Why not Just take Syria to the International Criminal Court?

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http://www.juancole.com/2014/03/international-criminal-court.html

Why not Just take Syria to the International Criminal Court?
By Juan Cole | Mar. 29, 2014
(By Mark Kersten)

This week marks the third anniversary of the Syrian civil war. Fragile peace talks aimed at finally bringing the war to an end sputter on in Geneva. Report after report has been published documenting the extent and sheer brutality of the violence in Syria. Conference after conference has been held to discuss what can – and should – be done by the international community to bring this protracted war to an end. But day after day the conflict and the suffering continue.

Ending the war is one goal. But in a world where societies increasingly expect that perpetrators of atrocities will be held accountable, is it possible for international criminal justice to be achieved in Syria? If so, what is the best way forward?

It should be noted from the outset that Syria is not a member-state of the International Criminal Court (ICC). As a result, the ICC would require a United Nations Security Council referral of the situation in Syria to the Court – as the Security Council previously did in the case of Libya and Darfur. And this is where the problems begin: will Security Council states agree to refer Syria to the ICC?

To date, the debate on justice in Syria has unfortunately suffered from a rigid, all-or-nothing approach. Either perfect justice must be achieved or no justice should be pursued; either the international community gets the ICC involved via a UN Security Council referral that funds the Court’s work and protects it from political manipulation or… well, nothing. As a result, attempts to elaborate how to achieve justice in Syria have marginalized (if not entirely ignored) middle-ground options on the basis that they aren’t perfect or exactly what should happen in an ideal world. The perfect solution has become the enemy of any solution.