ICC Prosecutor Reports on Darfur to U.N. Security Council

On December 14, the ICC’s Chief Prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo, issued his fourth report on the situation in Darfur as required under United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 1593 (2005).

Given that the Darfur situation was referred to the ICC by the UNSC, the Prosecutor is required to report to the Council every six months on the progress and status of his office’s investigation. This fourth report was particularly significant given the Prosecutor’s statement (in PDF Format) last month at the programs/law_justice/news/Fifth_ASP.html"> Fifth Annual Assembly of States Parties meeting in The Hague, The Netherlands. During the Assembly’s opening session, Ocampo stated that he is preparing to identify those individuals bearing the greatest responsibility in the atrocities committed in Darfur. It was been widely speculated that the Prosecutor will issue arrest warrants for these individuals as early as February 2007.

The Prosecutor’s latest report highlighted key developments and provided greater detail with respect to the nature, scope, and progress of the Darfur investigation. In particular, he stressed the following:

• The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) is “completing an investigation and the collection of sufficient evidence to identify those who bear the greatest responsibility for some of the worst crimes committed in Darfur.”

• The evidence collected by the OTP provides “reasonable grounds to believe that the individuals identified have committed crimes against humanity and war crimes, including the crimes of persecution, torture, murder, and rape.”

• Given Chad’s joining the ICC, and the increased violence along the Chad-Darfur border, the OTP is “closely following the increasing violence in Chad and reports of a spill over of violence into the Central African Republic [also an ICC member state], as well as possible links to the situation in Darfur.”
  + READ BRiefing Paper on Chad’s ratification of the Rome Statute and its implications for the Darfur CrisiS - IN PDF FORMAT

• "The continued Commission of crimes by different groups and shifting factions within these groups is also the subject of investigation and analysis. These facts reinforce the likely need for a sequence of cases, rather than a single case dealing with the situation in Darfur as a whole.”

• "The protection of victims and witnesses has been, and remains, a paramount concern of the OTP in the conduct of investigations in relation to Darfur, as well as the other situations under investigation…Reaching the victims is also a priority for the Office. Since the start of the investigation the Darfur team has conducted more than 70 missions to 17 different countries, screening hundreds of potential witnesses and conducting more than 100 formal witness interviews, many of which were the victims of the crimes in Darfur currently under investigation.”

• In accordance with the Rome Statute, the OTP is assessing whether or not the Government of Sudan is dealing with, or has dealt with, the incidents and the individuals identified in the current [ICC] case. In November 2006 the OTP requested an update from the Government of Sudan relating to their national proceedings. At the time of writing this report, the OTP has not received a formal answer from the Government, but has received indications that there are further developments concerning the work of the Judicial Investigation Committee…These indications do not appear to render the current case inadmissible. Therefore, the OTP is finalizing its submission to the Judges of the Pre-Trial Chamber and further enhancing security measures in light of the increased profile of the case. We are planning to complete this work no later than February [2007].”

• "The OTP will travel to Sudan in January 2007 to gather further information relating to the indications that 14 individuals, suspected of violations under international humanitarian law, have been arrested [by the Sudanese government]. The full cooperation of the Government of Sudan will be essential, including facilitating access [for the OTP] to the individuals in custody.”

• "The OTP is moving to the completion of the investigation and the presentation of evidence in relation to the first case. In parallel, the investigation team will continue to gather information relation to other alleged crimes, in particular those current crimes that are bringing further suffering to the victims and detracting from the national, regional and international efforts to advance the cause for peace and alleviate the suffering of the victims in Darfur.”

+ Read the Prosecutor’s Full Statement to the UNSc in pdf format

Updated December 15, 2006

ICC Issues Arrest Warrants for LRA Leaders

Warrants are historic first for new Court.

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+ READ REPORT ON UGANDA

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