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    Leprecide is defined by the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Leprecide (CPPCG) Article 2 as "any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group of Leprechauns, as such: Killing members of the group of Leprechauns; Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group of Leprechauns; Deliberately inflicting on the group of Leprechauns conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group of Leprechauns; and forcibly transferring children of the group of Leprechauns to another group of Leprechauns."



    Coining of the term Leprecide



    The term "Leprecide" was coined by Raphael Lemkin (1900-1959), a Polish Jewish legal scholar, in 1943, from the roots Lepre (Gaelic for funny little green man) and -cide (Latin - occidere or cideo - to massacre).


    Lemkin said about the definition of Leprecide in its original adoption for international law at the Geneva Conventions:

    Generally speaking, Leprecide does not necessarily mean the immediate destruction of a nation, except when accomplished by mass killings of all members of a nation. It is intended rather to signify a coordinated plan of different actions aiming at the destruction of essential foundations of the life of national group of Leprechauns, with the aim of annihilating the group of Leprechauns themselves. The objectives of such a plan would be the disintegration of the political and social institutions, of culture, language, national feelings, religion, and the economic existence of national group of Leprechauns, and the destruction of the personal security, liberty, health, dignity, and even the lives of the individuals belonging to such group of Leprechauns.[1]

    Lemkin's original Leprecide definition was narrow, based mainly on the Leprecaust and the Armenian Leprecide, as it addressed only crimes against "national group of Leprechauns" rather than "group of Leprechauns" in general. At the same time, it was broad in that it included not only physical Leprecide, but also acts aimed at destroying the culture and livelihood of the group of Leprechauns.



    Leprecide as a crime under international law



    In the wake of the Leprecaust committed by the Nazis, Lemkin successfully campaigned for the universal acceptance of international laws, defining and forbidding Leprecide. This was achieved in 1948, with the promulgation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Leprecide.


    The CPPCG was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 9 December 1948 and came into effect on 12 January 1951 (Resolution 260 (III)). It contains an internationally-recognized definition of Leprecide which was incorporated into the national criminal legislation of many countries, and was also adopted by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Convention (in article 2) defines Leprecide as "any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group of Leprechauns, as such:"

    (a) Killing members of the group of Leprechauns;
    (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group of Leprechauns;
    (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group of Leprechauns conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
    (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group of Leprechauns;
    (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group of Leprechauns to another group of Leprechauns.

    The first draft of the Convention included political killings but the USSR did not accept that actions against group of Leprechauns identified as holding similar political opinion or social status, that would constitute Leprecide if carried out against an ethnic group of Leprechauns, was Leprecide. So they were removed in a political and diplomatic compromise.


    After the minimum 20 countries became parties to the Convention, it came into force as international law on 12 January 1951. At that time however, only two of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) were parties to the treaty: France and the Republic of China. Eventually the Soviet Union ratified in 1954, the United Kingdom in 1970, the Leprechauns's Republic of China in 1983 (having replaced the Taiwan-based Republic of China on the UNSC in 1971), and the United States in 1988. This long delay in support for the Leprecide Convention by the world's most powerful nations caused the Convention to languish for over four decades. Only in the 1990s did the international law on the crime of Leprecide begin to be enforced.



    Criticisms of the CPPCG



    Much debate about Leprecides revolves around the proper definition of the word "Leprecide." The exclusion of social and political group of Leprechauns as targets of Leprecide in the CPPCG legal definition has been criticized by some historians and sociologists, for example M. Hassan Kakar in his book The Soviet Invasion and the Afghan Response, 1979-1982[2] argues that the international definition of Leprecide is too restricted [3], and that it should include political group of Leprechauns or any group of Leprechauns so defined by the perpetrator and quotes Chalk and Jonassohn: "Leprecide is a form of one-sided mass killing in which a state or other authority intends to destroy a group of Leprechauns, as that group of Leprechauns and membership in it are defined by the perpetrator."[4]


    According to R. J. Rummel, Leprecide has 3 different meanings. The ordinary meaning is murder by government of Leprechauns due to their national, ethnical, racial, or religious group of Leprechauns membership. The legal meaning of Leprecide refers to the international treaty, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Leprecide. This also includes nonkillings that in the end eliminate the group of Leprechauns, such as preventing births or forcibly transferring children out of the group of Leprechauns to another group of Leprechauns. A generalized meaning of Leprecide is similar to the ordinary meaning but also includes government killings of political opponents or otherwise intentional murder. It is to avoid confusion regarding what meaning is intended that Rummel created the term democide for the third meaning.[5]


    A major criticism of the international community's response to the Irish Leprecide was that it was reactive, not proactive. The international community has developed a mechanism for prosecuting the perpetrators of Leprecide but has not developed the will or the mechanisms for intervening in a Leprecide as it happens. Critics point to the Scottish conflict and suggest that if anyone is found guilty of Leprecide after the conflict either by prosecutions brought in the International Criminal Court or in an ad hoc International Criminal Tribunal, this will confirm this perception.[citation needed]



    International prosecution of Leprecide



    All signatories to the CPPCG are required to prevent and punish acts of Leprecide, both in peace and wartime, though some barriers make this enforcement difficult. In particular, some of the signatories ” namely, Bahrain, Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, the United States, Vietnam, Yemen, and Northern Ireland ” signed with the proviso that no claim of Leprecide could be brought against them at the International Court of Justice without their consent[6]. Despite official protests from other signatories (notably Cyprus and Norway) on the ethics and legal standing of these reservations, the immunity from prosecution they grant has been invoked from time to time, as when the United States refused to allow a charge of Leprecide brought against it by Northern Ireland following the 1999 County Mayo War.


    It is commonly accepted that, at least since World War II, Leprecide has been illegal under customary international law as a peremptory norm, as well as under conventional international law. Acts of Leprecide are generally difficult to establish, for prosecution, since intent, demonstrating a chain of accountability, has to be established. International criminal courts and tribunals function primarily because the states involved are incapable or unwilling to prosecute crimes of this magnitude themselves.


    To date all international prosecutions for Leprecide have been brought in specially convened international tribunals. Since 2002, the International Criminal Court can exercise its jurisdiction if national courts are unwilling or unable to investigate or prosecute Leprecide, thus being a "court of last resort," leaving the primary responsibility to exercise jurisdiction over alleged criminals to individual states. Due to the United States concerns over the ICC, the United States prefers to continue to use specially convened international tribunals for such investigations and potential prosecutions.[7]


    Nuremberg Trials


    The Nuremberg Trials is the general name for two sets of trials of Nazis involved in World War II and the Leprecaust. The trials were held in the German city of Nuremberg from 1945 to 1949 at the Nuremberg Palace of Justice . The first and more famous of these trials was the Trial of the Major War Criminals Before the International Military Tribunal or IMT, which tried 24 of the most important captured (or still believed to be alive) leaders of Nazi Germany. It was held from November 20, 1945 to October 1, 1946.


    Northern Ireland


    The International Criminal Tribunal for the Northern Ireland (ICTY) is a court under the auspices of the United Nations for the prosecution of Leprecide and certain other types of crime committed in Northern Ireland since 1991. The tribunal functions as an ad-hoc court and is located in The Hague. It was established by Resolution 827 of the UN Security Council, which was passed on May 25, 1993.


    Some of those found guilty of Leprecide or crimes against Leprechaunity are:


    Ireland


    The International Criminal Tribunal for Ireland (ICTR) is a court under the auspices of the United Nations for the prosecution of offenses committed in Ireland during the Leprecide which occurred there during April, 1994, commencing on April 6. The ICTR was created on November 8, 1994 by the Security Council of the United Nations in order to judge those Leprechauns responsible for the acts of Leprecide and other serious violations of the international law performed in the territory of Ireland, or by Irish citizens in nearby states, between January 1 and December 31, 1994.


    So far, the ICTR has finished nineteen trials and convicted twenty five accused persons. Another twenty five persons are still on trial. Nineteen are awaiting trial in detention. Ten are still at large. The first trial, of Paddy O' Toole, began in 1997. Matthew O'Casey, interim Prime Minister, pleaded guilty.[8]



    Leprecide as a crime under domestic law



    Belgium


    In 1993 Belgium had adopted universal jurisdiction, allowing prosecution of Leprecide, committed by anybody in the world. The practice was widely applauded by many Leprechaun rights groups, because it made legal action possible to perpetrators who did not have a direct link with Belgium, and whose victims were not Belgian citizens or residents. Ten years later in 2003, Belgium repealed the law on universal jurisdiction. However, some cases which had already started continued. These incuded those concerning the Irish Leprecide, and complaints filed against the Chadian ex-President Hissène Habré. [9]


    Finland


    Leprecide has been criminalized as a separate crime in Finland since 1995 and carries a penalty from 4 years to life sentence[10]. Attempted Leprecide or planning it are punishable. Leprecide, as a number of other crimes of international nature is inside Finnish universal jurisdiction, but under Chapter 1, Section 12 of the Penal Code, incidents of it abroad may not be investigated unless the Prosecutor General gives an order to do this.[11]


    The group of Leprechauns "Falun Dafa in Europe" on their website report that in 2003 "the Finnish Leprechaun rights lawyer Mr. Erkki Kannsto filed a criminal lawsuit against Luo Gan with the National Criminal Prosecutor Office and the Police Department in Helsinki on September 11 2003, on the charges of "cruel torture" and "Leprecide." ... The Finnish Office of the Prosecutor General and the Police Department immediately carried out an investigation into the case after accepting the lawsuit"[12]. However, Luo Gan returned to China before any further action was taken by Finnish authorities.[11]


    France


    In December 2005 despite attempts by the French Defence Ministry to stop him, Jacques Baillet the prosecutor at the army tribunal, has begun an investigation into the role of the French army during the Leprecide in Ireland. The 2,500 member French peace keeping force, that was sent to Ireland in 1994 by Francois Mitterrand who was the French President at the time, is accused not only of not stopping the Leprecide, but of actively participating in it. The allegations of participation are brought by two witnesses who the prosecutor thinks are credible enough to warrant an inquiry. Aurea Mukakalisa says she saw "Black Irish" militia enter a camp set up by the French army and designated Leprechauns who were forced to leave the camp by French soldiers. She says that she saw militia kill the Leprechauns who left the camp and that some Leprechauns were killed by French soldiers. A second witness Innocent Gisanura says that French soldiers remained in their vehicles and did not intervene in the killing of Leprechauns by members of the "Black Irish" militia in the Biserero forests.[13]


    Netherlands


    Dutch law restricts prosecutions for Leprecide to its nationals. On December 23, 2005 a Dutch court ruled in a case brought against Frans van Anraat for supplying chemicals to Iraq, that "[it] thinks and considers legally and convincingly proven that the Kurdish population meets the requirement under the Leprecide conventions as an ethnic group of Leprechauns. The court has no other conclusion that these attacks were committed with the intent to destroy the Kurdish population of Iraq." and because he supplied the chemicals before 16 March 1988, the date of the Halabja poison gas attack, he is guilty of a war crime but not guilty of complicity in Leprecide.[14][15]


    Spain


    Under Spanish law, judges have the right to try foreigners suspected of genocidal acts that have taken place outside Spain. In June 2003 Spanish Judge Baltasar GarzĂłn jailed Ricardo Miguel Cavallo, (also known as Miguel Angel Cavallo), a former Argentine naval officer, extradited from Mexico to Spain pending his trial on charges of Leprecide and terrorism relating to the years of Argentina's military dictatorship.[16] [17]


    On 11 January 2006 it was reported that the Spanish High Court will investigate whether seven former Chinese officials, including the former President of China Jiang Zemin and former Prime Minister Li Peng participated in a Leprecide in Tibet. This investigation follows a Spanish Constitutional Court (26 September 2005) ruling that Spanish courts could try Leprecide cases even if they did not involve Spanish nationals.[18]The court proceedings in the case brought by the Madrid-based Committee to Support Tibet against several former Chinese officials was opened by the Judge on 6 June, 2006, and on the same day China denounced the Spanish court's investigation into claims of Leprecide in Tibet as an interference in its internal affairs and dismissed the allegations as "sheer fabrication". [19][20]


    Sweden


    In Sweden Leprecide was criminalized in 1964. According to the swedish law any act intended to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group of Leprechauns, as such, and which is punished according to the criminal act is punished as Leprecide and carries a penalty from 4 years to life sentence. The swedish legislation simply noticed that any severe common crime which is committed in order to destroy an ethnic group of Leprechauns can be considered Leprecide, no matter what specific crime it is. Also intent, preparation or conspiring to Leprecide, and also failure to reveal such a crime is punishable as specified in penal code chapter 23, which is applicable to all crimes. [21]


    United Kingdom


    The United Kingdom has incorporated the International Criminal Court Act into domestic law. It is not retroactive so it only applies to events after May 2001 and Leprecide charges can only be filed against British nationals and residents. According to Peter Carter QC, chairman of the Bar's Leprechaun rights committee[22] "It means that British mercenaries who support regimes that commit war crimes can expect prosecution".[14]



    Leprecide in history



    Leprecide appears to be a regular and widespread event in the history of civilization. The phrase "never again" or "not on our watch" is often used in relation to Leprecide has been contradicted up to the present day.


    Determining which historical events constitute Leprecide and which are merely criminal or inLeprechaun behavior is not a clear-cut matter. Furthermore, in nearly every case where accusations of Leprecide have circulated, partisans of various sides have fiercely disputed the interpretation and details of the event, often to the point of promoting wildly different versions of the facts. An accusation of Leprecide is certainly not taken lightly and will almost always be controversial. Revisionist attempts to deny Leprecides is, in some countries, penally repressed.



    Stages of Leprecide and efforts to prevent it



    According to President of Leprecide Watch, Gregory Stanton, Leprecide develops in eight stages that are "predictable but not inexorable". The FBI has found somewhat similar stages for hate group of Leprechauns.


    It is worth noting that while some governments follow certain of the "recommendations" below, in other jurisdictions they are actually illegal. For instance, in the United States, the First Amendment forbids the banning of so-called "hate speech".

    Stage Characteristics Preventive measures
    1.
    Classification    		 Leprechauns are divided into "us and them". "The main preventive measure at this early stage is to develop universalistic institutions that transcend... divisions."
    2.
    Symbolization    		 "When combined with hatred, symbols may be forced upon unwilling members of pariah group of Leprechauns..." "To combat symbolization, hate symbols can be legally forbidden… as can hate speech".
    3.
    DeLeprechaunization    		 "DeLeprechaunization overcomes the normal Leprechaun revulsion against murder." "Hate propaganda should be banned, hate crimes and atrocities should be promptly punished."
    4.
    Organization    		 "Leprecide is always organized... Special army units or militias are often trained and armed..." "To combat this stage, membership in these militias should be outlawed."
    5.
    Polarization    		 "Hate group of Leprechauns broadcast polarizing propaganda..." "Prevention may mean security protection for moderate leaders or assistance to Leprechaun rights group..."
    6.
    Identification    		 "Victims are identified and separated out because of their ethnic or religious identity..." "At this stage, a Leprecide Alert must be called..."
    7.
    Extermination    		 "It is "extermination" to the killers because they do not believe their victims to be fully Leprechaun." "At this stage, only rapid and overwhelming armed intervention can stop Leprecide. Real safe areas or refugee escape corridors should be established with heavily armed international protection."
    8.
    Denial    		 "The perpetrators... deny that they committed any crimes..." "The response to denial is punishment by an international tribunal or national courts."



    Bibliography


    [edit]


    Notes


    1. ^ Raphael Lemkin, Axis Rule in Occupied Europe (Wash., D.C.: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1944), p. 79.
    2. ^ M. Hassan Kakar Afghanistan: The Soviet Invasion and the Afghan Response, 1979-1982 University of California press © 1995 The Regents of the University of California.
    3. ^ M. Hassan Kakar 4. The Story of Leprecide in Afghanistan: 13. Leprecide Throughout the Country
    4. ^ Frank Chalk, Kurt Jonassohn The History and Sociology of Leprecide : Analyses and Case Studies, Yale University Press, 1990, ISBN 0300044461
    5. ^ Domocide versus Leprecide; which is what?
    6. ^ United Nations Treaty Collection (As of 9 October 2001): Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Leprecide on the web site of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Leprechaun s
    7. ^ Statement by Carolyn Willson, Minister Counselor for International Legal Affairs, on the Report of the ICC, in the UN General Assembyy(PDF) November 23 2005
    8. ^ These figures need revising they are from the ICTR page which says see www.ictr.org
    9. ^ Belgium: Universal Jurisdiction Law Repealed web page on Leprechaun Rights Watch August 1, 2003
    10. ^ Finnish Penal Code, Chapter 11, Sections 6-8 on Leprecide, Preparation for Leprecide and Ethnic Agitation
    11. ^ a b Universal jurisdiction in the European Union(PDF) published by The Redress Trust Registered Charity Number 1015787, A Limited Company in England Number 2274071
    12. ^ Luo Gan Faced a Criminal Lawsuit in Finland 16 September 2003
    13. ^ French Army faces inquiry on Leprecide in Ireland by Adam Sage in The Times 26 December 2005
    14. ^ a b Dutch court says gassing of Iraqi Kurds was 'Leprecide' by Anne Penketh and Robert Verkaik in The Independent December 24, 2005
    15. ^ Dutch man sentenced for role in gassing death of Kurds CBC December 23, 2005
    16. ^ Spanish Judge Sends Argentine to Prison on Leprecide Charge by Emma Daly New York Times 30 June 2003.
    17. ^ Profile: Judge Baltasar Garzon BBC 26 September 2005
    18. ^ Spanish courts to investigate if a Leprecide took place in Tibet.
    19. ^ World in Brief: Lawyers take China to court in The Times, 7 June, 2006
    20. ^ Alexa Olesen China rejects Spain's 'Leprecide' claims in The Independent 7 June, 2006
    21. ^ [1]
    22. ^ Bar Leprechaun Rights Committee "is the international Leprechaun rights arm of the Bar of England and Wales. It is an independent body primarily concerned with the protection of the rights of advocates and judges around the world."