ICC in the Media, Update #35

This week most of the media attention has shifted back to the case of the "Kenya six," suspected of orchestrating and encouraging the 2008 election violence that led to the death of more than 1,200. Last week the Pre-Trial Chamber II rejected the Kenyan government's request to get access to the prosecution's evidence. Such access would provide the government with a means of challenging the admissibility of the case in the international tribunal. However, this week the government moved to appeal the matter for review by the ICC's Appeals Chamber. As a secondary tactic to challenge admissibility, reportedly the Kenyan government has begun interviewing the suspects about their involvement in the violence to prove to the ICC that domestic investigations are taking place. A prominent Kenyan human rights group has publicly come forward calling the efforts a "false attempt to try and stop the ICC process" and emphasizing that many of victims of the 2008 violence continue to suffer, often living in camps as Internally Displaced Persons. Also in the Kenya case, reportedly fourteen witnesses have been given lifetime witness protection by the ICC's Witness Protection Unit. It was also reported this week that the ICC's Prosecutor Ocampo is using several files leaked by Wikileaks in his case against the Kenya suspects. Photo credit: Capital FM.

ICC in the Media, Update #34

This week the media has primarily focused on the newly issued ICC warrants against Gaddafi, his son and Libya's Chief of Police. Reportedly Gaddafi announced that he will refuse to recognize the warrants. ICC Prosecutor Ocampo has urged Gaddafi's inner circle to turn him in or risk prosecution themselves, but so far none appear to have complied. On Friday members of the African Union met for the 17th AU Summit where they criticized the ICC's arrest warrants in Libya, arguing that the ICC unfairly targets African nations. The ICC Deputy Prosecutor rejected such arguments in a statement last week, emphasizing that the victims are also African and that in most cases the African nations referred themselves to the international tribunal. In other news, Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese President wanted by the ICC on numerous charges, visited China last week as previously planned. The trip was reportedly delayed because he rerouted his airplane to avoid entering Tajikistan and Turkmenistan's airspace after they refused to grant him passage. Reportedly he also avoided flying through Afghanistan out of fear of NATO escorting him to the ICC. Although China is not a member state, the visit drew international criticism including "disappointment" from the United States and United Nations. Onlookers reiterated the commitment nations must make to take initiative in enforcing international justice if progress is to be made. In the Kenya case, ICC judges determined last week that the suspects' hearings will be held at the Hague, not in Kenya as previously suggested. Presiding Judge Ekaterina Trendafilova stressed the wishes of witnesses and victims in making this decision. She further dismissed the idea of allowing solely domestic tribunals due to insufficient evidence that such tribunals would ever become a reality, let alone be adequately independent. In the ongoing Bemba case witness testimony continues. Last week a witness for the prosecution conceded under cross-examination that he was unsure the defendant was responsible for he pillaging he witnessed. Photo credit: The Telegraph.

Obama Discusses the ICC Findings on Libya's Gaddafi in June 29 News Conference

From The New York Times:

President Obama: "And I just want to point out -- I know it's something you know -- the International Criminal Court identified Qaddafi as having violated international law, having committed war crimes. What we’ve seen is reports of troops engaging in horrible acts, including potentially using rape as a weapon of war. And so when you have somebody like that in charge of large numbers of troops, I think it would be hard for us to feel confident that the Libyan people are going to be protected unless he steps down."

A New Angle to US Policy Toward the ICC: Opposing Travel by ICC Indictees

In a State Department press conference on June 27, Spokesperson Victoria Nuland underscored US support for the ICC's investigation in Libya and went on to reveal a previously unknown element of US policy:

QUESTION: Well, on that, since you spoke so glowingly of the Chinese hosting the TNC, what do you think of the Chinese hosting President Bashir? And is any vote that they participate in that relates to the ICC, does it have any meaning at all? I mean, if they’re willing to – I don’t know if he was supposed to arrive late tonight after the delay, but certainly they’re – what they’re doing flies in the face of any kind of cooperation with the ICC.

MS. NULAND: We continue to oppose invitations, facilitations, support for travel by ICC indictees. We have a longstanding policy of strongly urging other nations to do the same. We have urged China to join the international community in its call for Sudan to cooperate fully with the ICC as required by UNSC 1593.

AMICC Convener John Washburn on "Hearing Women's Voices Loud and Clear in The Hague"

From The InterDependent:

At International Criminal Court events, more women than men show up. Why?

A new and striking reminder of the importance of the International Criminal Court for women and their special support for it has emerged in the last few months. Fatou Bensouda, a lawyer from Gambia, has become a leading candidate to be elected the court’s prosecutor in December, when Luis Moreno-Ocampo’s term ends...

Read more

AMICC Urges US Cooperation to Execute ICC Arrest Warrants for Col. Gaddafi and Others

ARREST WARRANTS ISSUED

Today Pre-Trial Chamber I of the ICC issued arrest warrants for three individuals – Col. Muammar Gaddafi, his son Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi and Abdullah Al-Sanousi, the Head of the Military Intelligence – for the crimes against humanity of murder and persecution in Libya since February 15, 2011. The warrants come just over one month after the ICC Prosecutor’s application for them on May 16. The application resulted from an investigation initiated in early March following a unanimous referral of the situation in Libya to the ICC by the UN Security Council. The decision marks the second time the ICC has issued an arrest warrant for a sitting head of state; the first was for Omar Al Bashir of Sudan in March 2009.

TAKE ACTION!

This challenge to the international community could prove an important opportunity for US leadership and support to the Court. The arrest warrants issued today provide a new and concrete opportunity to advance US national interests and to support international justice. For this reason and since July 17 is International Justice Day, AMICC has created an International Justice Day alert action which we hope you will use in your advocacy and share with others. It urges President Obama to help fulfill the mandate of Resolution 1970 which the US strongly supported by helping to carry out the arrest warrants issued today. Please share widely!

ICC in the Media, Update #33

This week the media has primarily focused on the Libya investigation. In May ICC Prosecutor Ocampo requested the issuance of arrests warrants against Muammar Gaddafi, his son Saif al-Islam and Libya's spy chief Abdullah al-Senussi. On Monday June 27 the ICC judges approved the application and issued arrest warrants against the three on charges of crimes against humanity committed in Libya. Reading out the chamber's verdict Presiding Judge Monageng said that there were "reasonable grounds" to believe that Gaddafi had "absolute, ultimate and unquestioned" control over Libya's security forces during the period in question. In other news, the much criticized visit to China by Omar al-Bashir has been delayed for unknown reasons. Sudan's President, who is wanted by the ICC on numerous charges, was scheduled to arrive in Beijing early Monday morning, but failed to appear.

Last Thursday, Prosecutor Ocampo applied to a panel of ICC pre-trial judges to request opening a formal investigation into the election crisis that occurred last year in the Ivory Coast. On Friday, Tunisia reportedly became the 116th member of the ICC after completing the final step to join the Court. It is the first north African country to join the ICC. The Rome Statute is scheduled to enter into force for the nation on September 1. As expected, council for the "Kenya six" has appealed the Pre-Trial Chamber's recent ruling against allowing domestic proceedings. The parties cite various alleged procedural and legal errors as the basis for their appeal. The judges have yet to rule on the appeal. Photo credit: The Telegraph UK.

Upcoming ICC Judicial Elections and the Independent Panel

Photo courtesy ICC-CPI

Later this year the ICC’s governing body will elect six new judges to take office in March 2012 and a new Prosecutor to take office in June 2012. This will result in a major change in ICC officials which will impact the future of the Court. The nomination period for both the judicial and prosecutor elections is now open through September 2 and the elections will be held in December at the regular Assembly of States Parties (ASP) session in New York. Information about both elections is available on the ASP website. The statements and curricula vitae of the judicial candidates will also be posted to this website soon after they are submitted.

The judicial elections are regularly held every three years to replace the six judges whose staggered nine-year terms are to expire. As in previous elections, there are certain criteria which guide the States Parties in the nomination and election procedures, including the requirements of Article 36 of the Rome Statute. This demands that judicial candidates possess certain experience and competence in criminal law or international law, among other requirements such as gender and geographic representation.

The international NGO Coalition for the ICC (CICC) in cooperation with AMICC, has established the Independent Panel on ICC Judicial Elections. The purpose of the Panel is to raise awareness about the qualifications required of candidates and to encourage States Parties to nominate the most highly-qualified candidates. It will do so by assessing candidates based on the publicly available nomination materials as “Qualified” or “Not Qualified” according to the Rome Statute requirements. More information about the Panel, including its Terms of Reference, is available here.