WASHINGTON: Human rights groups are attacking a decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as a major setback in the global fight against impunity. The ICJ invalidated on Thursday parts of a Belgian law that gave its courts jurisdiction to prosecute world leaders for genocide and war crimes.

The ICJ, which threw out an international arrest warrant issued by Belgium against a former foreign minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo, ruled that Belgian courts could not deprive the accused, Yerodia Aboulaye Ndombasi, of his diplomatic immunity, even if he was being prosecuted for actions he committed out of office.

International human rights groups reacted with dismay, arguing that the ruling underlined the urgent need for the International Criminal Court, which will be fully empowered to try cases of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes - once it comes into being. “This is a disappointing decision because it effectively shields some state officials from prosecution for atrocities,” said Reed Brody, advocacy director for Human Rights Watch.

Amnesty International also deplored the decision, saying it “goes against a growing trend in international law and significant efforts by national jurisdictions to end impunity, including by not giving immunity from prosecution to people suspected of crimes under international law.”

“No one should enjoy immunity from crimes under international law, which are so serious that the international community has accepted that it is the responsibility of all states to bring the perpetrators to justice,” it said.

So far, only one trial has been held under the 1993 law. In that case, which was completed early last year, a civilian jury found four Rwandans, including two nuns, complicit in the 1994 genocide in that central African nation. Coming so soon after Pinochet was permitted to return to Chile, the trial attracted considerable media attention. The result was a torrent of new lawsuits brought in Belgian courts against various leaders.

So far, the Sharon case has received the most publicity. He was sued last year for his role in the 1982 massacre by Lebanese Falangist militia of hundreds of Palestinians in Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Beirut.

The case has made both Israel and Belgium distinctly uncomfortable. Late last year, Belgium’s foreign minister denounced the law as “embarrassing” and called on the parliament to amend in a way that would at least provide immunity for serving officials of foreign governments.—Dawn/InterPress Service.