OTP Briefing Issue #144 1-15 July 2013 NEWS Pre-Trial Chamber II requests Nigeria to arrest Omar Al Bashir 15 July - Pre-Trial Chamber II requested the Federal Republic of Nigeria to immediately arrest Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir, on visit to Abuja (Nigeria) for an African Union summit on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and to surrender him to the ICC. The Sudanese President’s visit to Nigeria has raised a lot of criticism among rights groups. Human Rights Watch (HRW) called for Nigeria to prevent Bashir to attend the Abuja summit or to stop it if it went there, while the president of the Nigeria Coalition on the International Criminal Court, Chino Obiagwu, said that the Nigerian government “has violated its obligations under international law”. The Chamber recalled that, as signatories to the ICC, Nigeria and several other African countries are expected, under their treaty obligations, to actually arrest the Sudanese President if he sets foot on their soil. The Nigeria presidential spokesman Reuben Abati said "The Sudanese president came for an AU event and the AU has taken a position on the ICC arrest order, so Nigeria has not taken action different from the AU stand". Nevertheless, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Prof. Viola Onwuliri, had briefed the Nigerian press that over 30 African Heads of State would be participating at the conference, stating that she was not reported to have specifically listed the names of the heads of state and presidents expected at the meeting, nor was she reported to have specifically mentioned the name of the controversial Sudanese president. During the same summit, the Sudanese President Al-Bashir had also a bilateral sideline meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria to discuss areas of cooperation particularly in the field of investments. OTP Activities OVERVIEW 8 situations under investigation 18 cases in relation to 25 persons Arrest warrants outstanding against 12 individuals 8 preliminary examinations in 4 different continents Phases 6 cases at Pre-Trial Stage 5 cases before Trial Chambers 2 cases before Appeals Chamber 2 verdicts I. Preliminary Examinations Preliminary examinations refer to the analytical process by which the OTP assesses whether there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation in a given situation. In accordance with Article 15 of the Statute, the OTP proactively gathers and evaluates information from multiple sources, including “communications” from individuals and parties concerned (phase 1 – initial review). Following a sequential process, and irrespective of the mechanism by which the jurisdiction of the Court is triggered, the Office then applies the same legal criteria laid out in Article 53 of the Statute, namely jurisdiction, including temporal/territorial/personal and subject- matter jurisdiction (phase 2), admissibility, including complementarity and gravity (phase 3) and the interests of justice (phase 4). Currently, the OTP is conducting preliminary examinations into eight situations: Afghanistan, Honduras, Korea and the Comoros referral (phase 2), Colombia, Georgia, Guinea, and Nigeria (phase 3). 5 July - The Presidency assigned “the Situation on Registered Vessels of the Union of the Comoros, the Hellenic Republic and the Kingdom of Cambodia” to Pre-Trial Chamber I. II. Investigations and Prosecutions 1. Situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) – Referred: April 2004 Investigation Opened: June 2004 Trials The Prosecutor v Thomas Lubanga Dyilo – charged with war crimes of conscripting, enlisting and using children to actively participate in hostilities committed in the Ituri region 2002 – 2003 Status: Judgment delivered on 14 March 2012; Mr. Lubanga was sentenced on 10 July to a total of 14 years of imprisonment; principles and procedures to be applied to reparations established on 7 August. This decision is subject to appeal. The Prosecutor v Germain Katanga and The Prosecutor v Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui – charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the attack of the village of Bogoro in the Ituri region on 24 February 2003 Status: Closing oral statements took place from 15 to 23 May 2012; charges severed by Judges on 21 November; on 18 December, Ngudjolo Chui acquitted of all charges; on 21 December, Ngudjolo Chui was released from custody. The Prosecution has appealed the decision. Pre-Trial The Prosecutor v Bosco Ntaganda – charged with war crimes of conscripting, enlisting and using children to actively participate in hostilities committed in the Ituri region 2002-2003; a second warrant was issued to include war crimes of murder, attacks against the civilian population, rape and sexual slavery, and pillaging, as well as crimes against humanity of murder, rape and sexual slavery, and persecution Status: Initial appearance on 26 March 2013; confirmation of charges hearing scheduled for 10 February 2014; Opening of the confirmation of charges hearing is postponed-more information here Warrant Pending The Prosecutor v Sylvestre Mudacumura – charged with war crimes of attacking civilians, murder, mutilation, cruel treatment, rape, torture, destruction of property, pillaging and outrages against personal dignity committed in North and South Kivu Provinces of the DRC between 20 January 2009 and end of September 2010 Issued: 13 July 2012 2. Situation in Uganda – Referred: January 2004 Investigation opened: July 2004 Warrants Pending The Prosecutor v Joseph Kony et al. – charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during LRA’s insurgency activities in Northern Uganda 2002 – 2004 Issued: 8 July 2005. On 11 July 2007, Pre-Trial Chamber I ordered the proceedings against Raska Lukwiya be terminated. On 8 November 2007, the OTP submitted information to the PTC on the reported death of Vincent Otti. Page 2 of 5 3. Situation in Darfur, the Sudan – Referred: March 2005 Investigation opened: June 2005 Trial The Prosecutor v Abdallah Banda Abakaer Nourain and Saleh Mohammed Jerbo Jamus – charged with war crimes committed during an attack against the Haskanita AU peacekeeping base in North Darfur on 29 September 2007 Status: Charges confirmed; trial date set for 5 May 2014 Prosecution to present additional evidence The Prosecutor v Bahar Idriss Abu Garda – charged with war crimes committed during an attack against the Haskanita AU peacekeeping base in North Darfur on 29 September 2007 Warrants Pending The Prosecutor v Omar Al Bashir – charged with war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed as part of the counter-insurgency campaign in Darfur 2003 – 2008 (at least) Issued: 4 March 2009 & 12 July 2010 The Prosecutor v Ali Kushayb and Ahmad Harun – charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the attacks against the civilian population in Darfur August 2003 – March 2004 Issued: 27 February 2007 The Prosecutor v Abdel Raheem Muhammad Hussein - charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during attacks against the civilian population in Darfur August 2003 – March 2004 Issued: 1 March 2012 19 July - The Prosecutor condemned the killing of seven United Nations (UN) peacekeepers from Tanzania and the wounding of 17 military and police personnel of the African Union—United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) on 13 July in South Darfur. The UNAMID joint patrol came under heavy fire from a large unidentified group. Following an extended firefight the patrol was eventually extracted after UNAMID reinforcement arrived. As the United Nations has emphasised, the incident was one of the most serious attacks against the AU-UN peacekeepers since their deployment, and the third in just the past three weeks. The Prosecutor reminds all parties to the conflict that the International Criminal Court has jurisdiction in Darfur pursuant to Security Council Resolution 1593 and that the intentional directing of attacks against a peacekeepers may constitute war crimes. The Office will not hesitate to investigate and prosecute those alleged to have committed such crimes should the national authorities fail to. The Prosecutor calls on the Government of Sudan to carry out a prompt and full investigation and to hold all those responsible to account. The latest incident brings the total number of UNAMID peacekeepers killed since 2007 to 54. 4. Situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) – Referred: January 2005 Investigation opened: May 2007 Trial The Prosecutor v Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo – charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity, including a massive rape campaign, committed in CAR between 26 October 2002 – 15 March 2003 Status: Prosecution completed the presentation of its case on 21 March 2012; Defense started its presentation on 14 August 2012; the trial resumed on 4 March 2013 following a temporary suspension. 5. Situation in Kenya – OTP request to start investigation: November 2009 Investigation opened: March 2010 Trials The Prosecutor v William Samoei Ruto and Joshua Arap Sang – charged with crimes against humanity committed during the post- electoral violence in Kenya on or about 30 December 2007 – end January 2008; 18 June 2013, Trial Chamber V(A) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) conditionally granted, by majority, the request of William Samoei Ruto to be excused from being physically present continuously throughout the trial, scheduled to start on 10 September 2013- more information here Status: Case sent to trial on 23 January 2012, trial date set for 10 September 2013 The Prosecutor v Uhuru Muigai