A BELLWETHER CASE
In their analyses of the strengths and weaknesses of universal jurisdiction, both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have stressed that the political will of governments can make or break the successful prosecution of international crimes in national courts. With the current grassroots, multi-party legislative initiative underway in Belgium, we may be witnessing the collaborative construction of the necessary political will from the ground up.
For the Sabra and Shatila survivors who filed the complaint, no less than all Palestinians subject to grave breaches of international humanitarian law, developments in Belgium's parliament will be scrutinized closely over the coming months. As Luc Walleyn, one of the lawyers for the Sabra and Shatila plaintiffs, noted: "Today, the Palestinian people lack effective courts of law and have no means of defending and vindicating their rights as defined by international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions. This absence of judicial recourse cannot continue. The effort to end impunity will not cease."
In their analyses of the strengths and weaknesses of universal jurisdiction, both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have stressed that the political will of governments can make or break the successful prosecution of international crimes in national courts. With the current grassroots, multi-party legislative initiative underway in Belgium, we may be witnessing the collaborative construction of the necessary political will from the ground up.
For the Sabra and Shatila survivors who filed the complaint, no less than all Palestinians subject to grave breaches of international humanitarian law, developments in Belgium's parliament will be scrutinized closely over the coming months. As Luc Walleyn, one of the lawyers for the Sabra and Shatila plaintiffs, noted: "Today, the Palestinian people lack effective courts of law and have no means of defending and vindicating their rights as defined by international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions. This absence of judicial recourse cannot continue. The effort to end impunity will not cease."