A Global System of Justice
Amnesty International is working together with thousands of other organizations to lobby governments worldwide to create an international system of justice that complements and reinforces national justice systems. Such a system is essential to deter those contemplating human rights crimes, to enable survivors to obtain justice and redress, and to support post-conflict reconciliation.
Amnesty campaigns for an effective system of international justice by calling for:
- The International Criminal Court (ICC): The ICC is the world's first permanent, international judicial body capable of bringing perpetrators to justice and providing redress to victims when states are unable or unwilling to do so.
- Universal Jurisdiction: The principle that every country has an interest in bringing to justice the perpetrators of grave crimes, no matter where the crime was committed, and regardless of the nationality of the perpetrators or their victims.
- International and Internationalized Tribunals: Important players in the emerging architecture of international justice in which international, national and hybrid prosecutions should complement each other.
- Fact-Finding Commissions: National mechanisms that document the truth about crimes are essential to long-term justice and reconciliation.
- Full Reparations: Fully addressing the suffering of the victims and helping them to rebuild their lives is a necessary element of international justice.
International justice is the cooperation between countries to hold accountable individuals accused of grave human rights abuses, such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. It acts as a safety net to ensure that perpetrators cannot evade justice by crossing borders. Bringing perpetrators to justice before a court of law - whether in domestic courts or internationally established courts - sends a clear message that human rights abuses will not be tolerated, regardless of where the crimes are committed.
