Latest News on the ICC
ICC Prosecutor Asks for More Charges Against Bosco Ntaganda
Submitted by mkaplan on May 14, 2012 - 4:50pm
Today, ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo announced he would seek new charges against Bosco Ntaganda of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Ntaganda was already charged by the ICC in 2006 for the use of child soldiers in battle. Prosecutor Ocampo is now seeking to add charges of crimes against humanity for murder, ethnic persecution, rape and sexual slavery, as well as war crimes charges for "intentional attacks" against civilians leading to murder, rape, sexual slavery and pillaging. These alleged crimes were committed in the DRC between 2002-2003.
Update: Libya Still Not Handing Saif Gaddafi Over to ICC
Submitted by mkaplan on April 19, 2012 - 2:41pm
Luis Moreno-Ocampo, chief prosecutor of the International Court (ICC), met yesterday with Libyan officials who reiterated their refusal to hand over Saif Gaddafi to the ICC.
Saif, along with his late father Muammar Gaddafi and Gaddafi's former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senoussi, have been charged by the Court with crimes against humanity following an investigation last spring after the U.N. Security Council referred the situation in Libya to the ICC. The new Libyan government had previously pledged to work with the ICC and hand over the indictees so they could face trial in The Hague. Since then, however, Libya had pushed to keep Saif in Libya and try him there, while the ICC had insisted he be turned over to the Court.
Libya Tussles with the ICC over Saif Gaddafi’s Trial
Submitted by mkaplan on April 11, 2012 - 5:18pm
The Libyan government has appealed an order by the International Criminal Court (ICC) to hand over Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, son of late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, for trial. Libya insists it can provide a fair trial for Gaddafi, who was indicted by the ICC.
The problem is, the United Nations already referred the situation in Libya to the ICC last spring. The Court then issued arrest warrants for Saif, his father, and Gaddafi's former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senoussi for crimes against humanity stemming from their involvement in the violent crackdown on civilians which took place in Libya for several months last year. Because the UN Security Council referred the situation in Libya to the ICC, the Court has jurisdiction over the case, even though Libya is not an ICC state party. Several months ago, ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo had said Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) agreed to work with the ICC and hand over the indictees.
ICC President Song Speaks On the Court
Submitted by mkaplan on March 30, 2012 - 5:18pm
This morning I attended an event at the Brookings Institution, "The Contribution of The Hague's International Courts: Dispute Settlement in Complex Conflicts." It featured the heads of the various international courts and tribunals located in The Hague, including International Criminal Court (ICC) President Sang-Hyun Song.
A Romney Compromise, or Apocalypse?
Submitted by mkaplan on March 22, 2012 - 5:21pm
I came across an interesting piece by Carter Eskew this week in the Washington Post. The post, "Compromises for Romney?" speculated about concessions Mitt Romney might have to make to please conservatives in his party if he wins the Republican nomination and is elected President this fall. Some of the speculation: John Bolton as Secretary of State; Newt Gingrich as U.N. ambassador; and Rick Santorum as attorney general.
Wanted by the ICC
Submitted by cblake on March 22, 2012 - 9:55am
Last Friday, activists organized in front of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington D.C. to protest the regime of Omar Al-Bashir. After crossing too far onto Embassy property several of the protestors, including George Clooney, Martin Luther King Junior III, and Reps. Jim McGovern (D-MA), Al Green (D-TX), John Olver (D-MA), and Jim Moran (D-VA) were arrested. The arrests helped the protest gain international and national media attention.
Omar Al-Bashir is currently wanted by the International Criminal Court. He is charged with committing war crimes during the conflict in Darfur. When factions within Sudan began to rise up against government oppression, Bashir is accused of orchestrating a mass genocide. While there is an arrest warrant out for him, Bashir has been traveling around Africa without issue.
ICC Indictee Abdullah el-Senussi Arrested; What Happens Next?
Submitted by mkaplan on March 19, 2012 - 4:33pm
Abdullah el-Senussi, former Libyan intelligence chief and brother-in-law of Muammar Gaddafi, was arrested this weekend in Mauritania. The big question now is, where and by whom will he be tried for his crimes?
Senussi was indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of crimes against humanity stemming from the government's attacks on civilians last year prior to Gaddafi's fall from power. However, the ICC is not the only body that wants to bring Senussi to justice-France has also sentenced him in absentia to life in prison for his involvement in the 1989 bombing of a plane over Niger in which 170 passengers, many of them French, were killed. And Libya wants to punish him for a crackdown on a prison riot in Tripoli in 1996 that left 1200 dead.
WICC Sends Letter to Congress on ICC Verdict
Submitted by jbunting on March 14, 2012 - 1:37pm
In a landmark moment for international justice, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued its first ever verdict today, convicting Thomas Lubanga of the Democratic Republic of the Congo of abducting and conscripting child soldiers. In honor of this judgment, members of the Washington Working Group on the ICC (WICC), a group of the Washington-based NGOs committed to the cause of international criminal justice, sent a letter to Congress celebrating the verdict.
Super Villains: Before Kony There Was Lubanga
Submitted by dkraus on March 14, 2012 - 5:51am
March 14, 2012 marks an extraordinary moment in world history. This morning, the International Criminal Court (ICC) completed its very first trial, convicting Thomas Lubanga Dyilo of forcing children to serve as soldiers in the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. More than 74 million viewers have watched Invisible Children's Kony 2012 video, calling for the arrest and ICC trial of Joseph Kony. But few are aware that Lubanga, a man as despicable as Kony, has laid the groundwork for the kind of trial that Joseph Kony surely deserves.
Famine and Crimes against Humanity Again Strikes Sudan
Submitted by rlarosa on March 13, 2012 - 2:23pm
South Sudan and Sudan continue to fight for territory. The regime's target is now the people in the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan. More than a 100,000 residents have fled to the south after violence erupted in the contested region of Abyei. The Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has denied international relief for the people, and government military forces continue to move south, encouraged by the lack of response from around the world.
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