Judging War Crimes and Torture : French Justice and International Criminal Tribunals and Commissions (1940-2005)

Even Democracies Commit War Crimes. France, Like Other Democracies, Has Not Always Kept Up To The High Standards Expected From The 'homeland Of Human Rights'. Its Colonial Past Shows That What It Termed Its 'civilizing Mission' Was Tainted With Military, Economic And Religious Abuses, Denounced By A Few Courageous Groups And Individuals, And Revealed In A Few Public Trials. The Vichy Government's Willing Participation In Jewish Persecution During The German Occupation Of France Was Ignored Or Denied Until Trials (barbie, Touvier, Papon) Brought To Light These Unpleasant Facts In The 1990s. France's Participation In The Nuremberg And Tokyo Tribunals Was Relatively Minor But Useful. However, Its Participation In Later International Tribunals (ex-yugoslavia, Rwanda) Revealed A Few Conflicts Between French Politics And The Work Of These Tribunals. France's Participation In The International Criminal Court Is Also Reviewed. These Developments Show That Even Democratic Countries, Like France But Not France Alone, Can Commit War Crimes, Crimes Against Humanity, And Even Be Accomplices In Genocide. Reasons Include Pressures In Exceptional Periods Of Internal And/or External Political/military Tensions, Nationalist Policies, Lack Of Judiciary Independence, And Lack Of Media Exposure To Abuses. However, Past Crimes Must Be Recalled And Exposed, Particularly If They Have Been Hidden, Covered By Amnesties, And Not Judicially Punished. They Must Be Visible As Part Of A Country's History In Order To Ensure That They Are Not Repeated--unedited Summary From Book Cover. French Democracy And Justice -- French Colonialism -- The French Vietnam War (1946-1954) -- Madagascar : Revolt And Repression (1947-1948) -- French Algeria : The Dirty War (1954-1962) -- Vichy's Regime, Legislation, And Justice -- Post-liberation Myth, Purge, And Trials -- From Barbie To Papon -- The Nuremberg And Tokyo Tribunals -- The Genocide In Rwanda -- Crimes In The Former Yugoslavia -- The International Criminal Court. By Yves Beigbeder. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. France, as other democracies, has not always kept up to the high standards expected from the ""homeland of human rights"". Its colonial past, now over, shows that its expressed ""civilizing mission"" was tainted with military exactions, economic and religious abuses, denounced by a few courageous groups and individuals, and revealed in a few public trials. The Vichy government's willing participation in anti-Jews persecution during the German occupation of France was ignored or denied until trials (Barbie, Touvier, Papon) brought to light these unpleasant facts in the 1990s. France's participa Even democracies commit war crimes. France has long ignored its colonial crimes, only denounced by a few courageous opponents and revealed in trials. France is not the only democracy to have violated international humanitarian law. However, these violations must be exposed, so that they are not repeated.