The Government seems to have accepted the legal case for invoking the UN convention on genocide. The question is, now that the Indonesians have accepted peacekeepers, should this issue be dropped?
Trocaire believes that it must not be shelved for three reasons. First, there is a very real threat of a second genocide against the 100,000 refugees who have been forcibly removed to Indonesian territory. Second, the world must recognise that a genocide has already taken place and its perpetrators must be punished. Finally, the phenomenon of impunity, which has been enjoyed by the perpetrators of past genocides, must not recur.
It would be naive to assume that the Indonesian project of genocide against the East Timorese people has been called off. We must not forget that over 100,000 East Timorese have been forcibly removed and are under Indonesian control in West Timor and other parts of Indonesia. What is to happen to these people?
It is clear that President Habibie is not in control of his own military. There is a massive loss of face for the generals in having to accept the international peacekeeping force and they are quite capable of taking out their anger on their captive East Timorese population. Attempts by aid agencies to reach refugee camps have been thwarted by the Indonesian authorities. A UNHCR worker who tried to visit a camp outside Kupang in West Timor was shot at and forced to turn back.
The UN convention is designed to prevent, suppress and punish the crime of genocide. So far, all that has been achieved is a possible end to the violence in East Timor. The prevention of a further genocide against the 100,000 disappeared is now the priority.
A genocide has happened and this must be recognised and the perpetrators brought to justice. It would be totally unacceptable for there to be an amnesty for the perpetrators under the terms of acceptance of the peacekeepers. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs Mary Robinson, has already made the case for the establishment of an international war crimes tribunal to deal with the matter of punishment. It would strengthen her hand immeasurably for the Government to invoke the convention, thus forcing the appropriate bodies within the UN to act to punish those involved.
We have seen impunity at work in relation to the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, while many of those responsible for the genocide in Rwanda continue to live in freedom in western countries.
Until the international community makes it clear that the crime of genocide will no longer be tolerated and those responsible will face the full weight of international justice, we can only assume that it will continue to be carried out, particularly in those parts of the world where ethnic tensions are strong.
The Government may be tempted to suspend its efforts in relation to the convention at this point, feeling that it could antagonise nations whose vote we are seeking to obtain a seat on the Security Council. However, we must not be hypocritical in our approach to the United Nations.
There is little point in aspiring to a place on the Security Council if we are not be vigorous in implementing the United Nation's own conventions, which are designed to give effect to the UN Charter.
By proceeding with invoking the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Ireland would have established a precedent which the world could not ignore and which would earn us our seat on the Security Council.
Justin Kilcullen is Director of Trocaire.