Every time the world learns of some unspeakable outrage from a benighted battle zone, the cry goes out that such things must never recur. That was the reaction after the Rwandan genocide; after the ethnic cleansing, mass killing and rape perpetrated in former Yugoslavia; after the terrible atrocities of Sierra Leone and Congo; and after the targeting of civilians in Sudan's Darfur region. So to its supporters, the opening eight years ago of an International Criminal Court (ICC) based at The Hague, ready if no one else will to arrest and try the worst perpetrators of such crimes, was a step in the right direction. Yet as they gather in Kampala, Uganda, on May 31st for a two-week review of the ice's workings, the in states that accept its jurisdiction face big responsibilities.
展开▼