'The Netherlands is not a sanctuary for people who commit these horrors. It is important that we provide justice to the victims of genocide'. With these words, Dutch MP Coskun Çörüz welcomed plans to extend war crimes legislation to include crimes - like genocide - committed up to 40 years ago.

By Ruben Koops

Suspected war criminals are known to have sought asylum in the Netherlands, but the authorities often have difficulty finding and prosecuting them. And there are individuals in the Dutch Rwandan community who are believed to be particularly nervous about the plan.

The Dutch parliament is being asked to consider a bill concerning the expansion of war crimes legislation. The changes will enhance the ability of prosecutors in the Netherlands to bring international war criminals to justice.

Enthusiasm
'This is exactly what we need', says Liberal MP Fred Teeven. 'We weren't able to go after a couple of Rwandan criminals who sought refuge in The Netherlands, but I have heard that their cases are now ready for court'.

Before Teeven became an MP, he was the specialist on international crimes for the Dutch public prosecutor's office. 'The bill we used to have was not sufficient, it wasn't clear enough on genocide, for example.'

Suspects are now prosecuted on the basis of the International Crimes Law from 2003, which allows suspects of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes to also be prosecuted abroad. The maximum prison sentence is 30 years. But those who are suspected of crimes committed before 1 October 2003 – and that counts for almost all detainees – fall under older, less far-reaching laws. The extension of the law as is currently being proposed would allow for a harsher punishment of these suspects.

An estimated 350 alleged war criminals are hiding in The Netherlands, mostly from Afghanistan, Liberia and Rwanda. There has been sharp criticism over the years about the inability of prosecutors to bring these suspects to justice. The number of people charged with war crimes under Dutch law is still in single figures.

Extradition
Olivier Nyirubugara, a PhD student in Amsterdam with strong ties to the Dutch Rwandan community, says the group "is worried about this new genocide legislation. Let's suppose that convicted war criminals will be extradited to Rwanda. They'll be locked up forever, because judges in Kigali are politically influenced', he says. "When prosecuted in the Netherlands, suspects would at least have a lawyer. In Rwanda these people would get a category 1 status, and not be heard of again."

But Labour MP Jeroen Recourt, also in favour of the proposed legislation, insists that suspects prosecuted under this new law will not be extradited to Rwanda: "An extradition request is usually put out when the country wants to prosecute the suspect itself. In this case they are prosecuted here, so there is no need to send them to Rwanda.'

And there is more to the new 'Genocide Bill'. MP Teeven: "Under this proposed legislation we can build a case against people who married a Dutch citizen."

There appears to be a parliamentary majority in favour of the bill.