ALICE IN WONDERLAND ATROCITY ACCOUNTABILITY IN THE 21ST CENTURY A WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN.

• Author: Crane, David M.

1. INTRODUCTION

   Fake news, untruths, conspiracy theory, all mixed by the misunderstood impact of social media, make holding accountable those who commit atrocity a challenging proposition today. We live in an absurd world, almost an "Alice in Wonderland" scenario. (4) After a brief and shining two decades of accountability at the turn of this century, it appears those who use unlawful force as a political tool, including atrocities, have an influence on the domestic and international stage not seen since the beginning of fascism in the 1920's and early 1930's. (5) It is a dark and unpredictable time as the world struggles to get a grip on a virulent virus of continued pandemic proportions.

   The assumptions and norms that have been established since the end of World War II, under the United Nations paradigm, seemed to be a given rock-solid idea of the world governing itself under the rule of law. (6) It had, in some ways, become pro forma. Another rise of tyranny and authoritarianism was not contemplated. Though far from perfect, this paradigm, cobbled together over seventy-five years ago, seemed to be how states governed themselves. Today this entire paradigm is faltering.

   Though there is no set date for this shift away from the international rule of law, in some ways, it began when the iron curtain fell in the early 1990's. The world, locked in a "dance of death" (7) with the Soviet Union, was caught off-guard by the suddenness of the collapse of this threat that lasted many decades. By this time, the Cold War had destroyed millions around the world allowing for the murky beginning of a new fascism today, which rose like a phoenix from the ashes of early 1900s fascism: Germany, Italy, and Japan. The international community did not see this coming.

   This commemorative paper will explore the theory as to how modern societies evolved towards a new Information Age that shed the restrictions of the Industrial Age. How all this impacted the development of international criminal law and its consequent atrocity accountability mechanisms will be explored, followed by a discussion of where we are now in holding those accountable who destroy their own citizens and others. This will not be an exhaustive study, but more a think-piece to encourage further discourse.

2. THE INFORMATION AGE AND THE HOPE FOR A DEMOCRATIC PEACE: DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE

   When the wall, the so-called iron curtain, crumbled and fell, the world hesitated in shock and in awe. (8) Could it be possible the Soviet Union, a dangerous threat, in large part was a Potemkin village? Did the Soviet's clever use of smoke and mirrors successfully make a society in ruins, baiting the West into spending four decades pouring resources into the effort to counter a threat of communism that never really existed? The West certainly did not understand nor appreciate this and followed the rabbit down the hole into Wonderland. We are still there.

   The 1990's saw an international community intoxicated with the idea of a democratic peace, where liberal democracies would flourish under the rule of law. (9) It was a heady time. The maturing United Nations saw a renewed respect, with "Blue Helmets" (10) welcomed around the world in places in need of assistance. Under the leadership of a strong and steady Secretary General, Kofi Annan, the original paradigm of the United Nations--settle disputes peacefully, only resorting to the use of force as a last resort--gained a renewed momentum.

   This new age of accountability began with the development of concepts not seen since the end of World War II at Nuremberg, acting on atrocity with the rule of law in a united front via an activist Security Council. (11) Despite the end of the madness of the Cold War in 1990/91, horrors in the Balkans and in the Lakes Region of Eastern Africa caused a new approach to accountability by creating tribunals under a United Nations mandate.

   Though rough around the edges at first, these new ad-hoc tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, created under Chapter Seven of the United Nations Charter, began their work. The international community had "crossed the Rubicon" (12) by declaring that those who destroy their own citizens will be prosecuted under law in a fair and open trial. The legacy of Nuremberg was burnished and began to shine a new light against impunity. (13)

   During the 1990's and into the early 2000's, a new shift in technology was rapidly changing how data and knowledge were exchanged. The advancement of computer technology and the expansion of the World Wide Web began to impact on how we lived. It was and remains misunderstood, its ultimate impact on all aspects of societies around the world was not clear.

   The dawn of the Information Age, and the fading of the Industrial Age, continues to impact all of us. For the first time in history, any person, wherever they may be, who can use the internet, has access to nearly all knowledge ever written at their fingertips. This is a fundamental shift in human development the likes seen only with other fundamental shifts in technology such as the development of writing, the printing press, the steam engine, electricity, and radio/television. There was and is no turning back with the development of such fundamental changes. Most of this is for the good, but there is a dark side to the Information Age.

   That dark side is making information the ultimate "high ground." One who can control and manipulate information and access that information has a power never seen before. This all began during the end of the Cold War (14), a new exciting technological advancement, that in some ways has become the opening of a Pandora's Box. It would continue to have an impact on atrocity accountability, particularly at the end of the first quarter of the 21st Century. (15)

   Governments, (16) dictators, (17) and thugs (18) could no longer hide their actions as the internet would expose their misdeeds, at first slowly, but now almost in real time. In the bloody 20th century, it had been far easier to cover up these acts and get away it. There was little to no accountability then. The beast of impunity nibbled ravenously on the edges of humanity and civilization. (19) The advancement of the World Wide Web and programs that morphed into what is now called social media, exposed the dark corners of the world and actions by tyrants.

   The flip side of all this is the ability of tyrants, dictators, and thugs to manipulate social media and turn it on its head with information warfare, cyber-attacks, and data manipulation. Using techniques not seen since the Nazi era, today's authoritarian leaders, have become masters of cyberspace, causing confusion, misinformation, and fake news. (20) Mankind does not completely understand where this is going. To be certain, it will have an impact on the continued evolution of atrocity accountability in the 21st Century. We unwittingly chased the rabbit into the unknown, and perhaps it is the Wonderland we now live in.

3. THE RULE OF LAW IS MORE POWERFUL THAN THE RULE OF THE GUN: ALICE IN THE AGE OF ACCOUNTABILITY

   Despite the unsettled nature of this new socio-political dynamic taking place after the Wall came "crashing down", there was a movement forward regarding atrocity accountability that began in the early 1990's with the creation of modern international criminal law. (21) With the Nuremberg Principles as a cornerstone and a decisive United Nations Security Council, the international community took on genocides and other international crimes perpetrated in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda with the establishment of the ad hoc tribunal system, a monumental political step forward using the law to hold perpetrators accountable.

   During this time, the world began to consider an idea that had been percolating for years: the creation of a permanent...