Oct-16Ethi

Question 1

Oct-16Ethi -Index

Answer 1

9. 1. Vermin Issue

9. 2. Peace versus Justice

Question 2

9.1. VERMIN ISSUE

Answer 2

Why in news?
 The Centre approved the culling of wild animals such as nilgai, wild boar, rhesus monkey within specified territories of Uttarakhand, Bihar and Himachal Pradesh by declaring them “vermin” under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
 The centre issued these notifications at various instances since December 2015. It will be in effect for a year.
Issue at Hand
 Once declared at vermin, it will be “open season” for hunters who will use the meat of these animals.
 An RTI revealed that proper scientific study about the population of each of these wild animals in the specified
areas have not been carried out.
Ethical Questions/Issues involved
 Resorting to culling shows the human tendency to kill/violence in case of monetary loss or otherwise.
 It remains unclear whether it is ethically justifiable to cull animals for the protection of man, property and croplands when it is humans only who have destroyed their habitat.
 It creates a dilemma about whether culling is the permanent solution when no scientific studies of the population dynamics of the animals have been carried out.
What needs to be done?
 Scientific studies must be carried out to know the root cause of the problem. Likewise in Karnataka, rhesus monkey attacking human habitats for food is not because of rise in population but because of non-availability of food.
 Efforts should be made to restore the natural habitat of these animals.
 Supervised culling should be carried out in order to prevent hunters from taking advantage of the situation.
 Sterilisation and vaccination of the wild animals must be done in order to solve the population issue.
 Temporary culling may be carried out in order to control population issues among these wild animals. However, it is not a feasible long-term solution.

Box–Who is a Vermin?
Any animal declared as vermin can be killed or hunted down without inviting any jail term or punishment.
By law, every state is allowed to provide a list of animals to be declared as vermin to the centre.
Those animals are declared as vermin who are a threat to crop, property or humans.
Animals under Schedule V of the Wildlife Protection Act are vermins. Animals that come under Schedule V are: common crow, fruit bats, mice and rats.

Question 3

9.2. PEACE VERSUS JUSTICE

Answer 3

Why in news?
Afghanistan peace agreement
 A peace agreement was signed by the Afghan President that opens the door to the militant faction of Hezb-i-Islami, led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, playing an active role in politics.
 Ghani as President has tried talks with Taliban with the help of Pakistan, which failed. So, to achieve peace, the rhetoric of unity and co-opting earlier warlords is his only option.
Colombia v/s FARC
 President Santos differed from his predecessors in the realisation that there was no military solution to this conflict, leading to negotiations with the rebels four years ago with Cuba’s mediation.
 He conducted a referendum on a peace agreement, which got a ‘NO’ vote with very thin majority.

Analysis
“True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.”-Martin Luther King Jr.
Historical Background:
 Throughout history, mass atrocities have come to an end through limited means. The scourge of large-scale torture, rape and murder was either stopped by the tireless and creative work of diplomats (Ex: Nazi war crimes – Nuremberg trials Germany) or came to a natural end — sadly, usually when one side wiped out the other. (Ex: Hindus, Ahmadiyya Muslims etc., in Pakistan or Yazidis by ISIS)
 The survivors of such ousted regimes had to strive for peace without any redress for the crimes inflicted upon them by their own governments. (Ex: Syrians and Iraqis after civil war)
Present condition
 Changed Paradigms: Legal principles derived from Nuremberg, Tokyo, other subsequent World War II trials are the evidences for the same.
 International Tribunals:
 The International Criminal Court (ICC) — is the first and only permanent international court to prosecute the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes (or atrocity crimes).
 The first international instance was the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY).
Diplomacy / Peace over justice
 Commonly followed approach has remained making compromises on justice with powerful perpetrators of mass atrocities.
 The immediate concern of ending the violence often resulted in amnesties for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
 It proved, sometimes, as an obstacle to peace while calling for justice.
 Aggressive regime change through humanitarian and international justice interventions makes ending slaughters more difficult. Criminal tyrants, Terrorist groups and governments, for the most part, only use violence to achieve political ends.
 Lessons from history: The history shows that it is diplomacy is what stops mass atrocities.
As per Ian Pasley of British Parliament, “Justice must be secondary to achieving peace through reconciliation and diplomacy, the wheels of justice must be allowed to turn at their own pace, but that must not impede the peace process.”
Rationale behind peace over justice
Afghan case
 First step toward making similar peace deals with the Taliban and other groups.
 A chance for the Taliban and other militant groups to show what their decision is:
 To be with people and join the respected caravan of peace, like Hezb-i-Islami, or
 confront the people and continue the bloodshed
Colombian case
 Colombia missed an opportunity to end its five-decade-long civil war.

 Had a ‘YES’ vote been recorded in Sunday’s referendum on a peace agreement:
 It would have immediately set in motion the process of disarming the rebels.
 Most of FARC’s rank and file would be allowed to lead civilian lives.
 The leadership will be judged in special tribunals with reduced sentences.
Criminal prosecution / Justice over peace
 The approach has remained to establish just peace as in the cessation of violence, but peace of the lasting variety (shown in the diagram). And justice is important for this.
 Lessons from History: History gives evidence that “peace” obtained through diplomacy alone is usually temporary and quick to fold. The “diplomacy is paramount” mentality, furthermore, can be perilous.
 Rationale behind Justice over Peace
Afghan case
 Hekmatyar is unlikely to face any punishment for his alleged role in past abuses.
 Hekmatyar’s return “will compound the culture of impunity”.
 Not addressing the wrongs of criminal perpetrators provides a foothold for conflicts to resurface or new ones to spawn.
Columbian case
 Peace negotiations with rebels can end violence, but it seldom fosters transition to democratic, just societies.
Conclusion
States cannot be rewarded for using crime and violence to obtain their political ends. Such State behavior encourages continual blackmail whereby governments threaten more torture and death unless their demands are met, as Libya’s Gadhafi attempted to do and Syria’s Bashar Al-Assad is currently doing. Hence, Peace remains the only option. Clubbing it with strong system for justice delegitimizes and devalues the calculus of “violence for political gain”.
Way forward
 Pragmatic Approach:
 The concepts of “rule of law” and “criminal justice” only came about in modern human history and took centuries to form.
 The concepts of “international crimes”, and more importantly, “individual criminal responsibility” for their commissions, is even newer.
 It is both whimsical and unproductive to demand that all instances of crime face the blind application of law overnight. With a mixture of time, prodding, and consistent use, criminal law shall be uniformly applied to the powerful and not so powerful countries alike.
 Diplomacy and International action: Traditional diplomacy and international prosecutions both have roles to play and must act in concert, either in ongoing or post-conflict settings.  Co-existing Peace and Justice:  The two goals of peace and justice, rather than being exclusive, are mutually reinforcing.  Peace, as enduring and long-term peace, should go beyond the immediate goal of ending a conflict and should rely on justice and accountability to ensure sustainability.

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