The state owes a duty of protection to victims, victims’ families, and those accused of committing crimes  Victims of violent crimes and their families face an emotional and vulnerable time in the wake of such crimes. People need time to recover, or mourn. The media’s fixation on violent crimes subjects these vulnerable people to the assault of reporters. In fact, there exists a perverse incentive for the media to badger families until they break down, as tears sell. Such exploitation must be stopped, and the best way to do that is to deny the media the ability to report on such things. The media does not care about hurting feelings, and bad behavior on the part of reporters never hurts readership of media outlets, as is indicative of such tabloids as the National Enquirer. Outlets can always deflect any backlash that might occur for their excesses by cutting loose “rogue reporters”.  Furthermore, families and victims usually do not want the media's, and the nation’s eyes upon them. Rather they tend to seek support from family and community, not the faceless masses. [1] People generally want to mourn in their own way. They may not want to become part of a media-driven narrative, and certainly not to become symbols for a new social crusade to reform communities. Removing violent reporting removes these perverse incentives to irritate victims and families, and instead leads to more respectful and considerate treatment.  As for those accused of crimes, it can be hard for someone acquitted after a trial or accusation to get on with life. Some people may find themselves roundly accused by the media and public, even portrayed as monster, making it very hard to move on, even when their names are officially cleared. This is completely contrary to how the legal system should function, where acquittal is meant to deliver absolution. Allowing the media to construct narratives of guilt in the absence of evidence undermines the very fabric of justice. The media’s incessant coverage of violent crimes and its alacrity to make accusations and jump to conclusions can destroy someone’s life, more than even having to stand trial does. Justice must prevail and be fair to those to whom it judges in court, and this can only be done by not allowing the media to turn the mob against people even after their names are cleared.  [1] Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime. “Victims and the Media”. 2011,


The contagion effect of reporting on violence leads to increased impetus for terrorist attacks and serial killings  The media has been consistently demonstrated through empirical evidence to aid in the exacerbation of premeditated violence. There is an observable contagion effect, as the media serves to spread the virus of violence. Studies have shown that the greater the level of media coverage, the shorter the lag time between initial crime and emulations of them. In the case of terrorism, there is a demonstrable clustering effect. The 1970s embassy takeovers in Middle East, for example, show how media coverage can encourage terrorists to emulate past actions that gained attention in the past. [1] People see success of certain kinds of attacks and seek to repeat them. For example, the successes of Fatah in Israel led to the formation of the German Red Army Faction that would be responsible for many terrorist activities.  In the case of serial killers and mass murders, the media generates the “hot death story” of the moment, leading to an observable clustering effect, much as occurs with terrorism. For example, the Virginia Tech shooter cited the Columbine shooters as his inspiration. Serials killers are often attention-seeking individuals who crave media attention, which they are obligingly given. An example of this is the Unabomber, who ramped up his parcel-bombing campaign as a result of the media attention given to Timothy McVeigh’s mass murder in Oklahoma City. The media not reporting on violent crimes means eliminating the problem of emulation, and stops feeding killers’ pathologies.  [1] Nacos, Brigitte. “Revisiting the Contagion Hypothesis: Terrorism, News Coverage, and Copycat Attacks”. Perspectives on Terrorism 3(3). 2009.


Political will to affect change in areas riddled with violent crime is not generated by media reporting on the violence. Rather, the way the media reports, prioritizing the sensational, blood and guts, aspects of crimes, results in frightened voters clamoring for something to be done. This usually just results in more policing and more draconian sentencing laws. Neither of which solve the underlying problems of poverty and poor provision of essential state services. Rather, they serve merely as stand-ins for real action, resulting in no efforts to genuinely reclaim troubled communities. By excluding media reporting on the most visceral goings on in these areas, namely violent crimes, politicians and the people affected can enter into rational dialogue that is not perverted by media sensationalism.


It is not necessary for people to know the extent of criminal activity in order to be able to take precautions, everyone regardless of whether they know the amount of crime in an area should take what precautions against being attacked that they can. For example they should stick to walking on well-lit streets at night. Local groups on the other hand do not need to be informed by the newspapers if there is crime in the area, they will already know because they live there how safe the area is. The police will certainly give residents the information if there is a threat to them even if they are not giving that information to the media.


To not promote the truth of events is contrary to the duty, and to the right of free speech, of a responsible media  The media has two jobs; first, it has a duty to report on what people care about, and second, it has a duty to report on things that seriously influence society. Muzzling the media’s ability to disseminate information by preventing reporting on violent crimes can only do harm to society. The media has a fundamental duty to report on anything that may influence the lives of the citizens it reaches. This is particularly true of the state-run media, which is meant to be free of political influence and is not as dependent upon ad revenues and thus not as prone to sensationalist reporting. Beyond its duty to inform, the media, like all bodies and individuals in society have a right to freedom of speech. This must extend to the right to report on things that are ugly and that frighten people. It is better that people be informed of the truth by a free media and be terrified than to leave people without knowledge of the real seriousness of criminality. Fundamentally, the right to freedom of speech and of expression must be protected. If the media should give way on the issue of violent crimes it loses all credibility as a genuine font of truth. [1] To protect the basic rights of citizens, the right of the media to report on violent crimes must be upheld.  [1] PUCL Bulletin. “Freedom of the Press”. People’s Union for Civil Liberties. July 1982.


The mainstream media is essential for the accurate reporting of information; without it reporting on violent crimes, they would simply be reported by less accountable, less accurate freelance reporters and blogs  The media is regularly accused of being sensationalist and of hyping up the extent and gruesomeness of violent crimes. In some cases this may be true, but the media generally reports facts in a sober and informative, if also exciting, way. Without the mainstream media, however, news about violent crimes will still spread. The news will be disseminated within local communities and across the Internet via email and blogs. The result is lessening of journalistic quality, as bloggers are not bound by any exacting requirements in terms of the need for factual bases of stories. [1] The mainstream media provides a largely credible source of news that new media still lacks. In the absence of mainstream reporting, especially on such a hot button issue as violent crime, will only serve to spread disinformation, leading people to draw inaccurate conclusions and make decisions based on inaccurate knowledge.  [1] Rouse, Darren. “Is New Media a Threat to Journalism?”. ProBlogger. 15 October 2007,


The media’s reporting and investigating acts as a check on the behavior of the justice system  The state often does not want to deal with serious social issues in politically disenfranchised areas, where crime rates tend to be higher and the populations poorer This is because such areas cannot be counted on for electoral support as they often have low turnout rates and can be too complicated to be worth dealing with from a political perspective. Without the media, no one will report on criminal activity in these areas, meaning there will be no political will to reform them. This gives the police the opportunity to abrogate their responsibility to these communities.  In the absence of media reporting, authorities would also be able to hide the true extent of crime in misleading statistics. For example, police in parts of the United States have been caught publishing deliberately false crime statistics, often understating levels of violent crime in poorer communities. [1] The media has served to uncover the truth of these police abuses of the facts. Only with a free media can people truly be informed about what is happening in society, and that extends to information about violent crimes.  [1] Thompson, Steve and Tanya Eiserer. “Experts: Dallas Undercount of Assaults Builds ‘Artificial Image’”. Dallas Morning News. 15 December 2009.


It is necessary for people to understand the extent of criminal activity in order for them to coordinate an effective response  People have a right to know, for the sake of their own safety, about violent crimes being committed. Otherwise they will be unable to prepare themselves adequately for the possibility of being attacked. However people cannot make rational decisions about how to react and respond to violence in society if they do not have an accurate picture of not only the frequency of crime, but also their nature. Everyone should take necessary precautions to prevent themselves being victims of crime, as part of this they should know what areas are for example safe to walk through at night. If there is little or no reporting of where and when crime occurs the public will not have this necessary knowledge to keep themselves safe. Local groups will also be less able to protect their neighborhoods. For example in Pimlico, London, local groups have set up patrols in order to deal with an increase in muggings, if these muggings were not reported such local action would not have been possible. [1]  [1] Davenport, Justin, and Moore-Bridger, Benedict, ‘Vigilante patrols set up to beat Pimlico prowlers’, London Evening Standard, 8 December 2011,


Bans and restrictions on the old media would equally affect the ‘new’ media of the internet age. Bloggers could just as easily be taken to court for their reporting as conventional journalists so the news would still be restricted. While individuals may still report crimes this would become limited to the local area where people do have a genuine interest in the crime rather than it being reported nationally.


There is no such thing as these two duties that the opposition asserts for the media. The media is a business like any other, because its business is information and news it will report on violent crime as it is something that the people care about so will purchase news about it, but it does not have a duty to do such reporting. Similarly there is no duty to report on things that influence the lives of the citizens of the state, again the media does so but only because it sells. Indeed large amounts of media do not report things that are either things that most people care about or things that seriously influence society. There are lots of magazines and newspapers on things like hobbies, such as toy models, but it is absurd to suggest that this is what most people care about or that the issues that affect toy model hobbyists influence the rest of society. It would be equally absurd to suggest that such a magazine or newspaper should have a section devoted to violent crime because that is what is important.


Prison is the harshest possible way to prevent the offender from continuing to bully. As the crimes were committed online the offender can be cut off from the internet, or simply banned from the sites where he was committing the offence.


Jail prevents continued harassment  Part of the point of time detained in jail is to prevent the offender from reoffending while inside. Being in jail prevents the offender from continuing to engage in cyberbullying by denying unsupervised access to the internet or telephones. It is the most reliable way to prevent reoffending for the duration of the sentence.


Punishment does not have to be the complete loss of freedom that is prison. The loss of freedom as punishment should be interpreted more broadly than not being able to move from a particular location. Losing the freedom to use the internet or social networks can be as much punishment when these are activities that the offender enjoys.


Cyberbullying ruins lives just like any other bullying; age of the culprit does not matter  Punishment must fit the crime. Cyberbullying by a young person can be just as damaging to a victim as a similar crime by someone older. As a result should be equally punished. When cyberbullying has ruined someone’s life, and possibly led them to commit suicide, there were 9 teenage suicides as a result of bullying on Ask.fm in 2012 alone, [1] then not only the victims but their loved ones lives have been ruined as a result of the offender’s actions. Such a consequence deserves jail time to pay for the actions.  [1] Broderick, Ryan, ‘9 Teenage Suicides In The Last Year Were Linked To Cyber-Bullying On Social Network Ask.fm’, BuzzFeedNews, 11 September 2013,


Sentencing a criminal should not just be about punishing them for the magnitude of the result of the crime. Instead it should be about reformation and reintegrating the offender so that they can continue their life in future without engaging in any crime. While cyberbullies bear much responsibility for what they have done when the victim commits suicide it was not a direct action by the offender.


Prison is punishment  While rehabilitation and prevention are important parts of sentencing there also needs to be punishment. There being a punishment, is necessary to ensure there is a deterrence to prevent the offender reoffending, and to prevent others carrying out the same crime. This applies equally to young offenders as to older criminals.


The other options are much less likely to be effective at stopping the bullying from taking place than jail time. 58% of ASBOs handed out between 2000 and 2013 were breached. 43% were breached more than once. [1]  [1] Home Office, ‘Anti-social behaviour order statistics: England and Wales 2013 key findings’, gov.uk, 18 September 2014,


Many children under the age of 18 both know the consequences of their actions and know that bullying, whether on or offline, is wrong. We cannot simply let these people get away with little punishment simply because they are under 18. If they have a lower mental age then there is already the possibility of the defence pleading diminished responsibility.


Should not damage a normal childhood with jail  Putting young offenders in jail does not work, it increases not decreases crime. Going to jail makes children more likely to offend again with young offenders 67% more likely to be in jail again by 25 than those young offenders who did not go to prison. At the same time they are 13 percentage points less likely to finish high school. [1] These statistics shows the damage that jail has on a young life; instead of completing high school and eventually getting a job jail usually means those who have spent time before continue on a self destructive criminal path.  [1] Beauchamp, Zack, ‘Study: Throwing Kids in Jail Makes Crime Worse, Ruins Lives’, ThinkProgress, 17 June 2013,


There are other options besides jail  Jail or time in a Young offenders institute is an extreme reaction to a problem that can be solved by other measures. As an online crime the offender could be denied access to the internet or a mobile for a set period. Cutting off access would not only physically prevent reoffending but would have a similar ‘denial of liberty’ to jail. There have been suggestions that there should be internet ASBOs (Anti Social Behaviour Orders) to block people from particular sites in response to racism online, this would be similar. [1] Any other option would be cheaper than prison which costs on average £38,000 per prisoner per year in the UK. [2]  [1] Syal, Rajeev, ‘Punish hate crime on social media with internet asbos, say MPs’, The Guardian, 9 February 2015,   [2] Ruskin, John, ‘Why has prison emerged as a prominent form of punishment for most crime and what are its functions in relation to wider society?’, Internet Journal of Criminology, 2011,  , p.3


Children should not be sent to jail  Children under 18 should not be sent to jail. Children are considered less responsible for their crimes and the age of criminal responsibility is arbitrary with some countries having much higher ages than others; in the UK it is 10 however in some such as many Latin American countries it is as high as 18. [1] Children are often not able to understand the full damage of their actions or why it is wrong. This is not something that comes at a set age but is a slow change. As such children at younger ages should not be punished to the same extent as adults.  [1] ‘Defense of infancy’, Wikipedia, checked 29 April 2016,


The key here is to provide the educational opportunities and care inside a young offenders’ institute that they would be engaging in outside. This will allow learning and development to continue as normal while still providing punishment. The UK has from 2014 been increasing learning to 24 hours a week [1] – very close to what many British secondary schools provide.  [1] Fazaeli, Toni, ‘Securing education for young offenders – learning first, detention second’, FE Week, 24 January 2014,


The ICC has itself said that “No country in the world has a right to ask the ICC to prosecute certain people” and highlighted that even after ratification “only the court’s prosecutor can decide whether there is sufficient ground for conducting an investigation”. Once ratified Ukraine may ask, but the ICC is not bound to prosecute him because of the request. [1]  [1] ITAR-TASS, ‘Ukraine not able to prosecute Yanukovych through International Criminal Court’, en.itar-tass.com, 26 February 2014,


Would mean Ukraine signing up to the ICC  Having the ICC prosecute Yanukovych currently faces a major difficulty; Ukraine has not ratified the Rome statute. [1] It is therefore outside the jurisdiction of the court. Technically this means the parliament can’t ask for ICC prosecution as there is no State Party to refer the situation to the prosecutor. [2] Clearly there is an easy solution to this; Ukraine should ratify the statute. This would have the benefit of reaffirming international criminal law, showing that it can be beneficial in a crisis, and increasing it as an accepted norm.  [1] ICC, ‘The States Parties to the Rome Statute’, icc.cpi.int, accessed 28/2/2014,   [2] Rome Statute, Article 14


There is little evidence that Yanukovych still has much support anywhere in Ukraine. However an ICC trial could simply inflame the other side; those who have overthrown Yanukovych are likely to want a trial to take place as soon as possible (which may be a long time off considering he is in Russia) and want it to take place in the Ukraine. The ICC would almost certainly be willing to give in to popular opinion; previously in Libya the prosecutor did not act when it was clear that public opinion did not want an international trial of Saif Gadaffi. [1]  [1] Kersten, 2014,


Yanukovych committed crimes against humanity  Even before most of the violence by riot police in February some experts were suggesting that Yanukovych had committed crimes against humanity – crimes committed by a state against a civilian population. Professor Alexander J Motyl argued “The Yanukovych regime may already be guilty of “imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law” and “persecution against any identifiable group or collectivity on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender … or other grounds.”” [1] Now at the very least murder can be added to that count.  [1] Moryl, 2014,


Simply committing murder, or imprisonment, or persecution is not enough to make a crime a crime against humanity. It must be “widespread or systematic”. A great many states are involved in individual killings or unjust imprisonments so there has to be a threshold for ICC intervention. Unfortunately this is undefined so it will be up to the prosecutor to decide whether these crimes meet that threshold. [1]  [1] Kersten, 2014,


International help would be available to ensure an impartial trial in the Ukraine. The OSCE has offered “an OSCE role as impartial witness and guarantor to the implementation of concrete steps agreed between the parties” which could also extend to any trial. [1] With other international organisations involved in gathering evidence and providing legal assistance there could be certainty of an impartial trial without having to go to the ICC.  [1] Burkhalter, Didier, ‘OSCE Chair-in-Office welcomes Ukraine agreement’, osce.org, 21 February 2014,


Would prevent division  Justice is about the past. But when prosecuting someone there also needs to be a thought for the present and the future of the country. In the case of prosecuting Yanukovych there could be serious consequences as he had support in one half of the country. Ukraine is a divided country with many in the East considering themselves to not be Ukrainian, and certainly look to Moscow not the EU. [1] The new administration has already abolish a law that made Russian a second language in the country so infringing the rights of many in the East. [2] Trying a former leader in Kiev would be similarly provocative to those who believe Yanukovych is still the legitimate president, or even those who may not agree with Yanukovych but dislike the westward movement even more. While it would be unlikely to cause conflict on its own the action would certainly be an aggravating factor if other actions against the east of the country are being taken.  [1] Jamison, Alastair, ‘Can Ukraine Avoid an East-West Split and Bloody Civil War?’, NBCnews, 26 February 2014,   [2] RT, ‘Canceled language law in Ukraine sparks concern among Russian and EU diplomats’, RT.com, 27 February 2014,


The Ukrainian justice system is broken  Justice for Yanukovych should be international simply because it would be a much better guarantor of a fair trial. The Ukrainian justice system is unfortunately corrupt, and at the behest of prosecutors; it has an amazing conviction rate of 99.8%. This is because judges are they are only appointed for five years then the government confirms tenure if it believes they have been voting the right way. Yulia Tymoshenko, an opponent of Yanukovych, was imprisoned for making a deal with President Putin to ensure gas supplies – something that was a humanitarian necessity to ensure Russia did not freeze Ukraine into submission. [1]  [1] Robertson, Geoffrey, ‘Yulia Tymoshenko's trial was a travesty of justice’, The Guardian, 23 February 2014,


The Ukraine is perfectly at liberty to decide that it wants its former president to be tried at the ICC rather than at home. The crimes may have taken place in Ukraine but the reasoning behind the need for the ICC is that some crimes – including crimes against humanity – are so great that they are the responsibility of all, they affect other nations. The Ukrainian people would see justice done just as well by it being carried out in The Hague as in Kiev.


Even if the former President cannot be prosecuted at the ICC for his corruption there can still be investigations into his wealth, his assets can be frozen and the money found repatriated to Ukraine without specifically indicting him for corruption. Switzerland has already said that it is freezing any of Yanukovych’s assets in the country while the EU is considering an inquiry into his embezzlement. [1] Clearly there will be action taken against corruption even as Yanukovych is being tried for other more serious crimes.  [1] Fraher, John, ‘Yanukovych to Appear in Russia Tomorrow as Swiss Freeze Assets’, Bloomberg, 27 February 2014,


Does Yanukovych really qualify for the ICC?  It is questionable whether Yanukovych’s crimes, as abhorrent as they may be, really qualify for the ICC. It is clear that he does not qualify for three of the four crimes the ICC charges; genocide, war crimes, and the crime of aggression (this is for attacking other states not your own people). This leaves crimes against humanity. Crimes against humanity can include murder when “committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population” [1] so the ICC will need to decide whether less than 100 dead is widespread and grave enough to justify the charge – and this is something that is up to the prosecutor. [2] Moreover as yet we don’t know if Yanukovych himself was directly responsible for ordering attacks on the protesters in the last couple of days before the fall of his government.  [1] States Parties, ‘Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court’, icc-cpi.int, A/CONF.183/9 17 July 1998,  , Article 7  [2] Kersten, 2014,


The ICC is slow  has resulted in a conviction is against Thomas Lubanga – the trial took eight years from arrest to conviction. [1] The option of trying Yanukovych in the Ukraine with outside help in the process is therefore a better idea. The Council of Europe’s Secretary General has already offered “legal… expertise… by the International Advisory Panel (IAP), which will oversee investigations into recent acts of violence. I expect the IAP to start its work in Ukraine as early as next week.” [2] The OSCE too will help “efforts to establish facts on acts of violence and human rights violations.” [3] Clearly the Ukraine would be in a good position to provide a free and fair trial for its former president that could bring justice much faster than the ICC while also showing justice being done in the right place.  [1] Open Society Foundations Justice Initiative, ‘background’, lubangatrial.org,   [2] Jagland, Thorbjørn, ‘Secretary General Jagland welcomes the Agreement on the Settlement of the Crisis in Ukraine’, coe.int, 21 February 2014,   [3] Burkhalter, 2014,


Should be tried at home  The ICC recognises that a case is inadmissible where “The case is being investigated or prosecuted by a state which has jurisdiction over it”. [1] The state of which Yanukovych is a national, and where the crimes took place has precedence. Ukraine therefore has first right to try Yanukovych, indeed the ICC will only act if Ukraine is unwilling or unable to do so itself. As the crimes he is alleged to have committed took place entirely in Ukraine, over Ukrainian issues he should be tried in Ukraine. This would allow the Ukrainian people to see justice done themselves rather than relying on others to do it for them.  [1] States Parties, ‘Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court’, icc-cpi.int, A/CONF.183/9 17 July 1998,  , Article 17


Could not be tried for all his crimes  The International Criminal Court only tries a few international crimes. This means that other crimes that Yanukovych has committed that are not covered by ‘international criminal law’ cannot be prosecuted at the ICC. It is possible that not all the charges of violence against protesters may count as the crimes against humanity that the court can charge. Equally Yanukovych’s financial crimes cannot be prosecuted at the ICC. It was already known that Yanukovych became very rich as a result of corruption during his time as president but it is only now beginning to become clear how much corruption there was. Yatsenyuk the new Prime Minister “Over $20bn of gold reserve were embezzled. They took $37bn of loans that disappeared. Around $70bn was moved to offshore accounts from Ukraine's financial system in the last three years” with much of that money finding likely finding its way to Yanukovych or his friends. [1] Considering the hole in Ukraine’s finances it would be far better to pursue these crimes.  [1] Walker, Shaun, and Grytsenko, Oksana, ‘Ukraine’s new leaders begin search for missing billions’, The Guardian, 27 February 2014,


Slow might potentially be beneficial in this instance. It would mean that there is time for the worst of the scars of the protest, crackdown and change in power to heal so reducing the chance of any instability or violence when the outcome – whichever way it goes – is announced.


Clearly whether Yanukovych was directly responsible for the deaths and injuries by ordering assaults is something the prosecutor will need to investigate. It is likely that Yanukovych authorised attacks, there have already been leaks that he was planning to go much further with a large military “antiterrorist” operation to break up the protesters. [1] It seems almost certain that one of the three that the parliament voted to send to the ICC will be responsible for the deaths. It would be far better that the ICC were to be the one who decided who is directly responsible for what than an interim administration that has every reason to dislike Yanukovych and therefore influence the charges.  [1] Robins-Early, Nick, ‘Ukraine’s President Yanukovych Planned Crackdown As He Fled Documents Show’, The Huffington Post, 25 February 2014,


It is not true that the human rights situation for women is deteriorating. The Social Institutions and Gender Index has found between 2009 and 2012 there has generally been improvement for example “The number of countries with speciﬁc legislation to combat domestic violence  has more than doubled from 21 in 2009 to 53 in 2012”. Women rights can be improved through the United Nations. This has the legitimacy to convince governments to change their policies and liberalize them. Also, the power of the United Nations comes form the number of countries involved, adding besides the EU, the powerful US, China, Russia, and South Africa etc. More than that, the UN has a lot of experience in dealing with these kind of cases. A perfect example is the economic and diplomatic sanctions imposed on the South African government in order to convince them to leave behind the apartheid regime. Moreover one of the reasons for the United Nations is the promotion of universal human rights, and this applies to women as well as anyone else; there are 187 states that are a party to the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women.  SIGI, '2012 SIGI', OECD, 2012,   Reddy, Enuga S., ‘The United Nations: Partner in the Struggle against Apartheid’, un.org,   United Nations, ‘Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women’, United Nations Treaty Collection, Status at 9 October 2013,


Asylum is the only way to protect women  The European Union is not able to protect women in other countries that are not a part of the union. Countries that have legislation discriminating against women are clearly not listening to European urgings on human rights. They will not respond to these urgings social and cultural traditions are deeply ingrained and only slowly change. Where women are seen as second-tier citizens it is seen as a natural part of the society can barely walk to the corner of the street without the consent of their husband. Moreover, the situation in countries with legislated discrimination against women is not improving, in countries which were previously secular there is increasingly a challenge from Islamism as in Libya and Egypt during the 'Arab Spring'. Moreover the influence of the European Union is declining; it has always been primarily financial, through aid which is declining, and through investment which, at least in the MENA, region has reversed as a result of those same revolutions. By granting asylum we can help them escape a legal system that clearly is against them and replace it with a European Union legal system that grants them those rights they never had.  Kausch, Kristina, 'If Europe is to preserve influence in the Middle East and North Africa, it must move on from technocratic policies towards more flexible cooperation.' LSE European politics and Policy, 21 December 2012,


With regards to a life threatening situation under which women might face severe consequences upon their return, it should be noted that the European Union will not send someone back if it is believed their life is at risk if they are sent back. They will not be forced to leave the country even if asylum is not granted as they will be granted humanitarian protection or discretionary leave to remain which will allow them to remain until the threat is lifted. If the country in question wishes to return the asylum seeker then it will take steps to negotiate with the asylum seeker's country of origin in order to obtain guarantees that the asylum seeker will not be harmed upon their return.  UNHCR, ‘The Facts: Asylum in the UK’, unhcr.org.uk, June 2013,


We would allow discriminated women to reach their full potential  Women who are constantly threatened by their husbands or who are in societies where they are considered to represent less than a man will most certainly lack ambition to achieve their full potential – or even if they do have the ambition will be restrained from fulfilling it. When you live under a system that considers you inferior to the other gender and denies you opportunities on the basis of gender – sometimes including education the individual is clearly never going to have a chance to make their life worthwhile for its own sake. They won’t be able to take up jobs that will have an impact on the world, they won’t control their own economic circumstances as their husband is the only breadwinner, and they will be denied the opportunity to express their ideas and views. By giving them asylum in a place where women and men are treated equally, we give them the opportunity to do whatever they wanted to do before. Besides the security that they will gain, they will be able to go to school or get a job more easily than in their native country. There is no reason for which we don’t want these women to be a part of our European cultural identity. It is shameful to give this opportunity only to your citizens when women from countries that discriminate against them might be able to contribute so much more than they are able to under their circumstances in their native country.


The EU needs to help those suffering from human rights abuses  Everyone is equal. Women who live under legal system that permits discrimination against them are being denied of basic human rights whether this is the right to vote, to a fair trial, or bodily integrity. Sharia Law, for example, clearly denies them human rights like equality before the law, a basic human need according to Universal Declaration of Human Rights. "All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law." Under Sharia a woman’s testimony is worth half a man’s and she gets half the inheritance of her male siblings. Second of all, bodily integrity is affected when women are stoned to death or beaten by their husbands without them even being punished. The importance of self-determination and autonomy are neglected in Saudi Arabia where women are not allowed to drive or go alone in public. Female genital mutilation, which causes bleeding, infections and infertility, and is almost always done without the girl's consent, is a big problem in many African countries. Asylum given by the EU shall be the only way for these women to leave the system that persecutes them and be able to have their human needs respected and therefore creating a healthier, safer and better environment.  Kaitlin, ‘Women’s Rights Under Islamic Law’, Inside Islam: Dialogues & Debates, 25 November 2008,   Pizano, Pedro, ‘Where Driving Is a Crime and Speaking About It Leads to Death Threats’, Huffington Post, 6 June 2012,   United Nations, ‘The Universal Declaration of Human Rights’, un.org, 10 December 2948,   World Health Organisation,’ Female genital mutilation’, WHO Fact sheet, no.241, February 2013,   Mahmoud, Nahla, ‘Here is why Sharia Law has no place in Britain or elsewhere’, National Secular Society, 6 February 2013,


The EU is responsible for its own citizens and not for those that live in other countries or regions. Its burden is to protect human rights for European citizens and not for the entire world. At the moment, because of the economic crisis and austerity measures imposed, all the EU attention should be focused on delivering basic human rights (in terms of basic necessities such as food, shelter and employment) for people in Greece, Spain, Italy and other countries in distress. The burden lies here because the government of a country serves the people of that country and as a union each country accepts some of the burden for others in that union. Others that are outwith that union are not giving any direct benefits for the European Union and therefore should they not be our focus. Any more egregious violations of human rights in these countries would already be sufficient cause for granting asylum without a further offer presented to women who are discriminated against.  Douglas-Scott, Sionaidh, ‘The European union and Human Rights after the Treaty of Lisbon’, Human Rights Law Review, Vol.11, No.4, 2011,


Rather than being selfish and wanting for these women only to be able to achieve their full potential in the European Union, we should consider doing something in order to change the way they are treated at home. Most women are not able to run away from home, or travel hundreds of miles in order to get into Europe to apply for asylum and have this opportunity for development. Even if they were the EU could not take every woman in. The European Union needs to look at the bigger picture and encourage those countries that discriminate against women to become much more liberal in their attitudes to women. This can be done by aid, sanctions, and diplomacy. The EU simply needs to persuade these countries of the massive loss they are sustaining by not allowing half of their population to realize their potential.


The image of the European Union, even on human rights, does not result from how they treat the foreign citizens of some distant country but more on how they treat their own citizens. As with any nation or union of countries the EU’s primary responsibility is to fulfill its duties towards its own citizens. More than that, the social balance and economic stability are much more important factors in the European Union’s image abroad than how the union is treating women in faraway countries. So if we decide to talk about image, granting asylum will not improve nor damage the unions. On the other hand, its duty is to protect the European citizens and many things can still be done in this direction. There is no reason in wanting to help people abroad when you can do so much for your own.


The status quo involves sending women back to the threat of persecution  Sometimes, women who are persecuted by their government end up running from their country just to be sent back from the EU when their asylum application is rejected. Under the current legal system, the problems of women from countries that implement Sharia Law and other forms of discrimination are often not considered sufficient grounds for asylum. This is because refugees are only considered to be refugees ‘owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion’, so it does not include persecution for gender. The consequences can be of two kinds. The first and the worst is sending them back home where to face harsh punishment for trying to leave. This was the case with two women who applied for asylum in Great Britain in 1997 and were denied this right even though they faced death by stoning upon return.  Even if the women are not sent home immediately due to a prolonged appeals process they are left in detention centers, in uncomfortable conditions and unable to get a job or do anything while they wait. Those who are denied entry are left with nothing only a long depressing wait to be returned to the horrible conditions from which they thought they had escaped.  Cleaver, Olivia F., ‘Women Who Defy Social Norms: Female Refugees Who Flee Islamic States and Their Fight to Fit into American Immigration Law’, Rutgers Journal of Law & Religion,   Women for Refugee Women, ‘Refused: the experiences of women denied asylum in the UK’, refugeewomen.com, 2012,   The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, ‘Convention and Protocol relating to the status of refugees’, unhcr.org, 1951,  p.14


The EU’s reputation can only benefit from a strong policy on women’s rights  There is a moral obligation for such a powerful and diverse group of nations to protect not only their own citizens but also people in desperate need all around the world. All the countries in the EU have signed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and therefore stand behind its principles. As the world biggest economic power the EU is fully capable of doing so. The Union is wealthy enough that it can take in the extra migrants that would occur as a result of taking in women from countries where they face discriminatory legislation.  The European Union’s international image is not based on its military might but upon its economy and on being upstanding in its promotion of a human rights agenda. Granting asylum to women that live under discriminatory legal system reinforces this image of being concerned for human rights. The European Union has signed up to the United Nations’ Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women by which signatories “agree to pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating discrimination against women” while the convention is calling for the elimination of discrimination internally it is fully in the spirit of the convention to undertake actions that encourage others to fulfill the Convention. By being willing to grant asylum to women from countries that have not lived up to the standards of the convention – which includes “To adopt appropriate legislative and other measures, including sanctions where appropriate, prohibiting all discrimination against women” – the European Union will put pressure on these regimes, helping to highlight their unequal systems.  ‘Article 2’, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, UN Women, 1979,


No violence or incitement to violence can be justified by changes in legislation. It is not a cultural attack of any kind towards the Islamic religion or a certain culture. We must acknowledge that even the Quran clearly states, “Both men and women should be equal”. Implementing such a measure is simply highlighting that these nations are not living up to their obligations and applying rights that they themselves have accepted are universal by signing up to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is a reminder that every country has the duty to respect its citizens and offer equal opportunities disregarding sex, religion, skin color etc. The intention of the European Union is simple and clear: you have to respect the international law and common sense. Furthermore with the example of South Park there is a fundamental difference in that portraying Mohammed is a fundamental attack on a religion where encouraging equality for women is simply encouraging change in a country’s legislation. The latter is considerably less inflammatory.


At a first glance this might be true but let’s take a deeper view upon these societies. The example of Saudi Arabia where women are slowly being given the vote is true but this is not much of a gain in a country where the parliament has almost no power. In a culture where it is normal that they require the approval of their husband or father in order to be able to vote or do anything the result is simply another vote for the man. More than that, in countries like Saudi Arabia, basic rights like the right of movement are denied to women who cannot get a driving license. That there is progress in some areas does not mean that there is no reason for a policy of welcoming women asylum seekers. Far from it, such a policy would increase the pressure on these countries to step up their reforms. We should also remember that progress can go into reverse – thus the trend towards more governments that are less secular in the Middle East should be a worrying reminder of why the EU needs to let these women in.  Goss, Crystal, ’10 of the World’s Worst Countries to Live in as a Woman’, Take Part, 20 August 2012,   Shane, Daniel, ‘Saudi in new crackdown on female drivers’, Arabian Business.com, 25 August 2013,


The response will be to impose more control over the movement of women.  While it is cliché that every action has an equal and opposite reaction in this case the reaction is likely to be bad. If the European Union wants to open up to women from countries that discriminate against women then the clear recourse for those countries is to make sure their women can’t leave. More government and family control will mean more rights will be infringed and leaving the country will be impossible even for tourism. If men are worried about their wives claiming asylum when on holiday why would they give them the opportunity? The state could respond by taking away, or regulating the possibility for women to leave the country. If in the present day, where the EU is not offering asylum, countries in the Middle East and Africa have the certainty that women will come back after their visa expires, this certainty will no longer be in place after we approve the motion. It is in no interest for national governments to lose population and therefore they will act towards infringing this right and many others to keep women at home.


Allowing women asylum will damage feminist movements  In order to drive social change, these regions need women who are open-minded and want to be part of feminist movements. By giving them the “easy way-out”, social change will be delayed in countries with a legal system that discriminate against women. Females will have two options. First of all, they can leave the country and come in the European Union where the situation is already better. Second, they can choose to remain in their national country and fight for their rights. It is only human to take the easy way out. Movements for women’s rights will therefore lose many of those who want to change something and are willing to take action and as a result a lot of power. Those who migrate will be those who are more independent, more willing to do something to change their situation. Their energies will be directed outwards to leaving their home rather than to improving their situation where they are which would help millions of other women as well as themselves. This is the case with emigration more generally those who leave are those who are more entrepreneurial and are more likely to be leaders – in the United States 18% of small businesses were owned by immigrants, higher than the 13% share of the total population that are immigrants. As such movements for women’s rights will not only be deprived of numbers, but they will lose the leadership of the women who would be most likely to push for change.  Editorial, ‘Immigrants and Small Businesses’, The New York Times, 30 June 2012,


Offering asylum for women will be seen as a case of cultural imperialism  Offering asylum to women who live under Sharia Law or other forms of discriminatory systems will be seen as a cultural attack made by the West against Islamic and Africa values. The European Union’s actions will be seen as neo-colonialism meant to influence foreign states population. Ultraconservative Islamic countries are already suspicious of the west of social and cultural issues; this will simply show that they are correct in their concerns. Let’s take the example of South Park, an American comedy TV-Show that portrayed Muhammad as a bear during one of its episodes. A website known for supporting jihad against the West published a warning against the creator, threatening to kill them if they don’t remove the episode. Despite being a cartoon for a western audience it was seen as an attack on Islam. A policy which would appear to be in large part directed at Islamic states would be needlessly inflammatory.  The European Union would be showing that they do not care for the cultural values of others. Instead it would be promoting an imperial notion that western values are superior to those of other cultures. This is then legitimizing any notion that there is some kind of clash of cultures as it draws a line between the European Union and these states, a notion that would then be used by extremists on both sides as a propaganda tool and justification for violence.  Leo, Alex, ‘South Park’s Depiction of Muhammad Censored AGAIN’, Huffington Post, 22 April 2010,


The situation in these countries is improving, no need for a new policy.  Such an extreme measure as granting asylum to all women from these countries is not required as the situation in countries that discriminate against women is improving. Moreover, such an approach might be seen as an attack and make Middle Eastern and African countries react badly. Most of these countries are moving towards a more liberal approach and starting to promote the rights of women and reduce legislated discrimination. They already have an interest in aligning with western conditions in order to increase their international reputation. More than that, people in these societies are becoming more liberal demanding more and more rights as we see in the Arab Spring. In Kuwait, female suffrage has been allowed since 2005, whereas Saudi Arabia permitted women to vote and participate in municipal election from 2011. The right for national election will follow in 2015, with King Abdullah changing his country’s ultraconservative approach. The wind of change has left Europe and is heading toward the Middle East and Africa, promoting social reform and equality between men and women. If practices like female genitalia mutilation were widely used ten years ago, now they are enforced only in tribal parts of Africa, affecting less and less women. In conclusion, there is no need to worry about female that have residence in these countries because they are becoming more liberal and along with that, the whole country is changing. Diplomacy is working, there is no need for a new asylum policy.  Ajami, Fouad, ‘The Arab Spring at One’, Foreign Affairs, March/April 2012,   BBC News, ‘Kuwaiti women win right to vote’, BBC News, 17 May 2005,   BBC News, ‘Women in Saudi Arabia to vote and run in elections’, 25 September 2011,   Stewart, Catrina, ‘Saudi women gain vote for the first time’, The Independent, 26 September 2011,


Women will chose to remain in their country because they have a family, a husband, friends and most likely a place to live. Not every woman who is a leader will simply think of helping themselves, many will want to stay and help their country overcome its discrimination. And we should not suggest that those who do go to start a new life in the EU will not benefit the cause of women’s rights at home. They can learn from the example of the state they end up in, learn to lead organisations and mobilise people so that they can be more effective at promoting social change at home.


It is wrong to suggest that the EU should not take an action because some countries might use it as an excuse to clamp down on women’s rights. Europe needs to respond to its own problem that in the Status Quo women who get to the European Union are denied asylum even when they have every reason not to wish to return home. The UK asylum system represents an example of a system that regularly denies women asylum even when they have been persecuted. Second of all, it is absurd to believe that countries like Saudi Arabia or Yemen will definitely close their borders for women to leave as to do so would likely bring retaliation from the EU, these countries if proposing such a move clearly don’t think much of the value of their women so why would they wish to lock them in when to do so will result in less trade. Second refugees are for the most part those fleeing persecution – not those leaving under a passport. Many are already travelling without the permission of their state. If their state revokes their right to leave it will simply demonstrate the appropriateness of the EU letting them in.  Women for Refugee Women, ‘Refused: the experiences of women denied asylum in the UK’, refugeewomen.com, 2012,


It is doubtful whether genocide such as this is based on rational calculations. For instance, the diversion of resources into the ‘Final Solution’ was a major reason why Hitler lost the war. In the same way, war criminals are unlikely to be deterred by legal threats such as these; they are driven by a fanatical hatred, not common sense. Furthermore, in wartime situations the immediate threats are so pressing that the hypothetical, long-term prospect of justice won’t affect the actions of lower-ranking officers.


Justice needs to be seen to be done in order to provide a deterrent to others.  An accepted tenet of most justice systems is the achievement of deterrence. Without the prosecution of war crime, its perpetrators have to consider no tangible cost to their actions. This applies to those who claim to have “just followed orders,” who now face a counter-motivation to refuse or defect. In the case of high-level war criminals it becomes effective when they realise they are losing a conflict. If they fear prosecution they are more likely to seek to negotiate rather than going on a final destruction spree. In the final days of the Nazi regime, Himmler stopped committing atrocities and attempted to negotiate peace because he realised his own vulnerability to prosecution. [i]  [i] Allen, Martin, Himmler's Secret War: The Covert Peace Negotiations of Heinrich Himmler.


Firstly, in many instances the victims of war crime want to move on with their lives. Being forced to testify and therefore relive their suffering can be deeply traumatic. Secondly, for victims to achieve catharsis or receive compensation the prosecution has to be successful, which they rarely are. If a prosecution fails to achieve a conviction, an even worse message is sent to the victims of those crimes.


War criminals need to be prosecuted in order to provide justice.  In the instances of small-scale crime we accept that if a community condemns a person’s action, our sense of justice demands that they be punished. However, it is often the case that those who commit the most heinous crimes at the highest levels of responsibility are not prosecuted because of the complexities of the process. For example Slobodan Milošević the former leader of Serbia’s trial took four years and he died before the verdict was given. According to ICTY Chief Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte “The death of Slobodan Milosevic deprived victims of justice”. [i] As an international community we have repeatedly pledged to prevent war crimes, in recognition of the fact that they are beyond the scope of local courts. When they occur it is a collective failure to protect, so the responsibility to prosecute and make amends falls with the international community. An admission of our inability to prosecute war crime undermines the decades of work we have done to prevent them.  [i] Online NewsHour, 'Milosevic Death Precedes War Crimes Verdict', PBS, 13 March 2006


The very scale of war crimes means that courts are inadequate vehicles for prevention or punishment. To achieve the international community’s goal of “never again” other methods, like sanctions, diplomatic engagement and the appropriate use of military deterrent and intervention must be employed. These pragmatic methods are unquestionably more effective and more likely to achieve long-term change.


After war, the primary need of the affected community is to regain day-to-day functionality, create prosperity and achieve reconciliation. While a Truth and Reconciliation Commission might help to air grievances with positive purpose, trials only serve to rake up old hatreds and prolong social divisions.


Prosecution provides closure for the victims of war crimes.  The intention of many crimes of war is to destroy and demoralise individuals and communities. As a result, they often cause on-going harm to victims who cannot feel safe in their communities even after the conflict has ended. For victims, prosecuting war criminals has a vital cathartic function in helping them, to some extent, to come to terms with the crimes committed against them and their families. While full compensation is impossible, both the symbolic realisation of justice and the illustration of real commitment to prevention allows people to rebuild their lives to some extent. Failure to prosecute sends victims a message that the attacks on their freedoms were somehow acceptable.


Trials help bring divisions into the open to help heal them.  For post-conflict societies to function, the tensions and divisions of the conflict must be brought out into the open and dealt with in order to be fully put to rest. Those most responsible for war crimes must be brought to justice, those involved in the regime but less culpable must have opportunity to make amends and victims must feel that they have been compensated. This allows compromise and the potential for effective governance. The alternative is to allow undiscussed, simmering hatreds and resentments to persist, which undermine growth and create a risk of further conflict.


Firstly, more prosecutions take place in developing nations because in recent decades more war crimes have been committed in developing nations. Western nations have been equally committed to prosecutions in the former Yugoslavia, in an increasingly prosperous European region. Secondly, although the refusal of the United States to become a signatory to the ICC is problematic, an inability to prosecute every war crime should not prevent us from prosecuting any.


Proving the commission of crimes on this scale beyond reasonable doubt must take a great deal of time and expertise. The end is so important that the cost must be borne. The successes at Nuremburg and the ICTY convictions prove that it is possible to bring war criminals to justice. While the ICC has had limited success, it is a young institution and is likely to streamline its processes and achieve more convictions in the future.


Post-conflict reconciliation  These trials are not always in the best interests of people on the ground in post-conflict societies. Victims may feel great trauma at having to testify and revealing information might inflame tensions. This is particularly true when large numbers of people in the society had connections to the war criminals. For instance, many high-ranking Cambodian businessmen and officials had Khmer Rouge connections [i] and in Rwanda, Hutus make up 85% of the population. Prosecution is intended to allocate blame not to encourage progress and reconciliation. If any official process is necessary, Peace and Reconciliation Commissions are more suitable.  [i] Justice of a Kind, The Economist,


Problems with symbolic justice  There is no such thing as symbolic justice. While full justice is an admirable aspiration, its value is undermined by consistent failure. If prosecutions cannot be completed, the international community is seen as toothless. This undermines its deterrent value and trivialises the trauma of victims, who may feel their suffering is subordinate to esoteric legal principle. Furthermore, the prosecution of war criminals could use up political capital, thereby preventing more effective preventative measures, or real commitment to post-conflict rebuilding.


Double Standard  While proposition may claim that prosecution of war criminals is a moral imperative, the reality is that geo-political factors determine which prosecutions are taken. For example, all of the ICC’s prosecutions have been against African leaders. [i] Furthermore, although the United States is strongly suspected of war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is too powerful to be prosecuted. Fair justice should apply equally to everyone. Because it doesn’t, these prosecutions are often seen as Western impositions. This aggravates international tensions and reduces willingness to take any action on war crime in the developing world. For example, the African Union has refused to uphold the ICC’s arrest warrant on Omar Al Bashir. [ii]  [i] Case reports of the ICC   [ii] BBC News, 'Warrant issued for Sudan's leader', 4 March 2009,


The prosecution of war criminals is generally very ineffective.  The scale of crimes being prosecuted cause very slow trials, and a high likelihood of technical acquittals. International Courts rarely have police forces of effective methods of enforcing rulings. The ICC has never achieved a successful conviction, the ICTY has been criticised for inadequate sentencing [i] and the current trials in Cambodia have become mired in court and national politics, to the point that it is expected that no further Khmer Rouge officials will be tried. Given the improbability of success, the cost and trauma of these trials is unjustifiable.  [i] "Ten years in prison for Miroslav Deronjic". The Hague: Sense Agency. March 30, 2004. Retrieved 8 May 2011. "Judge Schomburg however thinks that the punishment is not proportional to the crime and is not within mandate and spirit of this Tribunal. According to him, the crime to which Deronjic pleaded guilty "deserves a sentence of no less than twenty years of imprisonment". In a brief summary of his dissenting opinion that he read after pronouncing the sentence imposed by the majority, Judge Schomburg criticized the prosecution for having limited Deronjic's responsibility in the indictment to "one day and to the village of Glogova." Secondly, Judge Schomburg adds that the "heinous and long-planned crimes committed by a high-ranking perpetrator do not allow for a sentence of only ten years", which in light of his possible early release could mean that the accused would spend only six years and eight months in prison. At the end of his dissenting opinion, Judge Schomburg quoted a statement by one of Deronjic's victims. The victim said that his guilty plea "can heal the wounds" that the Bosniak community in eastern Bosnia still feels - "provided that he is punished adequately". According to the victim, "a mild punishment would not serve any purpose.""


Justice is always aspirational. International law is a work-in-progress and while there is no question that a lot of work remains to be done, abandoning the effort will cause stagnation. While many failed prosecutions may come before International Courts, as commitment to international law strengthens so will the success-levels of prosecutions.


In most instances, victims support the progress of prosecutions and are willing to testify. If many people in the society had connections to criminal regimes then that has to be acknowledged and addressed through official means. If not, the tensions will still exist. Even if they are driven underground, the risk of violent tension re-emerging continues to exist. While Peace and Reconciliation Commissions may be useful in tandem with prosecutions, by themselves they risk appearing as mere talk shops that do not provide either punishment or compensation.


Those who satisfy these demands by citizens are more likely to be voted back into office. It is in their absolute interest to keep their focus on relevant emails or phone talks, as if they don’t do that, there is another person qualified for the job who will.  Secondly, it is clear that in this quest for protecting society, it is in the government’s interest to obey the law. As recent events have proven, the population is allergic to any state agency’s violation of law, especially when it comes to warrantless tapping. They won’t risk breaking the law in the hope they will catch more criminals as they know there would be a society and media backlash. If anything, it is in any politician’s interest to search and investigate if any government agency is conducting such abuses and to reveal it with the resulting plaudits and votes it will bring. A politician will gain much more if it takes a public stance against that agency by imposing tighter controls and inspections rather than secretly supporting it. Let us not forget that it is the people who keep politicians in office.  Thirdly, we must remember that there is a lot of pressure from different NGOs and even whistleblowers that is put on these officials not to make any wrong steps. They know that if the population finds out that they focused on anything else but catching wrong doers, their career is over and there is no coming back.  As a result, we have every reason to believe that the government will maximize its efforts of protecting us, but abusing its powers won’t benefit it on any level.


Warrants are needed to prevent abuse  In the light of the recent NSA events(1) , we must try and see past this curtain of fog the government has put in front of us, trying to make us believe that everything it does, it does for our own good and that in this process the law is being respected to the letter. Unfortunately, if the necessary system of checks-and-balances between the government and the masses or judicial courts is lacking, it will always find ways to abuse its powers and violate our rights. Even with the warrant currently being mandatory when trying to tap one’s phone, we see that Justice Department’s warrantless spying increased 600 percent in decade(2). If the government is currently invading our lives when we have specific laws banning it from doing so, why should we believe that this phenomenon won’t escalate if we scrap those laws?  The government's biggest limitation when actively trying to spy or follow a large group of people was technological; it was difficult - if not impossible - to follow a lot of people for days at a time. But with surveillance tools it’s becoming cheaper and easier, as is proven by the astounding 1.3 million demands for user cell phone data in the last year “seeking text messages, caller locations and other information”(3.) Without the resource limitations that used to discourage the government from tracking you without good reason, the limits on when and how geolocation data can be accessed are unclear. A police department, for example, might not have the resources to follow everyone who lives within a city block for a month, but without clear rules for electronic tracking there is nothing to stop it from requesting every resident's cell phone location history.  Considering these facts, it is clear that, as we live in a time when it would be extremely easy for the government to engage in mass surveillance of the population, we must enforce and harden the current laws for our own protection, rather than abandoning then for good. No matter what, George Orwell’s books should not be perceived as a model for shaping our society.  At the end of the day, without any oversight, it would be extremely easy for the government to abuse this power given to it by electronic surveillance tools, without us ever knowing it. This system is the only thing left that prevents government agencies to violate our rights.  (1) Electronic Frontier Foundation   (2) David Kravets” Justice Department’s Warrantless Spying Increased 600 Percent in Decade”, “Wired” 09.27.12   (3) Trevor Timm , “Law Enforcement Agencies Demanded Cell Phone User Info Far More Than 1.3 Million Times Last Year”, “Electronic Frontier Foundation” July 9, 2012


Undeniably, any government needs confidence and trust from the population in order to implement reforms in an efficient way. You need the citizens to be on the same side with the elected officials rather than trying to impede them from doing their job. Despite this, there won’t be any lack of trust as a result of scraping warrants.  In order to prove this fact, one must look at the source that makes the population trust the government. There might be some mistrust in the beginning as a result of the protests that will come as soon as the scrapping occurs, but this won’t last long. In time, as society becomes safer, as terrorist attacks and crimes become scarcer, there government’s good image will return. Results are what people care about. Let us not forget that the biggest blow that a state’s image can receive happens when it is unable to protect its citizens. No matter if we are talking about 9/11, London Metro Bombings or the ones which happened at Domodedovo Airport in Moscow, each and every time the government was held responsible for its failure to prevent the attacks.  If we are to talk about the state’s image and legitimacy, as the numbers of these types of regrettable events will decrease, the influence of the government and the way it is perceived can only rise.


Freedom from government intrusion  One of the most important pillars on which every single western liberal democracy has been founded is freedom. Allowing the government to be able to track and monitor individuals through mobile or internet connections is against everything we, as a western society, stand for.  First of all, it is undisputable that liberty and freedom are indispensable to our society. Every single individual should and must be the master of his own life, he should have the capacity of controlling how much the government or other individuals know about him, the right to private life being the main argument in this dispute.  Secondly, it is clear that phone and internet tracking potentially allow the government to know almost everything about you. Most phones have a GPS incorporated and a lot can be deduced about ones habits by the photos or updates on his social network profile. One who knows all of another’s travels, can deduce whether he is a weekly church goer, a heavy drinker, a regular at the gym, an unfaithful husband, an outpatient receiving medical treatment, an associate of particular individuals or political groups, basically about every activity you have in your life. Remember this data is extremely precise, as your cell phone sends your location back to cell phone towers every seven seconds—whether you are using your phone or not—potentially giving the authorities a virtual map of where you are 24/7.  Finally, we, as individuals, created this artificial structure, i.e the state, to protect our human rights, but also to protect us from each other. We admitted that some rights can be taken away if there is serious concern about the security of other people. Therefore, it is absolutely normal to allow the government to track and follow certain individuals who are believed to have taken part in criminal activities, but there is no ground on which you can violate the right to privacy of a law-abiding citizen, especially if we are talking about such an intrusive policy. If we did so, it would come as a direct contradiction with the very purpose the state was created.


What is imperative to understand is that principles are never the end result; they are simply the means to an end. We rely on certain principles like the philosophy of liberty and freedom because in general they have positive outcomes on our lives. The question which rises on this point is what principle, protection freedom, brings more benefits to us.  The freedom of no one knowing your whereabouts and the right to privacy may sound good in theory, but the truth is they don’t have any effect on the individual. No matter if my phone is connected to the NSA headquarters or not, my day remains exactly the same and nothing changes. I face the same obstacles and joys and I feel the same emotions, as I am not aware of this tracking. But if we prioritize protection over freedom we see that there is significant change in someone’s life. As the government will stop and prevent more crimes happening by tracing and intercepting calls and e-mail s, the lives of the citizens will be drastically improved. Any stopped crime means that the potential victim of that crime has a dramatic improvement in their safety and quality of life.  In the end, we clearly see that protection must be prioritized over freedom as it has more practical benefits upon the population.


In order to fully understand the impact of such measure would have over the human mind we must take into consideration that generally people have a very complicated and busy life starting from going to work, taking care of your kids, paying the bills and many more.  Maybe this won’t be the case initially, but as time goes by and as you don’t feel any kind of physical effects from being under surveillance, slowly, this feeling of anxiety would fade away. Individuals will reach the conclusion that nobody is tracking them. Or at least they won’t care about it. This takes place because a person is more likely to focus on the things they love, they do or which generally surround them and have a visible effect on their life like their families, jobs or passions rather than on an uncertain possible action performed by a distant actor, especially which isn’t palpable.  Second, even if some people do feel this anxiety and can’t seem to be able to find a way to get rid of it, it would still be a small price to pay in order to have a more protected society. It is better to live your life, albeit with some moments when you feel stressed than not being able to live it at all.


Reducing trust in the state  In a world where state agencies would have the possibility of tracking everyone’s moves without any person knowing it, we would reach a point in which the population lose their trust in their elected officials. The consequences could then be very damaging to democracy. This phenomenon took place right after the NSA leaks, as the confidence in the US government was near record’s low.(1)  First of all, the population would know that the government is spying and tracking their moves, but they wouldn’t know how much. This general lack of information on this matter will create a lot of scepticism relating this process, and inevitably the population will reach the conclusion that the government is conducting massive phone tapping and spying campaigns as no one is checking on them.  Despite potential official document trying to give certain facts regarding this, due to the previous incidents when the state has been releasing little or misleading information, these will have little influence over the population. As a result, trust in the state will suffer a massive blow.  This is extremely problematic, as you want and need the general population to trust and listen to what the government, and more particularly law enforcement agencies, say in a lot of instances. When promoting non-discrimination, gender equality or increased social welfare contributions for the poor, you need the population to see the state as someone who is on the same side with them and someone who they can trust. Unfortunately, the scepticism with which those beneficial government proposals will be received will drastically reduce their impact and the chances of them being implemented. If I do not trust that the government is looking after my own good, but rather in a lot of instances its interests are mutually exclusive with mine, then I would most probably lose my respect towards authority.  When talking about law enforcement agencies, i.e the police, the NSA, etc., it is clear that we have trusted them to protect us and our rights. When it is those very agencies that are conducting these warrantless spying campaigns, it comes as a direct contradiction with their very purpose and thus the impact and the loss of trust is higher on this level.  Moreover, in the long term, the whole electoral process could suffer a lot from this lack of confidence, as individuals aren’t particularly inclined to go to elections any more if they see that no matter what they do, their rights will still be breached.  As you need the population to trust the government, so that its reforms are being met with positivism and not reluctance, you must not portray the government as an intrusive, harmful and ill-willing element of the society.  (1) Harry J Enten ” Polls show Obama's real worry: NSA leaks erode trust in government”, The Guardian, 13 June 2013


Changes in behaviour  Surveillance changes the way we make daily decisions—the same way that a rapidly approaching police car in your rear-view mirror may make you feel nervous even when you are driving completely lawfully. The very existence of a mass surveillance system will negatively influence the behaviour and emotions of a significant majority of the population.  First, surveillance affects emotions and mental performance, as it leads to heightened levels of stress, fatigue and anxiety due to the constant feeling that you are being watched.(1)  Secondly, it creates conformity to social norms. “In a series of classic experiments during the 1950s, psychologist Solomon Asch showed that conformity is so powerful that individuals will follow the crowd even when the crowd is obviously wrong. A government that engages in mass surveillance cannot claim to value innovation, critical thinking, or originality.”(2)  This is of extreme importance as first of all, it is the state’s duty to create the most peaceful and harmonious environment in which the individual can reach its full potential (this one clearly not being it) and second if we don’t feel free to do things that are perfectly legal because we think someone might think it suspicious or out of character then it is difficult to say we are really free.  (1) M.J. Smith, P. Carayon, K.J. Sanders, S-Y. Lim, D. LeGrande “Employee stress and health complaints in jobs with and without electronic performance monitoring”, 1992   (2) Chris Chambers ” NSA and GCHQ: the flawed psychology of government mass surveillance”, The Guardian, 26 August 2013


It is clear that the population has high demands and high expectations from the government, but that is because it should do. It is clear that every time the state fails to protect us, every time it breaks the law and every time it violates our constitutional rights, the state needs to be held to account. But that doesn’t mean the state’s job is impossible and unfeasible simply that it needs to learn and improve from its mistakes, and the only way this will happen is if it is open and transparent about its systems.  In addition, crime has fallen in the western world, governments can and do both protect the civilians and respect their rights at the same time. Such a system requires warrants and check and balances on government. The population may sway in terms of its demands but this is mostly driven by events; when there is a large terrorist attack there is a response, when government goes too far again the people will respond. This ensures that the government strikes the right balance.


It may be true that we gave the state the burden and the duty to protect us and it is a very high-ranking priority. But this doesn’t justify sacrificing day-to-day freedom just for the state to fulfil its duty a little bit more.  We cannot say that the state can do whatever it wants as long as it does that for the safety of our safety. On that logic, it would be OK for the government to have a bodyguard stand next to us without our consent for every single minute of our lives, as that way, we would be more protected. The Supreme Court ruled on this in 2012 and held that police need a warrant to attach at GPS device to a car.(1) One cannot say specifically what the main purpose of the state is, as it’s rather a combination of protecting us and serving us. As it is the population who controls the government and not vice-versa, it must be up to them to decide where to draw the line between security and privacy.  What we see on this level is that by engaging in these sorts of operations, the government is not fulfilling its purpose as there are a lot of harmful effects that the citizens would feel if large scale tapping will take place. Maybe some people don’t mind being spied on, but there is a significant majority of people who do. This constant feeling that you are followed translates into fear, anxiety, restlessness or stress. In turn, these emotions affect your day to day life prohibiting you from enjoying it. So on this level, the state is failing at its purpose to improve the lives of the mass population.  (1) Trevor Timm , “Law Enforcement Agencies Demanded Cell Phone User Info Far More Than 1.3 Million Times Last Year”, “Electronic Frontier Foundation” July 9, 2012


A safer country  On this point, there are two levels on which a government which isn’t forced to obtain warrants protects the population better. In 2011 violent crime went up for the first time since 1993 data collected by the Bureau of Justice Statistics in telephone surveys showed a 22 percent increase in assaults so something clearly needs to be done to stop violent crime.(1)  First of all, let’s not imagine that there are people hired by the government who will listen to every single word of every single conversation and that every email will be read word for word. In this type of situation, the police uses special software designed to identify certain key words like “murder”, “Al Qaeda”, etc as well as more subtle combinations which could possibly be a clue towards finding certain criminals. If someone is talking or emailing about certain wanted criminals belonging to military militias or terrorist organizations, I would want to know what they were talking about. Now, we have the possibility of doing that, as, last year, for instance, the FBI requested help to develop a social-media mining application for monitoring "bad actors or groups".(2) The problem is the initial search needs to be general to find these individuals in the general mass of the world’s population.  This is an efficient way of discovering new previously-unknown criminals. In the past, there would have been no way of ever discovering these individuals and they would continue to be a threat to innocent civilians.  Secondly, this improved government control over phones and the internet would be an immense deterrent. It would prevent people from engaging in planned crime as the chances of them getting caught are drastically improved. Deterrence relies on the criminal knowing that they are likely to be caught, knowing your communications are monitored will make people believe they are more likely to be caught. So, not only will the police be able to catch active criminals but will prevent other persons from engaging in this type of actions.  (1) Terry Frieden ” U.S. violent crime up for first time in years”, CNN ,October 17, 2012   (2) Ryan Gallagher ”Software that tracks people on social media created by defence firm”, The Guardian, 10 February 2013


Warrants are ineffective  One of the main reasons for scraping the warrant-system is because of its ineffectiveness. This system of checks-and-balances was created in order to prevent the government from over monitoring the population, but unfortunately, lately, they have just become another administrative and bureaucratic step in achieving that surveillance.  If we look at the statistics which revolve around the FISA court, the one which emitted warrants for the NSA, we see that it “has rejected .03 percent of all government surveillance requests”(1). This is absolutely preposterous, as one cannot reasonably assume that no abusive requests were submitted. As a result, even if there was a so-called preventive purpose of warrants, they are far from achieving it.  (1) Erika Eichelberger “FISA Court Has Rejected .03 Percent Of All Government Surveillance Requests” Mon Jun. 10, 2013


The public can’t decide what they want  Sadly, we reached a point in our desperate quest for perfection where the population, through its mutually exclusive demands, has ended up putting the government between a rock and an anvil. The population then blames the government for not being able to fulfill these demands, when actually we are at fault.  We demand our government protects us from terrorists, criminal organizations and in general people who want to harm us. If it fails to do this job, we blame it and throw dirt at it for being inefficient. But what we see is that although the state has the power to launch a full campaign against wrong-doers through electronic surveillance means, we deny him the possibility of doing that. If, by chance, the government is breaking this law when trying to stop and prevent crimes from happening, like in the example of the NSA, again we launch meaningless offenses and start accusing state agencies for being too intrusive. This fickleness is shown by polling; in 2010 47% of Americans thought that anti-terror programs had not gone far enough to protect the country, three years later that figure had dropped to 35% while those thinking the programs restrict liberties had risen from 32% to 47% with little change in how much was actually being done.(1)  (1) “Few See Adequate Limits on NSA Surveillance Program” July 26, 2013


Purpose of the state  We as individuals created the state in order to protect and improve our lives. We gave it the burden of improving our lives from multiple points of view, economically, socially, environmentally, etc. But before these, in order for one to benefit from this advantages that the state brings, he must be alive, therefore the main burden and purpose of the state is the protection of its citizens’ lives. As a result, when judging a principle, one must mainly look if it is helping or preventing the state from reaching its ultimate purpose.  As a result, it is legitimate to risk sacrificing your right to private life in order for better protection. The existence of mandatory warrants can bring, as an advantage, only a vague feeling of safety and happiness, as there is no real harm for you if someone is tapping your phone, as long as you are a law-abiding citizen.  On the other hand a world in which the government wouldn’t be forced to obtain warrants would be much safer for the individuals, as the government would be able to intercept and trace more criminals. If one life is saved by this policy, it will be worth it!


It is absolutely clear that there exists a need for a system to keep the government in check. We can’t just stand and do nothing, while hoping for the best. There are two reasons why it is justified to keep the warrants.  It is cases like this that shift opinion and force Government to reverse course. As a result everyone, including FISA and other courts will be much more careful, even with no new laws when scrutinising warrants as nobody is willing to risk another scandal happening.  Secondly, this is an argument for tightening up the warrant system not against warrants themselves. It there is such a problem, let’s make warrants harder to obtain with more scrutiny before they are granted, along with more punitive punishments for abuse, more controls and a higher number of inspections. If so few warrants are being rejected there clearly needs to be more done to prevent the government from abusing its powers.


It is obvious that warrantless tracking of citizens is not the only way to fight crime. There are other ways which do not negatively impact the citizens to such an extent.  When talking exclusively about protection, the government could have better trained police officers, harsher laws in other to deter criminals from committing infractions, improved gun control regulations and a more efficient judicial system. There a lot of alternatives to this, as the elected officials must understand that they need to choose a path which does not hurt the population.  Moreover, if we look at statistics (1), in most of the western world, the crime rate has been decreasing. Slowly but surely, crimes are falling and our societies are becoming safer and safer. Thus, not only we have other ways of fighting crime, but crime is becoming less of a problem, so do we really need new intrusive measures to deal with it?  (1) Eurostat Statistics,


For every expert who advocates the use of intercept evidence there is another who fiercely warns against it, particularly those who are experts in law [1] . Despite the use of wiretapping in the USA, many people advocate against intercept evidence by pointing out its past failures [2] and questionable authorisation [3] [4] . In the UK, MI5, MI6 and GCHQ have voiced concerns that wire-tapping would expose the methods used by intelligence services [5] . This is not purely a debate about whether wire-tapping works, but whether it is in line with the legal principles held by those countries and states who currently do not allow it to be used in court. Just because it could be used does not make it legitimate – in fact, there is often heavy criticism against wiretapping within the legal profession itself [6] [7] .  [1]  , accessed 30/08/11  [2]  , accessed 30/08/11  [3]  , accessed 30/08/11  [4]  , accessed 30/08/11  [5]  , accessed 30/08/11  [6]  , accessed 30/08/11  [7]  , accessed 30/08/11


Intercepted evidence could be incredibly useful for both prosecution and defence cases in many trials.  Intercept evidence offers the opportunity to speed up court trials and stop wasting time and money by providing information which could lead to a faster, more accurate verdict. Other western democracies who use wire-tap evidence believe that is has or will help to achieve criminal convictions [1] [2] [3] , which demonstrates popular support for it as an effective and swift method of justice. Given that the UK has allowed wire-tapping in some specific cases [4] , it seems to be that it is not the principle of intercept evidence itself which is viewed as unacceptable by these countries, but perhaps a need to set up a formalised system of the conditions when and where intercept evidence can be used. David Bickford, the former chief legal adviser to MI5, has stated ‘I know we have lost cases as a result of not using such evidence’ [5] and other experts have called for the wide use of intercept evidence in court [6] . Allowing the use of intercept evidence in the first place may well ensure that wire-taps are better carried out in a standardised, regulated manner  [1] In Sweden:  , accessed 30/08/11  [2] Widely in the USA:  , accessed 30/08/11  [3] In Australia:  , accessed 30/08/11  [4]  , accessed 30/08/11  [5]  , accessed 30/08/11  [6]  , accessed 30/08/11


The more obvious solution to this problem (from the opposition’s view) would be to maintain a clear policy where no intercept evidence is admissible in court. However, this particular case becomes an anomaly for good reason. Individual countries – in this case Britain – cannot dictate whether foreign intelligence services – the Dutch – choose to reveal their intelligence-gathering methods or not. In this case, the crossover between national policies on information intelligence [1] led to this anomaly.  [1]  , accessed 30/08/11


Wiretapping is a highly effective method which helps to prevent serious crime and secure convictions for criminals.  Wiretapping helps to make society safer; we have the opportunity to prevent serious crime and to uphold the principle of prosecution in the justice system [1] by catching criminals and convicting them. For example, in the UK in 2003, intercepts led to the seizure of 26 tonnes of drugs and also detected wide-scale fraud and money laundering, resulting in 1680 arrests [2] . Without this evidence, these criminals may have escaped the justice system and remained free in society to commit other crimes. It is nonsensical to reject evidence which clearly implicates this individuals who would otherwise be released without charge. As the threat of terrorism escalates and had already damaged many countries [3] [4] [5] [6] , refusal to use this evidence in court puts the public at serious risk and fails to act in the defence of the country in question. For example, if the Norwegian authorities had kept closer tabs on information passed through eBay, they might well have been able to apprehend Anders Breivik before he committed the massacre on Utoya island [7] . Wiretapping is unique in the variety of information it can provide; it can show locations [8] , times [9] , the relationships between those involved [10] and even record specific details of conspiracies [11] . Accordingly, it can also be used to prove the innocence of somebody who might otherwise be wrongly accused or even wrongly imprisoned [12] [13] . The obvious benefits to this motion demand that intercept evidence and wiretapping should be held as legitimate evidence in court.  [1] Page 65:  , accessed 30/08/11  [2]  , accessed 30/08/11  [3] In the UK:   [4] In Norway:  , accessed 30/08/11  [5] In the USA:  , accessed 30/08/11  [6] In Europe and Belgium:  , accessed 30/08/11  [7]  , accessed 30/08/11  [8]  , accessed 30/08/11  [9]  , accessed 30/08/11  [10]  , accessed 30/08/11  [11]  , accessed 30/08/11  [12]  , accessed 30/08/11  [13]  , accessed 30/08/11


If the use of wiretapping and intercept evidence was as simple as proposition makes out, undoubtedly it would be a common tool. However, there are also serious flaws in how this intelligence is gathered and interpreted. For example, a phone call might seem unduly incriminating when taken out of context and heard in a court of law which has already projected suspicions upon a particular individual [1] . Focusing only on one form of communications as is normal when authorisation is given for these interceptions fails to take in the wider picture and continues to be heard without the context [2] . Whether this unfairly incriminates somebody who has not acted in a crime, or falsely ‘proves’ the innocence of somebody who is not in fact innocent, intercept evidence is limited in its scope and as such should not be admissible in court.  [1]  , accessed 30/08/11  [2]  , accessed 30/08/11


While intercept evidence may well show links between people, it does not necessarily accurately show what they were doing. In this way, intercepts make good intelligence, but poor evidence. There is no guarantee that intercept evidence will ‘prove’ anything in court rather than simply creating unfounded implications which could actually serve to confuse, rather than clear, the case in question. Until intercept intelligence can prove itself reliable enough to be routinely used as genuine evidence – and it is unclear that it ever will [1] – it certainly should not become an established part of the wider legal system.  [1]  , accessed 30/08/11


Countries which do not allow intercept evidence have created a contradictory, rather than transparent, set of legal boundaries.  Britain in particular seems to hold a paradoxical set of values in relation to intercept evidence. For example, British courts have allowed intercept material which has been lawfully obtained by foreign police forces. One notable example of this was the conviction of the Merseyside drugs squad chief Elmore Davies when it was discovered that he had a corrupt relationship with drug baron Curtis Warren [1] . The information which led to his conviction was collected on Dutch mobile phones by the Dutch police force, despite the fact that some of the conversations took place wholly within the UK. However this – bizarrely – was allowed as evidence in a British court [2] , despite the systematic rejection of intercept evidence in other cases. When a country seems to recognise and even capitalise on the potential of intercept evidence in some cases but simultaneously reject it in others, the result is inconsistent legal standards which damage accountability and transparency of the entire state.  [1]  , accessed 30/08/11  [2]  , accessed 30/08/11


Intercept evidence deals particularly well with cases of conspiracy and criminal gangs which have a widespread network.  Intercept evidence can be very useful for showing associations between groups of people [1] , which can be incredibly helpful in cases such as conspiracies to link people and events together. It can also expose inconsistencies or falsity in an individual’s alibi [2] or personal character if they deny contact with a certain party where intercept evidence proves that they had communicated [3] . However, under the status quo the defence lawyer may not be authorised to intercept evidence which would prove their client’s innocence [4] . Allowing such techniques would help to equalise the prosecution and defence; after all, the aim of court is not to blindly prosecute the defendant, but to ascertain whether he or she is in fact guilty before any prosecution occurs. Widening the array of tools which can be used by both prosecution and defence helps to encourage a wider view of the case and arrive at a more accurate verdict.  [1]  , accessed 30/08/11  [2]  , accessed 30/08/11  [3]  , accessed 30/08/11  [4]  , accessed 30/08/11


More established forms of evidence – even those as sophisticated as DNA testing – also have their weaknesses. Following the death of British student Meredith Kercher, her supposed killer Amanda Knox was imprisoned after DNA evidence proved that Knox’s DNA was found on the handle of the murder weapon (a kitchen knife) while Meredith’s blood was on the blade [1] . However, an appeal has declared that the DNA evidence ‘was so small it should have been considered “inadmissible”’ [2] , and the original forensic team have been branded as incompetent [3] . This is an example of an extremely high-profile case which hinged a conviction on the use of ‘reliable’ DNA evidence, and may potentially be proved wrong – the appeal is currently ongoing. There is no evidence which is utterly, 100% certain; it is always open to interpretation. However, allowing intercept evidence in court gives another chance at finding out the truth. Given that intercept evidence would work in combination with expert cross-examination, there is no proof that intercept evidence cannot be as effective as any other form of evidence – or perhaps even more so.  [1]  , accessed 30/08/11  [2]  , accessed 30/08/11  [3]  , accessed 30/08/11