PESHAWAR, Dec 16: The International Criminal Court (ICC) came under criticism, at a conference on  global law, peace and security that concluded on Tuesday, for its inability to effectively deal with cases of terrorism.

The speakers stressed the need for the court’s impartiality in dealing with crimes against humanity to establish lasting peace in the world.

The first secretary, political affairs, to the Norwegian embassy, Torill Johansen, said although the ICC was criticized for its inability to dispose of cases of genocide, war crimes and terrorism, its existence could not be undermined. She said around 500 cases had been referred to it since July 2000. “The ICC can play an effective role if it decides cases objectively,” she said.

The conference organized by the Human Rights Studies Centre, faculty of law, and the British Council at the Peshawar University was attended by foreign delegates, university teachers, lawyers and human rights activists.

Prof Javed Rehman Cheema from the University of Ulster, Ireland, said terrorism was a controversial subject as it was difficult to differentiate between freedom fighters and terrorists. He cited the examples  of Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka, Palestinians and Kashmiris, who claimed to be engaged in struggle for freedom and were often invited to negotiations for stability and peace in their regions.

The United States, which had waged a war on terrorism, had ended the World War-II by bombing two cities of Japan, which was an act of naked aggression against humanity, Prof Cheema said. He said that after the act, many treaties and conventions were adopted to curb terrorism, but in vain.

The United Nations Security Council had passed a resolution to  condemn financing of terrorism and called for freezing the assets of those involved in genocide, he said.

Former attorney-general Qazi Mohammad Jameel said the US responded immediately after the Sept 11 incident and invaded other countries without the consent of Security Council.

He expressed concern over the violation of international law in the name of the war on terrorism by the super powers.

The participants said the Western media was projecting the Muslim world negatively.

Prof Martin Lau from the University of London said the war on terror had  a severe impact on civil liberties.