98trials-in-argentina-have-been-an-example-for-world%E2%80%99
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It's worth noting Argentina is the only country in the world to have systemically tried human rights offenders regardless of military rank or having civilian/clergy status, rather than merely prosecuting a few former dictators or generals (of course, most countries with past or ongoing dirty wars have refused to do even that - or, like Colombia, Honduras, or Mexico, even admit a dirty war has taken place at all).
To be fair, it's certainly not easy and it takes courage.
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