Operations of the UN Commission of Inquiry (COI) and North Korean Human Rights
4. Major Investigation Results
of those killed as well as individuals indirectly affect by the violations.
Fourth, the Commission visited locations such as hospitals, medical offices, massacre sites and cemeteries to investigate the human rights violations. The Commission also visited sites where people were arrested such as the Hotel Pergola, as well as the Presidential residences at Korgoho and Odienne. Fifth, the Commission collected various materials including written statements, photographs and recordings.
Darfur situation to the ICC. It can be seen as an important precedent for responding to international violations of human rights through effective cooperation between UN human rights organizations and the Security Council.
By contrast, the second report issued by the Commission of Inquiry on Libya did not include a recommendation to refer the situation in Libya to the ICC.
However, the day after the UNHRC passed a resolution to establish a Commission of Inquiry on Libya on the 25th of February, 2011, the UN Security Council decided to refer the Libya situation to the prosecution section of the ICC on the 26th. UN Security Council Resolution 1970 welcomes the decision to establish a Commission of Inquiry, and shows indirectly the series of connections between the establishment of the COI on Libya and the referral to the ICC. UN Security Council Resolution 1970 also mentions the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) of the Libyan authorities, and is the first precedent to show clearly the relationship between the referral of the Libyan situation to the ICC with R2P.
There are issues with the limitations of Commission of Inquiry activities. As seen in the examples above, generally Commissions have been established targeting regions that have experienced military conflict. Therefore the continuation or cessation of military conflict represents a limiting factor to the term of COI activities. In reality, the mandates for the Commissions of Inquiry for Syria and Libya were extended.
<Sudan>
The Commission of Inquiry first concluded that the treatment of civilians by the Sudanese government including government military forces and the
Janjaweed militia constituted an crimes against humanity. Second, while it is revealed that some individuals planned and committed per-meditated acts of genocide, the Commission did not claim there was an overall clear intention by the government or the militias to commit genocide. Third, the Commission produced a list of 51 suspects accused of committing violations, including Sudanese government officials, and members of militia and rebel groups, Fourth, the Commission recommended the UN Security Council refer the Darfur situation to the International Criminal Court.
<Syria>
The Commission reviewed the situation through analysis that combined international human rights laws with international humanitarian laws starting from the third report. First, the government and the pro-government militia group Shabbiha were charged with crimes against humanity including illegal killing, torture, arbitrary detention and torture, sexual assault, indiscriminate attacks, and the pillaging and destruction of property. Second, a restricted list of the individuals and groups implicated in these human rights violations was forwarded the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Commission proposed integrated and comprehensive political dialogue in order to end the violence by the Syrian government, opposition parties and anti-government forces, to protect human rights, and to accommodate the legitimate demands of the Syrian people. They said that in order to attempt to promote dialogue, communication organizations composed of countries with multiple positions would need to be established. The Commission emphasized the point that the achievement of reconciliation and the
identification of accountability would only be possible through objective cooperation with victims and citizens including women and minority groups.
<Libya>
The Commission of Inquiry for Libya concluded in its second report that the Gaddafi military had committed violations of international law including crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The second report delineated these violations in clear details divided into the categories of ① excessive use of force ② unlawful killings, ③ arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances, ④ torture and other forms of ill- treatment, ⑤ targeted communities, ⑥ sexual violence, ⑦ attacks on civilians, civilian objects, protected persons and objects ⑧ North Atlantic Treaty Organization, ⑨ prohibited weapons, ⑩ mercenaries, ⑪ child soldiers, and ⑫ pillaging. The Commission of Inquiry on Libya's second report did not recommend that the UN Security Council refer the Libyan situation to the ICC. However, as mentioned above, the day after the UNHRC passed a resolution to establish a Commission of Inquiry on Libya on the 25th of February, 2011, the UN Security Council resolved to refer the Libya situation to the prosecution section of the ICC on the 26th. UN Security Council Resolution 1970 welcomes the decision to establish a Commission of Inquiry, and shows indirectly the series of connections between the establishment of the COI on Libya and the referral to the ICC.
<Lebanon>
The results of the investigation by the Commission of Inquiry on Lebanon concluded first that the conflict that had erupted between the 12th of July and the 14th of August 2006 for 33 had had a devastating impact on Lebanon, particularly the southern regions. Second, it concluded that the Israel defense forces had seriously violated international humanitarian law by disregarding military necessity and proportionality in its use of weapons, and by failing to discriminate between civilian and military targets.
<East Timor>
The Commission of Inquiry determined the identity of individuals suspected of participation in crimes under investigation. The Commission recommended that those individuals linked with violations alleged committed in April and May of 2006 to be charged under the East Timorese national judicial system. In terms of individual accountability determined for each case, they were determined as being the Comoro Market violence and Raikotu violence on April 28th, Gleno violence on May 8th, the Fatu Ahi armed conflict on May 23rd, the Taci Tolu/Tibar armed conflict and attack on Brigadier General Ruak on May 24th, and the shooting deaths of PNTL officers, the arson of the house of Minister of the Interior Lobato, and the incident at Mercado Lama on May 25th. The Commission mentioned that responsibility ultimately lay not merely with individuals but also at an organizational level. The violence of April and May 2006 was said to have been a result of the weakness of institutions and policy-makers. They also recommended that additional investigations be conducted on further individuals implicated in crimes, in order for criminal charges to be laid.
<Côte d'Ivoire>
The conclusion report of the Commission of Inquiry delineated the following problems of accountability. First, even though the Côte d'Ivoire government had a responsibility to protect its citizens, it failed to do so. Second, it clarified that there was direct accountability for specific violations. Third, it clarified that the various elements within the Forces de Défense et de Sécurité (FDS) fighting for the Gbagbo government were accountable for violations. Fourth, it indicated that the Forces Républicaines de Côte d'Ivoire rebel forces fighting for Ouattara had also committed a number of violations.
In this way, the Commission's came to the conclusion that substantial evidence existed that would allow for the examination of the criminal responsibility of particular individuals and groups for the series of human rights violations that following the Côte d'Ivoire Presidential election, which would form the basis for further criminal investigations.