VARIOUS: The International Criminal Court outlines countries of concern which include North Korea and Ivory Coast

Record ID: 783416

  • Title: VARIOUS: The International Criminal Court outlines countries of concern which include North Korea and Ivory Coast
  • Date: 7th December 2010
  • Summary: ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST (RECENT - DECEMBER 1, 2010) (REUTERS) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE ALASSANE OUATTARA SITTING WITH OTHER OFFICIALS AT NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 22nd December 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Sudan, Colombia, Usa, Cote d'Ivoire
  • City:
  • Country: Colombia Usa Sudan Cote d'Ivoire
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA7F6OF1JLPTKXAFZU04CDV94SS
  • Story Text: The ninth session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) was held at the United Nations on Monday (December 6).
    Members of the Assembly of the "Rome Statute", adopted by the U.N. in 1998 in the Italian capital to establish the permanent international criminal court, addressed Monday's gathering to outline new issues of concern and to discuss improved strategies for the future.
    Among those to address the Assembly was Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, who became the first president to be invited to speak in front of the world body.
    Santos, whose country is currently battling landslides and the aftermath of flooding which has displaced up to 1.5 million people and left some 145 people dead, turned his attention to defending his country against accusations that it does not do enough to bring criminals to justice.
    "Colombia's commitment to peace and justice is born out of our deepest convictions and is the product of our very, very difficult history. Colombia suffered brutal, unimaginable violence. We have made mistakes and we have also made good decisions. We are making progress and we will keep making progress," Santos told the Assembly.
    Colombia was for long seen as a failing state, but the level of violence has eased dramatically and foreign investment has grown fivefold since 2002. Better military intelligence and troop mobility with helicopters have restricted FARC communications and its command structure.
    "Colombia is committed to peace and justice in its territory but it is also committed to peace and justice in countries that have ratified the Rome Statute. And so I come with enthusiasm and a sense of responsibility to this meeting to reaffirm our commitment," Santos added.
    Addressing the start of the session, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon stressed the importance of bringing individuals to justice, through carrying out outstanding arrest warrants.
    "The international community has overwhelmingly embraced the idea that we have entered an age of accountability and that there can be absolutely no immunity for international crimes. But make no mistake, to prevail in the fight against impunity, we must stay on the offence. At a time when international justice is under attack in many places, we must strengthen our resolve to shut the door on the arrow of impunity and ensure that in this new era, the perpetrators truly answer for their crimes. I wish to emphasize in this respect, the crucial importance of states complying with their responsibilities to enforce all outstanding arrest warrants," Ban said.
    One arrest warrant that has not been fulfilled, is that of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.
    Bashir has been indictment by the ICC for crimes in Sudan's Darfur.
    The ICC's chief prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo, said Bashir still remains top of the Court's agenda.
    "Mr. President, one of the most important factors to increase the efficiency of the Rome Statute and its preventative impact, will be to arrest the individuals sought by the Court. The most urgent and difficult case is the implementation of the arrest warrant issued in the Darfur case, in particular the ones for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, against President Al Bashir," Ocampo said.
    "The judges considered that the ongoing rape campaign and the fear in those millions displaced in the camps constitutes genocide under Article 6B of the Rome Statute, it's an ongoing genocide. I would ascribe that they can't continue. That instead of stopping the crimes, members of the government of Sudan are stopping the information about the crimes. The government of Sudan, as a sovereign and independent state, has the primary responsibility and is fully able to implement the arrest warrant issued by the Court. It has not done so. The matter is in the hands of the U.N. Security Council," Ocampo added.
    Ocampo also discussed the Ivory Coast, where Laurent Gbagbo was sworn in a president on Saturday (December 4) despite election results pointing to Alassane Ouattara as the winner.
    The United Nations announced on Monday that it was temporarily moving non-essential staff from its mission in Ivory Coast out of the country, amid the political crisis there. Some 460 staff would be "temporarily relocated" to Gambia, where they would continue to carry out their work, a U.N. spokesman said. The peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast
    "will continue to carry out its core mandated tasks," he added.
    Ocampo said on Monday that the situation was of grave concern.
    "I would like to mention in particular Cote d'Ivoire. We are receiving consistently requests from the country encouraging our intervention. We make statements, but the strength of the court relies on your support, so I think this Assembly should consider how to intervene today in Cote d'Ivoire, because today Cote d'Ivoire is under huge conflict," Ocampo said.
    "Cote d'Ivoire situation today is announcing the possible commission of future crimes, so in terms of prevention, the time to act by the state is now," he added.
    Shifting his focus to Asia, the ICC prosecutor said that he is looking at alleged war crimes by North Korean forces in South Korea, citing last month's artillery attacks and the sinking of a warship.
    "Last week the office received communications alleging that North Korea forces committed war crimes in the territory of the Republic of Korea. The ICC has jurisdiction on the Republic of Korea territory since 1st February 2003, and therefore we'll open a preliminary examination to evaluate if the incident denounced constitutes war crimes under the jurisdiction of the Court. We announced today this new preliminary examination," Ocampo told the Assembly.
    The incidents included the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island on November 23 this year, in which several South Korean marines and civilians were killed, and many others were injured, the ICC prosecutor's office said in its statement.
    They also include the sinking of a South Korean warship, the Cheonan, which was hit by a torpedo allegedly fired from a North Korean submarine on March 26 2010, killing 46 people.
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