Written by Annie Kwon

What would you do if you’re really sick and you just had a plenty of sleep? What is the best way to help get your mind off your misery and pain? Watch TV, of course! If you watch interesting shows on TV, the time will fly and you’ll be healed in no time! (Funny way to put it.) One fateful night when I happened to be at the height of my fever, I saw the documentary on PBS World channel. The documentary is about trying to bring the criminals to justice; the justice that could never come.

International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. Its first date is July 1, 2002 when the founding treaty of Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court came into force. The court can only prosecute crimes committed since that date. The official seat is in The Hague, Netherlands.

I was shocked and curious that I never heard of this court. Granted that this court is new and only been in force for 7 years now, I’m dumbfounded that International Criminal Court is nearly unheard of in United States. Over 100 countries have joined force with the court except the big powered countries like United States, China and Russia.

Since the court has been in force, the prosecutors are trying to bring the warlords in troubling Africa countries (Darfur, Congo, Uganda, and Central Africa) and South American countries (Columbia) to justice for committing heinous crimes against thousands of their own people especially children. The process for each criminal is long and tedious process and only 5 of 14 cases are successfully detained. However, only 5 detained are awaiting their trials as of now.

I watched 2 hours of documentary, not just about International Criminal Court but about each case that happened. The children are being brainwashed and forced into being soldiers, innocent families are being killed left and right, and the survivors are deathly afraid in their own homes. I saw how the prosecutors are patiently trying to arrest the criminals. I saw how they are passionate about bringing peace and justice to the world because they are not willing to give up the fight when things have gone wrong. It’s difficult to fight for justice when the foundation is not solid yet and when some countries are uncooperative.

There is one big question for the United States. Why won’t US be involved with ICC? ICC was found to stop violence against humanity and US is refusing to step in to help. Why aren’t the citizens aware of this? Why was I not informed about the great establishment? I say US should help because of its vast power and ability to change the world. ICC is a valiant effort for one step forward to stop violence. It could be the greatest thing because we could actually have peace in the world.