War and justice is a topic discussed frequently in many establishments, but can one happen without the other? The documentary film, War and Justice, directed by Marcus Vetter, tells the story of the first chief prosecutor of the ICC, Luis Moreno Ocampo.
On Wednesday evening, Markus Vetter and Jennifer Schense, former legal advisor of the ICC, introduced the movie to the students at THIMUN. The atmosphere was light, and the King Willem-Alexander auditorium was filled with about 200 somewhat familiar faces spread all around the ground floor. A wave of applause erupted from the crowd after Vetter had given a short introduction to his work. “This is a history of grave danger, unlike any other in the history of mankind.” Somberness can be felt in the room after these words pop up on a black screen in white lettering.
“This is a history of grave danger, unlike any other in the history of mankind.”
The most frequent topic of this film is a reappearing quote sprinkled all throughout it, “starting a war is the most serious crime at all”, which tells the story about how the ICC was needed in times of despair. Moreno Ocampo has been working together with Marcus Vetter for the past 50 years in order to make their thoughts reality. Luis Moreno Ocampo, born in Argentina, was first appointed chief prosecutor in 2003, and was active in this position until 2011, but this was not his only time as an active member of a court. During the Junta trials in 1985, he was the deputy prosecutor at only age 32. Years later, his thoughts on the trials are that “what they do to protect their group is to attack members of the other group.” Most don’t want to be convicted or blamed for their wrongdoings, instead they point their fingers and say ‘yes I did this…but they did something worse’ as if this is justification enough for war crimes.
Many people working with, for, and alongside Ocampo were featured in this film. “You cannot have peace without justice” was another recurring topic first brought up by Benjamin Ferencz, the chief prosecutor for the US Army in the Einsatzgruppen trials at Nuremberg, in the Palace of Justice. These trials were held at the end of World War II, and were the ninth of twelve trials for war crimes during this time. Ferencz recently passed, at the age of 103 on April 7, 2024 and was the last living prosecutor of the Nuremberg trials.
“You cannot have peace without justice”
The film also follows another one of Luis Moreno Ocampo’s trials, arguably the most important one, the Lubanga Trial, in which Thomas Lubanga Dylio was the first ever prosecuted in the International Criminal Court. He was a rebel leader who founded and led the Union of Congolese Patriots, where he recruited child soldiers, boys and girls under the age of fifteen. Lubanga was convicted at the ICC in The Hague on March 14, 2012 to the maximum sentence of 14 years imprisonment.
This movie had much to unpack. It included video recordings of trials, such as the Lubanga or Junta, as well as recordings of war crimes. Arguably, one of the saddest recordings being American soldiers in Afghanistan shooting innocent bystanders, acting as if their lives were points in a video game. “It’s their fault for bringing kids to battle” being the response to killing children. Ocampo’s 9 years in office were followed by Vetter, who interviewed people close to Ocampo, or people in office, such as Jennifer Schense, who worked alongside him.
After the movie commenced, there was silence. It ended with the first clap which led to many more. Tears were shed and eyes were opened to the unfairness of the world and the need for justice. Attendees of the showing had the once in a lifetime opportunity to interact with Mr Ocampo himself over a video call projected on the big screen. As soon as this opportunity was mentioned, people sprung to action. More than 50 students and educators rose and lined up on either side of the auditorium, in order to be the first to ask Ocampo their pressing questions.
After a couple of questions were asked, Marcus Vetter interrupted the Q&A. He announced his surprise of how professional these questions were, how impressed he was with the attendees, and how this is exactly what he had envisioned for his movie. Mr Ocampo agreed with this and after being asked by a delegate on his opinion on rapid changes in the global community, he answered with much emotion that “justice is not in the hands of the judges, it is in the hands of the politicians and … in you”
“justice is not in the hands of the judges, it is in the hands of the politicians and … in you”
This movie was not for the faint of heart; it was much to process for many viewers. The injustices happening in the world constantly and currently are horrible. This movie could evoke a feeling of helplessness in some, a feeling of being useless to those in need of help. It can also be a motivator to those planning a career in politics, who want to be a saving grace for the people who can’t help themselves.
If one wishes to view the movie, it is available to view for free after signing up on markus-vetter.com, otherwise it can be bought on the same website for 9.99€.
Photo by Anna Delmas
