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Democratic Republic of
Congo
On
April 19, 2004, President Kabila formally requested the International Criminal
Court's (ICC) help in
investigating and prosecuting those responsible for committing atrocities in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC),
an ICC member. Two months later, on June 23, ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo
announced the Court's first formal investigation into the alleged atrocities. The Prosecutor’s announcement followed a year of preliminary evaluation of
information submitted to the ICC by governments, non-profit organizations and
individuals.
The conflict in the DRC is
the deadliest documented conflict in African history. Nearly 4 million people
have lost their lives since 1998 - the majority of them women and children. Although a peace agreement was signed in
April 2003 and the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo (MONUC) was established to implement the peace agreement,
tensions in the region are still high. However, the government’s referral of
the situation combined with its commitment of cooperation will facilitate the efforts of the ICC.
Latest News Stories:
The International Criminal Court Will Hold Its
First Hearing On March 15th To Discuss the Progress of the DRC
Investigation
February 23, 2005 --
The International Criminal Court (ICC) will soon hold its first ever
status conference. The hearing will address "the progress of
the investigation of the situation in the Democratic Republic of
Congo."
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READ MORE ABOUT THE ICC STATUS CONFERENCE ON THE DRC
Resources:
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Report: In Uncharted Waters (CGS)
PDF
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ICC in the
DRC (ICC) HTML
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Press release on
referral of situation in the DRC to the ICC (ICC)
HTML
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Press
release on ICC's first open investigation (ICC)
HTML
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More information
about the conflict and security situation in the
DRC (CGS)
programs/peace_security/peace_ops/conflicts/conflicts_drc.html" style="text-underline: single">
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Last updated
April 22, 2005
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