ICC Ready to Receive War Crimes Suspects

February 28 -- Months after issuing its first arrest warrants for five leaders of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda, the International Criminal Court (ICC) is ready to receive the war crimes suspects.

In a press briefing, ICC Registrar Bruno Cathala announced that the Court had 12 cells available at a Dutch prison facility, in Scheveningen, near The Hague.

The ICC suspects will be sharing the facility with those indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY). However, the suspects will be supervised by the ICC’s own Director of Prisons and will have no physical contact with those from the former Yugoslavia.

The ICC is the only permanent court set up to try individuals accused of the worst violations of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity when national courts are destroyed or unable to handle the case.

The Ugandan government referred the 19-year-old conflict to the Court in December 2003. It was the ICC’s first case. In July, 2004, ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo initiated a formal investigation into the human rights violations that occurred in the conflict and issued arrest warrants in 2005.

The conflict in Northern Uganda between the LRA and the Ugandan Army has ravaged the country for 19 years, causing the deaths of tens of thousands, and displacing over a million people.

Mr. Cathala reiterated the Court’s need of assistance from states in order to implement the arrest warrants. He added that as soon as the suspects are remanded, their trial would ensue. The Court hopes to begin trials for the Uganda case later this year or in early 2007.


Updated March 2, 2006

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