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Kenya: Latest News and Opinions

08 June 2011

Dear all,

Please find below information about recent developments related to the International Criminal Court's (ICC) investigation in Kenya.

On 3 June 2011, ICC Pre-Trial Chamber II requested observations from the Prosecutor, the Defence and victims representatives on the possibility of conducting confirmation of charges hearings 'in situ' in Kenya.

In addition, the Kenyan Government lodged an appeal against the 30 May 2011 decision of ICC Pre-Trial Chamber II rejecting the government's challenge to the admissibility of the cases against the six suspects in the Kenya situation.

This message includes the latest information from the ICC on the aforementioned (I) as well as related news opinions (II).

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 Secretariat
www.coalitionfortheicc.org

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I. ICC DOCUMENTS

Note: These documents have been produced by the ICC. The CICC Secretariat distributes them as part of its mandate to keep member organizations and individuals informed about developments related to the ICC. The documents do not reflect the views of the CICC as a whole or its individual members.

1. "The ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber II requests observations on the possibility of conducting confirmation hearings in the Republic of Kenya", ICC Press Release, ICC-CPI-20110603-PR681, 3 June 2011, http://212.159.242.181/NR/exeres/4F4CC57B-0E6C-4DEA-8D10-240994DB4141.htm

"Today, 3 June 2011, Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a decision requesting observations from the Prosecutor, the Defence and the victims on the desirability of conducting the confirmation of charges hearings in the Republic of Kenya in the cases of The Prosecutor v. William Samoei Ruto, Henry Kiprono Kosgey and Joshua Arap Sang and The Prosecutor v. Francis Kirimi Muthaura, Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta and Mohammed Hussein Ali. The Chamber also requested that the parties and participants submit their observations no later than Monday, 13 June 2011.

The Chamber stated that in order to properly assess the desirability and feasibility of conducting the confirmation of charges hearings in the Republic of Kenya, it was deemed valuable to receive observations from the parties and participants to the proceedings in both cases.

A confirmation of charges hearing is held to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe that each suspect committed each of the crimes charged. If the charges are confirmed, the Pre-Trial Chamber commits the person for trial before a Trial Chamber, which will conduct the subsequent phase of the proceedings: the trial...."

2. "Decision requesting observations on the place of the proceedings for the purposes of the confirmation of charges hearing", the Prosecutor v. William Samoei Ruto, Henry Kiprono Kosgey and Joshua Arap Sang, ICC-01/09-01/11, 3 June 2011, http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/doc/doc1083960.pdf

3. "Decision requesting observations on the place of the proceedings for the purposes of the confirmation of charges hearing", the Prosecutor v. Francis Kirimimuthaura, Uhuru Muigaikenyatta and Mohammed Hussein Ali, ICC-01/09-02/11, 3 June 2011, http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/doc/doc1083962.pdf

4. "Appeal of the Government of Kenya against the "Decision on the Application by the Government of Kenya Challenging the Admissibility of the Case Pursuant to Article 19(2)(b) of the Statute", Public Document, ICC-01/09-01/11, 6 June 2011, http://www.icc-cpi.int/iccdocs/doc/doc1084702.pdf

On 6 June 2011, the Kenyan Government lodged an appeal against the 30 May 2011 decision of ICC Pre-Trial Chamber II rejecting its challenges to the admissibility of the two cases brought before the Court in the context of the situation in Kenya: The Prosecutor v. William Samoei Ruto, Henry Kiprono Kosgey and Joshua Arap Sang as well as The Prosecutor v. Francis Kirimi Muthaura, Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta and Mohammed Hussein Ali. The ICC Appeals Chamber must now make a final determination on the admissibility of the cases.

II. RELATED NEWS AND OPINIONS


1. "ICC mulls hearings in Kenya", RNW, 6 June 2011 http://www.rnw.nl/africa/article/icc-mulls-hearings-kenya

2. "ICC judges may hear cases in Kenya" Daily Nation, 3 June 2011, http://www.nation.co.ke/News/-/1056/1174422/-/10wjsr8z/-/

3. "Kenya files appeal against ICC move", by Rob Jillo, Capital FM, 7 June 2011 http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/news/Kenyanews/Kenya-files-appeal-against-ICC-move-13097.html

4. "Wako finally appeals against ICC ruling" by Evelyn Kwamboka, The Standard, 6 June 2011 http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/InsidePage.php?id=2000036637&cid=4&ttl=Wako finally appeals against ICC ruling

5. "ICC judge to receive views on witness protection" Daily Nation, 7 June 2011 http://www.nation.co.ke/News/politics/ICC+judge+to+receive+views+on+witness+protection+/-/1064/1176808/-/xbfwlaz/-/

6. "Activists Push for Recognition of Brutal Crime," By Robbie Corey-Boulet, RNW, 15 April 2011, http://iwpr.net/report-news/activists-push-recognition-brutal-crime

7. "Analyst: After ICC Ruling, Kenya Must Accept Hague Trials" by Michael Onyiego,Voice of America, 2 June 2011, http://ijcentral.org/news/analyst_after_icc_ruling_kenya_must_accept_hague_trials/

8. "ICC was right to reject admissibility case" by Audi C. Zilper, Daily Nation, 1 June 2011, http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/ICC+was+right+to+reject+admissibility+case+/-/440808/1173372/-/d64dbaz/-/

9. "Kenya: ICC to Help Nation Nab Other Poll Suspects" by Nzau Musau, Nairobi Star, 1 June 2011, http://allafrica.com/stories/201106020264.html

10. "ICC prosecution witnesses already out of Kenya" by Evelyn Kwamboka, The Standard, 31 May 2011, http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/news/InsidePage.php?id=2000036253&cid=159&

11. "Wako playing politics with ICC: minister", Daily Nation, 1 June 2011, http://www.nation.co.ke/News/politics/Wako+playing+politics+with+ICC+says+minister+/-/1064/1173494/-/cb8u5b/-/

12. "Report warns of violence risk in Kenya" by Nyambega Gisea, Daily Nation, 4 June 2011, http://www.nation.co.ke/News/politics/Report+warns+of+violence++risk+in+Kenya+/-/1064/1175018/-/jhtnln/-/ A

13. "Factbox-Key political risks to watch in Kenya" by James Macharia, Reuters, 1 June 2011, http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/01/kenya-risks-idUSRISKKE20110601

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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 international organization. The Coalition will continue to provide the most up-to-date information about the ICC and to help coordinate global action to effectively implement the Rome Statute of the ICC. The Coalition will also endeavor to respond to basic 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 develop partnerships with local and other organizations in the course of their efforts. Communications to the ICC can be sent to: ICC P.O. box 19519 2500 CM the Hague, the Netherlands