Ghanaian Elected Judge To International Criminal Court

UNITED NATIONS - Akua Kuemyehia of Ghana was one of six women and one man elected in the first round of voting to serve as judges on the new International Criminal Court, which should be up and running next month in The Hague , Netherlands.

Representatives of 85 countries that have ratified the treaty establishing the court will choose another 11 judges Wednesday.

The United States strongly opposes the court and, therefore, was not allowed to vote or submit any candidates. U.S. President George W. Bush's administration objects to the idea that Americans would be subject to the court's jurisdiction and has lobbied countries to sign bilateral agreements exempting U.S. citizens from trial.

The top vote-getter in Tuesday's election was Maureen Harding Clark of Ireland, who currently serves as a part-time judge on the U.N. war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Other winners included Diarra Fatoumatata Dembele of Mali, Sylvia Steiner of Brazil, Akua Kuemyehia of Ghana, Elizabeth Odio Benito of Costa Rica and Navanethen Pillay, the South African judge who serves as president of the international tribunal for Rwanda.

South Korean law professor Song Sang-Hyun was the only man elected in Tuesday's voting.

"Give women a chance ? if states nominate them, they will be elected and serve with distinction," said Felice Gaer, director of the New York-based Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights.

She called the vote "historic," noting that only a few women have ever served at one time on international courts and tribunals.

Richard Dicker of Human Rights Watch called the results a major victory for women.

"This is terrifically important because so many of the crimes that this court will be investigating and trying (were) committed against women," he said.

All 18 judges will be sworn in by Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands on March 11. The court will open its doors for business at The Hague once a chief prosecutor is selected in April.

Dicker said early cases to the court would most likely arise from Colombia, Congo and the Central African Republic.