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ICC Prosecutor to travel to CAR: ICC-OTP Media Advisory and Related Articles

23 Jan 2008

Dear All,

Please find below information related to the ICC Prosecutor's upcoming visit to the Central African Republic (CAR) where a fourth ICC investigation was opened on 22 May 2008.

This news digest includes a media advisory released by the ICC's Office of the Prosecutor as well as related news articles.

Please take note of the Coalition's policy on situations before the ICC (below), which explicitly states that the CICC will not take a position on potential and current situations before the Court or situations under analysis. The Coalition, however, will continue to provide the most up-to-date information about the ICC.

With regards,
CICC Communications

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I. ICC-OTP MEDIA ADVISORY

This document has been produced by the ICC. The CICC Secretariat distributes it as part of its mandate to keep member organizations and individuals informed about developments related to the ICC. The document does not reflect the views of the CICC as a whole or its individual members.

i. ICC Prosecutor visits Central African Republic to meet with victims and local population , ICC-OTP Media advisory, 21 January 2008, http://www.icc-cpi.int/press/pressreleases/318.html

On January 24, International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo will travel to the Central African Republic (CAR) where he opened an investigation into allegations of massive crimes.

While in Bangui the Prosecutor will meet with victims, representatives of civil society and local population. He will participate in a public dialogue, to be widely broadcast through radio IRfJ. He will answer questions and discuss with people throughout CAR the significance of ICC for them.

The Prosecutor will also meet senior government officials. He will visit the ICC local field office, which opened in October 2007.

The Office of the Prosecutor announced the opening of the investigation in CAR on 22 May 2007. It focuses on crimes which were mainly committed during the violence of 2002 2003. The particularly high number of allegations of rape and other acts of sexual violence is one of the main features of the investigation.

'Hundreds of terrified women have been subjected to the ordeal of sexual violence' said the Prosecutor. 'We hear of gang rapes, mass rapes, horrific sexual acts being inflicted on women, young girls, the elderly, in some cases on men. Perpetrators of acts of massive sexual violence, in CAR and elsewhere, must know that they will be held accountable: such acts are serious crimes falling under ICC jurisdiction and they will be prosecuted'

The Office is also monitoring acts of violence committed since 2005 in the northern part of the country. The Prosecutor will address national accountability efforts with the CAR authorities. He will urge international support for all efforts to end impunity.

'The people of Central African Republic need to know the world has not forgotten them' the Prosecutor said. 'Our investigative activities in CAR can bring to the attention of the international community the terrible problems facing the people here and the need to address them urgently. We need comprehensive solutions for CAR and the support of all. International justice is one part of the solution'.

The International Criminal Court is an independent, permanent court that investigates and prosecutes persons accused of the most serious crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Factsheet: Situation in the Central African Republic >> http://www.icc-cpi.int/library/organs/otp/ICC-OTP-FS-CAR-20080121-ENG.pdf

II. RELATED ARTICLES

i. International Criminal Court Prosecutor set to visit Central African Republic , UN News Service, 21 January 2008, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=25348&Cr=central african&Cr1=icc

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) heads to the Central African Republic (CAR) where he is investigating allegations of massive war crimes later this week to meet with victims of violence, representatives of civil society and senior Government officials. Luis Moreno-Ocampo is scheduled to travel on Thursday to the capital, Bangui, the ICC announced today in a media statement issued from its headquarters in The Hague. While in Bangui Mr. Moreno-Ocampo will also visit the ICC local field office, which opened last October, and participate in a public dialogue broadcast on local radio in which he will answer questions about his work and the role of the Court. .... Last May the Prosecutor announced that he was opening an investigation into crimes committed between 2002 and 2003, especially the widespread incidence of rape and other forms of sexual violence. The ICC investigation follows a referral by the CAR Government. ... Mr. Moreno-Ocampo s office is also monitoring acts of violence committed since 2005 in the northern part of the country.

ii. International Criminal Court prosecutor to visit Central African Republic for talks , AP, 21 January 2008, http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/01/21/europe/EU-GEN-War-Crimes-Central-African-Republic.php

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court will visit the Central African Republic this week for meetings with government officials and victims of gang rapes and other sexual violence, his office announced Monday. Louis Moreno-Ocampo announced last May he had opened an investigation into atrocities committed in the republic between late 2002 and early 2003 when President Francois Bozize seized power. For the first time since it was established in 2002, the Hague-based court made sexual assault and rapes the focus of an investigation. ... Moreno-Ocampo will meet government officials as well as talking to victims during the one-day visit.... Central African Republic, a country of 4.3 million people, has suffered decades of army revolts, coups and rebellions since it gained independence from France in 1960. France recently added 100 troops to its 200 soldiers in the landlocked country to aid the government in countering the rebellion and to help secure its borders. Regional experts have warned that conflicts in neighboring Sudan and Chad appear to be spilling over the border into Central African Republic and possibly contributing to rebel movements.
As well as investigating the 2002-2003 violence, prosecutors at the International Criminal Court are monitoring violence in the north of the country since 2005. ...

iii. 300,000 Displaced by Violence in Central African Republic , 18 January 2008, UN News Dispatch, http://www.undispatch.com/archives/2008/01/300000_displace.php

... Government troops and rebel forces in the Central African Republic (CAR) continue to clash despite ongoing talks of a peace agreement, and nearly 300,000 people had been driven from their homes as of last month, according to a United Nations update. Even more worrying are the attacks by Coupeur de Route bandits, who continue to wreak havoc across the country's northwest, burning and looting houses and kidnapping and killing civilians, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) reported. ... CAR is one of those 'forgotten' emergencies -- because the country borders Darfur, and eastern Chad it is easy to understand why. Still, CAR remains one of the most desperate places on earth. The violence there has taken a particularly hard toll on women. Along with eastern Congo, the CAR is one of the worst places on earth to be a woman caught in armed conflict. Gender-based violence there has risen to appalling levels. The International Criminal Court, which is investigating war crimes in CAR, has identified rape as a major tool of war in the CAR--saying that the number of rapes far outnumbers the number of alleged extrajudicial killings it is investigating there."

iv. See also:

- Conflict in Central African Republic uproots 300,000, UN reports , UN News Center, 17 January 2008, http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=25320&Cr=car&Cr1=unicef

- CAR government resigns , News24.com, 19 January 2008, http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,,2-11-1447_2254695,00.html

- Academic named PM of Central African Republic , by Paul-Marin Ngoupana (Reuters), 22 January 2008, http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL22813015.html

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