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POW Saddam awaits his day in
court
By Charles Recknagel
The International Committee of the Red Cross
(ICRC) says that it continues to discuss with Washington
the possibility of visiting detained former Iraqi
President Saddam Hussein.
A spokesman for the
Geneva-based humanitarian organization, Florian
Westphal, says that no date for a visit has yet been
fixed, but one could be set soon. "Our colleagues of the
International Committee of the Red Cross in Iraq are
discussing the practical aspects of a visit to Saddam
Hussein at this moment with the US-led authorities in
Iraq. There has been no precise date fixed, but we are
fairly confident that this first visit will happen
soon," Westphal said.
Saddam, captured by US
forces two months ago, is being held by Washington at an
undisclosed location in Iraq. The US administration gave
him the status of prisoner of war (POW) early last month
in recognition of his former position as president and
commander-in-chief of Iraq's defeated armed forces.
As a POW, Saddam is entitled to the rights
afforded captured combatants under the internationally
recognized Geneva Conventions. These include visits by
the ICRC, the right to proper food, the right to
exercise his religion, and the right to not be subjected
to intimidation, insult or public curiosity.
Westphal says the right of all POWs to visits by
the ICRC is intended to ensure that they receive the
basic level of humane treatment they are entitled to
under the conventions. "The objective is really to make
sure that prisoners of war or detained civilians are
treated according to the Geneva Conventions," he said.
"That means, first of all, monitoring the conditions of
detention, basic factors such as food, health care, and
accommodation, as well as the treatment of detainees by
guards and by the authorities."
The Geneva
Conventions do not set out a timetable for visits to
POWs, but Westphal says the ICRC usually tries to
conduct visits as quickly as security conditions permit.
The continuing calls by the ICRC for Washington to set a
date for visiting Saddam come as the former Iraqi
leader's ultimate legal status remains undecided.
In awarding Saddam POW status, Washington
conformed with international standards for the treatment
of captured enemies. But the decision has not pleased
the US-appointed Iraqi Governing Council (IGC), which
hopes to see Saddam stand trial before an Iraqi war
crimes tribunal.
The IGC said this week that it
will ask Washington to change Saddam's status when the
US hands over political power to a sovereign Iraqi
government on June 30. Speaking at a regional conference
in Kuwait on February 15, the IGC's foreign minister,
Hoshiyar Zebari, said: "We will demand changing his
status and handing him over to Iraqi justice to put him
on trial."
The reason the IGC wants to
reclassify Saddam is that he cannot legally be brought
before a purely Iraqi tribunal as long as he is a POW.
Instead, he would have to be tried by a military
tribunal established by the occupying power - that is,
under the auspices of the US-led coalition that toppled
his regime.
For now, it is difficult to predict
what Saddam's ultimate fate will be. Washington, which
also wants to see Saddam stand trial for war crimes, has
said it could be psychologically important for the
Iraqis to try their former leader themselves.
Some US officials have said that Saddam could be
stripped of his POW status if evidence emerges that he
played a leading role in the guerrilla insurgency
against US forces that has followed the defeat of his
regime.
Dan Senor, a spokesman for the Coalition
Provisional Authority in Iraq, said recently that
Saddam's designation last month as a POW "leaves his
final status undetermined". Senor added: "His ultimate
disposition could be determined by new evidence that
comes forward."
But the US could face strong
international pressure to maintain Saddam as a POW. That
is because many human rights organizations question
whether Saddam could receive a fair trial before an
Iraqi tribunal. They also have expressed concern that
Iraqi law permits execution - a punishment barred in
European Union states and considered inhumane by the
United Nations.
Since Saddam's capture, UN
secretary general Kofi Annan has several times stressed
the world body's desire to assure the former Iraqi
leader gets a fair trial. Annan said in December that
any court that tries Saddam must adhere to international
standards.
"Whatever court is set up has to meet
basic international norms and standards, and if - in
doing that - one needs to get help from our side, I
think it should be considered. But the emphasis should
be in respecting the basic norms and standards,
including international humanitarian law," Annan said.
Copyright (c) 2004, RFE/RL Inc. Reprinted
with the permission of Radio
Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut
Ave NW, Washington DC 20036
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