Hawai‘i War Crimes: Unlawful Deportation or Transfer or Unlawful Confinement

War crimes are actions taken by individuals, whether military or civilian, that violates international humanitarian law, which includes the 1907 Hague Conventions, 1949 Geneva Conventions and the Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions. War crimes include “grave breaches” of the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention, which also applies to territory that is occupied even if the occupation takes place without resistance. Protected persons under International Humanitarian Law are all nationals who reside within an occupied State, except for the nationals of the Occupying Power. The International Criminal Court and States prosecute individuals for war crimes.

War Crimes: Unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement

According to the United States Department of Justice, the prison population in the Hawaiian Islands in 2009 was at 5,891. Of this population there were 286 aliens. Two paramount issues arise—first, prisoners were sentenced by courts that were not properly constituted under Hawaiian Kingdom law and/or the international laws of occupation and therefore were unlawfully confined, which is a war crime; second, the alien prisoners were not advised of their rights in an occupied State by their State of nationality in accordance with the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Compounding the violation of alien prisoners rights under the Vienna Convention, Consulates located in the Hawaiian Islands were granted exequaturs by the government of the United States of America by virtue of United States treaties and not treaties between the Hawaiian Kingdom and these foreign States.

In 2003, the United States of America through its political subdivision, the State of Hawai‘iallocated funding to transfer up to 1,500 prisoners to private corrections institutions in the United States of America. By June of 2004, there were 1,579 Hawai‘i inmates in these facilities. Although the transfer was justified as a result of overcrowding, the government of the State of Hawai‘i did not possess authority to transfer, let alone to prosecute in the first place. Therefore, the unlawful confinement and transfer of inmates are war crimes.

4 thoughts on “Hawai‘i War Crimes: Unlawful Deportation or Transfer or Unlawful Confinement

  1. Several years ago, I did advise the state correctional depsrtment of this infraction and the need for Kanaka maoli to have contact with their ‘ohana as a means for rehabilitation and as a pu’uhonua. It’s not like there are not aware of this as it has been already stated to them; both verbally and written.

  2. Ted Sakai and the Department of Public Safety are not Hawaiian. They are part of the american corporation and Kanaka maoli prisoners are fodder for making money while the aina remains still a part of the grab. Kulani, already in existence is a proper asset pu`uhonua. Will it be used as such? Not while Sakai and Abercrombie and others like them continue to reside in and rule over our culture. Sakai is a mongoose or at least reminds me of a mongoose with his sneaky personality. He doesn’t like me and I feel it is mutual. I don’t like anger and resentment and this issue upturns that for me. Auwe

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