Investigations by the International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court has opened investigations in Afghanistan, Bangladesh/Myanmar, Burundi, the Central African Republic (twice), Côte d'Ivoire, Darfur in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Georgia, Kenya, Libya, Mali, Palestine, the Philippines, Uganda, Ukraine, and Venezuela I. The Office of the Prosecutor carried out and closed preliminary investigations in Bolivia; Colombia; Congo II; Gabon; Guinea; Honduras; Iraq/the United Kingdom; registered vessels of Comoros, Greece, and Cambodia; and South Korea. Ongoing preliminary examinations are being carried out in situations in Lithuania/Belarus, Nigeria, and Venezuela II.
The Court's Pre-Trial Chambers publicly indicted 68 people. Proceedings against 35 are ongoing: 31 are at large as fugitives and four are on trial. Proceedings against 33 have been completed: three are serving sentences, seven have finished sentences, four have been acquitted, seven have had the charges against them dismissed, four have had the charges against them withdrawn, and eight have died before the conclusion of the proceedings against them.
As of September 2010, the Office of the Prosecutor had received 8,874 communications about alleged crimes. After initial review, 4,002 of these communications were dismissed as "manifestly outside the jurisdiction of the Court".
Overview.
Notes
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Opening investigation.
The Prosecutor may open an investigation under three circumstances:
Of the nine cases that the Prosecutor had started investigating, five had been referred by states parties, two had been referred by the Security Council, and two had been authorised by the Pre-Trial Chamber to open an investigation, based on information received from other sources.
Active investigations.
Uganda.
In December 2003, the government of Uganda, a state party, referred to the Prosecutor the situation concerning the Lord's Resistance Army in Northern Uganda. The Prosecutor decided to open an investigation into the matter on 29 July 2004, and on 5 July, it was assigned to Pre-Trial Chamber II.
On 8 July 2005, the Court issued its first public arrest warrants for five senior leaders of the LRA alleging:
Initially, none of the indictees was arrested, but Lukwiya was killed in fighting on 12 August 2006, Otti is said to have been killed in 2007, apparently by Kony. The three other suspects are believed to be either in Southern Sudan or the northwestern Ituri Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The government of Uganda is currently in peace talks with the LRA. The LRA's leaders have repeatedly demanded immunity from ICC prosecution in return for an end to the insurgency. The government says it is considering establishing a national tribunal that meets international standards, thereby allowing the ICC warrants to be set aside.
On 4 February 2021, Dominic Ongwen was found guilty of 61 crimes by Trial Chamber IX of ICC, comprising crimes against humanity and war crimes, committed in Northern Uganda between 1 July 2002 and 31 December 2005. He was sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment. He has appealed against both conviction and sentence, and that appeal is currently being decided.
Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In March 2004, the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, referred to the Prosecutor "the situation of crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court allegedly committed anywhere in the territory of the DRC since the entry into force of the Rome Statute, on 1 July 2002." On 23 June, the Prosecutor decided to open an investigation into the matter, and on 4 July, the case was allocated to Pre-Trial Chamber I. In February 2008, at the time of the arrest of the third suspect, the Prosecutor announced that the arrest had closed the ICC investigations in Ituri.
Thomas Lubanga.
On 17 March 2006, Thomas Lubanga, former leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots militia in Ituri, became the first person to be arrested under a warrant issued by the court and the first suspect to face trial at the ICC. A sealed (secret) warrant had been issued for his arrest on 10 February 2006 for the war crimes of using child soldiers. He was flown to the court the same day in a French military aircraft. The prosecutor has stated that his trial will be only on the allegation of using child soldiers, and other allegations will be followed up in a subsequent prosecution.
Originally, Lubanga's trial was to begin on 23 June 2008, but it was halted on 13 June when the Court ruled that the Prosecutor's refusal to disclose potentially exculpatory material had breached Lubanga's right to a fair trial. The Prosecutor had obtained the evidence from the United Nations and other sources on condition of confidentiality, but judges ruled that the Prosecutor had incorrectly applied the relevant provision of the Rome Statute and so "the trial process has been ruptured to such a degree that it is now impossible to piece together the constituent elements of a fair trial". The Court lifted the suspension on 18 November 2008; Lubanga's trial began on 26 January 2009.
On 14 March 2012, the Court, by unanimous verdict of the Trial Chamber, found Lubanga guilty as a co-perpetrator in the use of child soldiers. Lubanga was sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment and was released on 15 March 2020.
Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui.
Two more participants in the Ituri conflict, Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui, were also surrendered to the Court by the Congolese authorities. Both men are charged with six counts of war crimes and three counts of crimes against humanity, relating to an attack on the village of Bogoro on 24 February 2003 in which at least 200 civilians were killed, survivors were imprisoned in a room filled with corpses, and women and girls were sexually enslaved. The charges against both men include murder, sexual slavery and using children under 15 years to participate actively in hostilities.
Katanga, the former leader of the Ngiti-majority Front for Patriotic Resistance of Ituri militia, was transferred to the Court on 17 October 2007; Ngudjolo, former leader of the National Integrationist Front, was transferred to the Court on 6 February 2008. The hearing to confirm the charges against them began on 27 June 2008. The trial against the two men started on 24 November 2009.
On 7 March 2014, Katanga was found guilty as an accessory of one count of crime against humanity and four counts of war crimes, committed on 24 February 2003, during an attack on the village of Bogoro, in Congo. He was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment on 23 May 2014.
Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui was acquitted, on 18 December 2012, of the charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes, and was ordered for immediate release. This verdict was upheld by the Appeals Chamber on 27 February 2015.
Callixte Mbarushimana.
On 20 August 2010, the Prosecutor requested Pre-Trial Chamber I to issue a warrant of arrest against Callixte Mbarushimana. He is alleged to have been the Executive Secretary of the Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda – Forces Combattantes Abacunguzi (FDLR-FCA, FDLR). On 28 September 2010, the Pre-Trial Chamber complied with the request and issued a sealed warrant of arrest which was unsealed on 11 October 2010, the day that French authorities arrested Mbarushimana. The suspect was transferred to the ICC on 25 January 2011. His confirmation of charges hearing was held from 16 to 21 September 2011. By a 2–1 majority, Pre-Trial Chamber I ruled on 16 December 2011 that the confirmation was declined. After the Prosecutor's appeal against the decision was rejected, Mbarushimana was released on 23 December 2011.
Central African Republic.
In December 2004, the government of the Central African Republic, a state party, referred to the Prosecutor "the situation of crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court committed anywhere on the territory of the Central African Republic since 1 July 2002, the date of entry into force of the Rome Statute".
On 13 April 2006, the Court of Cassation of the Central African Republic investigating charges or murder and rape committed by former President Ange-Felix Patasse and Congolese Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba said that they could not secure the arrest of the suspects despite international arrest warrants, and they requested the ICC to take responsibility. The allegations against Bemba date to when his Movement for the Liberation of Congo rebel army was invited by Patasse into the capital, Bangui, to fight rebels who were fighting against Patasse. Also referred to the court were the cases of a French policeman and two aides of Patasse who were all involved in the alleged crimes, which human rights groups allege had about 400 victims.
Local activists from the Union of Central African Journalists (UJCA) have also accused the President, François Bozizé, of committing genocide against the inhabitants of the north Central African Republic, who supported the former regime, after seizing power in 2003, and he asked the court to prosecute Bozizé.
In November 2005, the Office of the Prosecutor held meetings with the government, judiciary authorities, civil society and international community representatives in CAR to gather additional information for the preliminary analysis.
In September 2006, the government filed a complaint with the court that claimed the Prosecutor had failed to decide within a reasonable time whether or not to investigate. In response the pre-trial chamber ordered the prosecutor to submit a report by 15 December 2006 as to the current status of the investigation and an estimate of when a decision on whether to investigate will be made.
On 22 May 2007, the Prosecutor announced his decision to open an investigation, focusing on allegations of killing and rape in 2002 and 2003, a period of intense fighting between government and rebel forces. The case has been allocated to Pre-Trial Chamber III.
On 24 May 2008, former Vice-President Jean-Pierre Bemba was arrested during a visit to Belgium under a sealed warrant under accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in CAR He was transferred to the ICC on 3 July 2008. His confirmation of charges hearing, taking place from 12 to 15 January 2009, resulted in the charges being confirmed on 15 June 2009. His trial began on 22 November 2010. He was acquitted from the charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the Appeals Chamber on 8 June 2018.
On 16 December 2022, the Prosecutor announced the conclusion of investigations in the situation of Central African Republic.
Darfur, Sudan.
On 31 March 2005, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1593, referring "the situation prevailing in Darfur since 1 July 2002" to the Prosecutor. The Prosecutor opened an investigation into the situation on 6 June, and the case was allocated to Pre-Trial Chamber I.
Ahmed Haroun and Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman.
In February 2007 the Prosecutor announced that two men (Sudanese humanitarian affairs minister Ahmad Muhammad Harun and Janjaweed militia leader Abd-Al-Rahman) had been identified as key suspects, accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. On 2 May 2007, the Court issued arrest warrants for the two men. However, Sudan claims the Court has no jurisdiction over this matter and refuses to hand over the suspects. Mr Abd-Al-Rahman was transferred to the ICC's custody on 9 June 2020, after surrendering himself voluntarily in the Central African Republic. His initial appearance before the ICC took place on 15 June 2020. He is charged with 31 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Darfur, Sudan, between August 2003 and at least April 2004. The trial for these charges began on 5 April 2022.
Omar al-Bashir.
On 14 July 2008, the Prosecutor accused Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. In July 2008, the Chief Prosecutor applied to the Court for an arrest warrant for President of Sudan Omar al-Bashir on ten counts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. In October, the Court asked the Prosecutor for more information to support the charges.
The court issued an arrest warrant for al-Bashir on 4 March 2009 for war crimes and crimes against humanity but ruled that there was insufficient evidence to prosecute him for genocide. Al-Bashir was the first sitting head of state indicted by the ICC. Al-Bashir denies all the charges by describing them as "not worth the ink they are written in". In July 2009, the member states of the African Union agreed not to co-operate in his arrest. Nevertheless, several African Union members who are also parties of the ICC, including South Africa and Uganda, let it be known that al-Bashir might be arrested if he entered their territory. However, in July and August 2010 al-Bashir traveled to Chad and Kenya,