The US-UK war on Iraq seems to be approaching its end. In addition to ruined buildings and the bones of civilians and soldiers alike, the fierce bomb attacks have left behind a shattered Iraq in urgent need of reconstruction. We shed tears over a disaster that human civilization cannot undo: A Baghdad enveloped in smoke, shaken and about to fall to pieces. The war has also left behind worries and concerns about the maintenance of international order. Will the US become the future arbiter of global order? Will the role of the UN begin to decline? What should Taiwan's approach be when dealing with this important 21st century war?
Taiwan's government's approach to the war has been to "loyally" support its staunchest ally, the US. The spontaneous popular opposition activities are symbolic of the dislike of war among a majority of the Taiwan-ese people. Regardless of how large the discrepancy between the government's and the public's view of the war, the Peacetime Foundation of Taiwan (台灣促進和平基金會) is of the opinion that Taiwan should, apart from simply supporting or opposing the war, consider forwarding our own position regarding this war.
We believe that the people of Taiwan should take the following position.
First, we should oppose further wars of invasion by the US against other nations. During this war, we have only seen a shattered Iraq attacked by an onslaught of US missiles. What we haven't seen is what caused the US attack in the first place -- large numbers of weapons of mass destruction.
Today, there are signs that the US might rely on the same pretext to initiate military activities against Syria and the two other countries in the axis of evil, Iran and North Korea. We believe that US actions already have exceeded by far the legal rights of a nation, and that its behavior is incompatible with what some people here in Taiwan have called "benevolent hegemony."
Such behavior will not bring with it the security of which the US proposes. Instead, it will destroy the trust in, and hope for, peaceful co-existence among the peoples of the world. Our position is that the US should cease its illegitimate wars of invasion against other nations.
Second, reconstruction of Iraq should be headed by the UN. A caricature in The New York Times once showed targets hit by bombers, including locations rebuilt by Halliburton, a large US contractor, thus pointing out that US contractors stand to make handsome profits from the postwar reconstruction of Iraq. We believe that, regardless of whether we are talking of political or economic reconstruction, a situation should be avoided where the US alone is in charge. All reconstruction efforts should be based on the principles of fairness and justness under the leadership of the UN.
Third, the International Criminal Court (ICC) should place importance on finding out whether US President George W. Bush's war on Iraq constitutes what the ICC specifies as war crimes. The ICC's establishment was a milestone along humanity's march towards the realization of universal human rights and rule by law.
The main function of the ICC is to prosecute individuals for the most terrible of crimes -- genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Its jurisdiction is not restricted to international issues. The ICC is allowed to investigate and prosecute any individual suspected of having committed any of the three inhumane crimes mentioned above.
In January, the British anti-war organization Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) wrote to British Prime Minister Tony Blair, British Defense Secretary Geoffrey Hoon and British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw to remind them of the possibility that they would be guilty of war crimes as specified by the ICC if they launched a war against Iraq, and that they would "stand the chance" of being prosecuted in The Hague.
We believe that the ICC should heed any national or individual behavior in violation of its regulations. Therefore, be it Bush or be it Blair, as long as they are violating the law in their war on Iraq, the ICC should take the initiative to launch an investigation and, if criminal behavior can be verified, prosecute.
Fourth, Taiwan should do its utmost to become a member of the ICC. Due to pressure from China, Taiwan is shut out from many international organizations. Even so, Taiwan should continue to carefully respect the responsibilities and duties of a member of the international community. It should also implement the regulations of a host of international treaties, which should not be violated just because we are not a signatory of those treaties. At the same time, we should also continue our constant efforts to become members of important international organizations.
The foundation believes that Taiwan, while applying for UN and WHO memberships, completely has neglected the ICC, which stresses human rights and is an important target for a membership application.
The reason Taiwan should apply for ICC membership and accept its regulations is that Taiwan must look for ways to protect itself in the face of China's missile threat and the threat of a Chinese invasion. ICC membership could be said to be a "different kind" of national defense.
If China uses military force to invade Taiwan, it will be engaging in behavior prohibited by the ICC, and its leaders will be prosecuted as war criminals. This country's membership in the ICC would therefore deter China from taking military action against Taiwan. ICC membership would also show the international community that Taiwan cares for human rights and it would provide Taiwan with fairly strong protection.
The foundation hopes to initiate an attempt by Taiwan to gain membership in the ICC, to allow Taiwan to protect justice and prevent violations of human rights together with the other nations of the world. In this way, Taiwan would become part of the international mainstream. It would also be the most realistic way of protecting Taiwan.
Chien Hsi-chieh is executive director of the Peacetime Foundation of Taiwan.
Translated by Perry Svensson
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