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CAR, Part I: CICC Member Releases about Bemba arrest

27 May 2008

Dear all,

Please find below the first of a two-part digest on the recent execution of=
an ICC arrest warrant in Belgium for Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, alleged pres=
ident and commander-in-chief of the "Mouvement de Liberation du Congo" (MLC=
). The warrant for Bemba alleges crimes against humanity and war crimes com=
mitted in the Central African Republic.=20

This digest includes press releases from CICC members Parliamentarians for =
Global Action (PGA)and the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH).

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

Regards,

Anaga Dalal
CICC Communications

****



CICC Member Releases

i. Parliamentarians for Global Action, May 27, 2008

PARLIAMENTARIANS FOR GLOBAL ACTION WELCOMES THE ARREST OF JEAN-PIERRE
BEMBA AND CALLS FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLE OF EQUALITY OF ALL
BEFORE THE LAW, 27 May 2008, www.pgaction.org=20


The Hague, May 27, 2008: Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) welcomes
the execution of the arrest warrant made by Belgium, a State Party of the
Rome Statute, and issued by the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber III against Mr.
Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo. After long drawn out investigations, the ICC
Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo presented a case against Mr. Bemba related
to the alleged commission of approximately 500 rapes and other
gender-based crimes within the wider framework of widespread attacks
against civilian population in Bangui, Central African Republic.
Senator Maria Cristina Perceval of Argentina, Convenor of the PGA
International Law & Human Rights Programme - which launched a
parliamentary ICC campaign since 1989 -, commented that "the case against
Mr. Bemba is consistent with the policy of the Prosecutor to investigate
the persons bearing the greatest responsibility for the most serious
crimes of international concern when States fail to do so, in pursuance
with the principle of complementarity. Both the Central African Republic
and the DRC National judiciary have been unwilling and unable to fight
impunity for the worst atrocities committed in a number of conflicts that
brutally victimised large parts of the undefended civilian population,
especially women and girls".

PGA Executive Committee Member, Senator Tadashi Inuzuka of Japan welcomed
the arrest of Mr. Bemba, who is an elected Senator and a former
Presidential candidate, and linked this action to the one required within
the framework of the Justice for Darfur campaign by stating that "when
justice makes its course regardless of power-sharing arrangements or the
popular support that the alleged perpetrators may have, then the law is
applied equally to all and is perceived as fair by the victims". Inuzuka,
an opposition lawmaker elected in Nagasaki, further declared that "Heads
of States and leaders of government or opposition must be aware that the
principle of individual criminal responsibility shall be applied equally
to all".

This declaration follows the mobilization over the past two weeks of PGA
Members in Japan and the European Parliament who have pushed for new
measures to support the UN Security Council and the ICC in enforcing the
arrest warrants for crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly
committed in Darfur.

On May 22, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling on the EU
to impose individual sanctions against those impeding the cooperation of
Sudan with the ICC, while one week earlier, the PGA Japan National Group
agreed on a model parliamentary resolution urging the Government to take
all necessary measures to ensure compliance with Resolution 1593 (2005),
which the UN Security Council adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter
as a binding remedy against the impunity of perpetrators of atrocities in
Darfur.

Mr. Jo Leinen, Member of the European Parliament from Germany and PGA
Member, expressed its strong support for renewed action of the European
Union and all of its Member States in generating full cooperation with the
ICC: "Mr. Bemba has been arrested while he was travelling in Belgium, a
State Party to the Rome Statute. The arrest proves that there will be no
safe havens for those who are accused of crimes against humanity or war
crimes. It is intolerable that contrary to those who commit single murder,
those who are accused of having killed, raped or tortured hundreds of
people can still try to negotiate their impunity and pretend to escape
from justice", Mr. Leinen said, making reference to the practises of
postponing or sequencing justice that are detrimental to long-term
sustainable peace.=20


Mr. Emmanuel Adubango Ali, MP, Chair of the active and multi-party
national group of PGA in the Democratic Republic of Congo supported
strongly the ICC intervention to bring justice to the victims of the
multiple conflicts that the African people have suffered. "The course of
justice is inescapable. Neither immunities nor an amnesty may bar
international prosecution and adjudication over crimes against humanity,
genocide or war crimes regardless of the place in which they where
committed" Mr. Ali said. "After so much suffering of innocent populations,
it is about time that we know who is responsible for what actions in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Central African Republic and in all
scenarios of atrocities committed after 1 July 2002: only when facts and
penalties will be determined through the due process of law and a fair
trial of the accused, it will become clear that international crimes are
no longer tolerated. We will be able then to put an end to impunity and
allow the peaceful citizens of Congo to exercise their human rights to
life, peace and development", Mr. Ali concluded.

ii. "Arrest of Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo: The International Criminal Court Re=
stores Hope to Victims in the Central African Republic," *The International=
Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), The Central African League for Human R=
ights (LCDH) andThe Organisation for the Compassion and Development of Fami=
lies in Distress (OCODEFAD), 25 May 2008, http://www.fidh.org/spip.php?rubr=
ique212 and http://www.fidh.org/spip.php?article1091=20


*Paris, Bangui, 25 May 2008* -- FIDH and its member organisations in the
Central African Republic, the Central African League for Human Rights
(LCDH) and the Organisation for the Compassion and Development of
Families in Distress (OCODEFAD), applaud the arrest of Jean-Pierre Bemba
Gombo, following a warrant of arrest issued by the International
Criminal Court (ICC).


Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, former Vice President of the Democratic
Republic of Congo and President and Commander in Chief of the /Mouvement
de lib=E9ration du Congo/ (MLC), is alleged to be criminally responsible
for four counts of war crimes and two counts of crimes against humanity
committed on the territory of the Central African Republic from 25
October 2002 to 15 March 2003. There are reasonable grounds to believe
that under his direction, MLC troops carried out widespread or
systematic attacks on the civilian population and committed acts of
rape, torture, outrages upon personal dignity and pillaging.


FIDH and its member organisations were the first to investigate the
tragic events of 2002 and 2003 (see report : "War Crimes in the Central
African Republic: "When the Elephants Fight, the Grass Suffers") giving
an account, through victim testimony, of serious international crimes
committed by the warring parties during the conflict that pitted the
loyalist troops of the former president
<http://www.fidh.org/spip.php?article1091>Patass=E9 and his Congolese
militias against the rebel troops of General Boziz=E9.


Noting the lack of will and ability of the courts of the Central African
Republic to judge the authors of these crimes (see report: "Forgotten,
Stigmatized: Double Suffering of Victims of International Crimes") our
organisations called upon the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC
multiple times to launch an investigation of this situation and to begin
to prosecute those at the highest levels of responsibility.


"/The arrest of Jean-Pierre Bemba is a great victory for the victims of
the Central African Republic, whose courage and self-sacrifice should be
commended today. For six years, in spite of threats and stigmatisation,
these victims have not stopped demanding justice. The International
Criminal Court finally gives them this right. This is an enormous
advance for the fight against impunity in Africa and around the world",
/said Souhayr Belhassen, President of FIDH.


--
Karine Bonneau
Director of the International Justice Desk
FIDH
17 Passage de la Main d'Or
75011 Paris
France
Tel + 33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18
Fax + 33 (0) 1 43 55 18 80
http://www.fidh.org


*****

CICC's policy on the referral and prosecution of situations before the ICC:

The Coalition for the ICC is not an organ of the court. The CICC is an
independent NGO movement dedicated to the establishment of the
International Criminal Court as a fair, effective, and independent internat=
ional organization.

The Coalition will continue to provide the most up-to-date information abou=
t the ICC and to help coordinate global action to effectively implement the=
Rome Statute of the ICC. The Coalition will also endeavour to respond to b=
asic queries and to raise awareness about the ICC's trigger mechanisms and
procedures, as they develop. The Coalition as a whole, and its secretariat,=
do not endorse or promote specific investigations or prosecutions or take =
a
position on situations before the ICC. However, individual CICC members may
endorse referrals, provide legal and other support on investigations, or de=
velop=20
partnerships with local and other organizations in the course of their effo=
rts.

Communications to the ICC can be sent to:
ICC
P.O. box 19519
2500 CM the Hague
The Netherlands