Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein was executed today.

An Iraqi tribunal is incapable of fairly and effectively trying Saddam Hussein and six others on genocide charges for their role in the killing of an estimated 100,000 Kurds in the 1980s, a major human rights group said today.

Nigeria’s announcement that it is ready to hand over exiled Liberian warlord Charles Taylor – the first former African head of state indicted for crimes against humanity and war crimes – is a reluctant gesture that sends a powerful message to other warmongers on the continent.

The International Criminal Court has issued its first arrest warrants, for five members of Uganda’s notoriously cruel Lord’s Resistance Army.

The United States is facing growing world opposition to its request for a new exemption for American peacekeepers from international prosecution for war crimes.

THE interim Iraqi government said it wants to try Saddam Hussein before a special tribunal but a human rights group has voiced deep concern about the legitimacy of the newly-established panel.

An Irish lawyer has been appointed to serve on the new International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands.

Washington has suggested a possible compromise to protect US troops from prosecution by the new international war crimes tribunal and maybe save the UN peacekeeping mission in Bosnia.

Despite vehement American opposition, the world’s first permanent war crimes tribunal will become a reality on July 1, with support from US allies and nations from every continent.