Amazon.com Review
Aryeh Neier, human rights activist and former executive director of Human Rights Watch, has created a work that is both a comprehensive history and a forward-looking treatise on the institution of war tribunals. Shedding an especially penetrating light on the genocidal actions that took place in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, War Crimes catalogs and addresses the many issues surrounding the prosecution of war crimes, including accusations of "victor's justice," international jurisprudence, and the accountability of lower-ranking officers. Many times, Neier reveals, the parties responsible for war crimes manage to escape retribution for want of a favorable transition of political power. As a possible remedy, Neier argues for the creation of a permanent international war crimes tribunal. Without melodrama or hyperbole, Neier draws the reader into reasoned discourse on the conduct of soldiers and the appalling consequences of war. --Brendan J. LaSalle
From Publishers Weekly
How should humanity respond to severe abuses of human rights committed during wars? Neier (Only Judgment), a former executive director of the ACLU and Human Rights Watch and currently the president of George Soros's Open Society Institute, marshals history, reporting, ethics and argument in making his case for a permanent International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute war criminals and other egregious violators of "international humanitarian law." Neier considers the problem of balancing justice with stability (punishing war criminals can exacerbate a society's divisions); the utility and morality of truth commissions; apportioning guilt among leaders, followers and bystanders; imposing "victor's justice"; and defining genocide. He traces the development of the concept of the "law of war" from its ancient and medieval origins to the present day and pivotal events such as the Nuremberg trials, the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the establishment of ad hoc tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda. The primary focus is on Bosnia, though the author also provides background on the genocide in Rwanda and on human rights abuses in Latin America, the former Warsaw Pact nations and South Africa. Neier effectively weaves together graphic descriptions of atrocities with scholarly discussion and, while he acknowledges that many efforts to deal with war crimes have met with mixed results, his is not a despairing voice. This is the reasoned plea of an idealist who understands complicated realities but does not let them obscure his moral vision. Editor, Mike Ruby; agent, Patricia van der Leun.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
