a. Central
African Republic II – Mokom Case
[Postponement of the confirmation of charges hearing]
On 3 February 2023, the confirmation
hearing in the case of The Prosecutor v. Maxime Jeoffroy Eli Mokom Gawaka,
initially scheduled to start on 31 January 2023, was postponed
on 22 August due to issues with the appointment of Mr. Mokom’s Counsel.
The confirmation of charges hearing aims at
determining whether there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial
grounds to believe that the person committed each of the crimes charged. If the
charges are confirmed, the case will be transferred to a Trial Chamber for the
trial phase.
Mr. Mokom is suspected of war crimes and crimes
against humanity allegedly committed in the Central African Republic between at
least 5 December 2013 and at least December 2014.
More information about the Case can be found here.
On 25 May 2023, the trial in the case The
Prosecutor v. Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud entered its final
stages following closing statements that took place before Trial Chamber X
of the ICC, where the Prosecution, the Legal Representatives of Victims and the
Defence presented their final arguments.
Mr. Al Hassan is accused of crimes against
humanity and war crimes allegedly committed in Timbuktu (Mali). The trial
opened on 14-15 July 2020.
More information about the Case can be found here.
c. Darfur,
Sudan – Abd-Al-Rahman Case [Opening Statement and presentation of
evidence by the Legal Representatives of Victims]
On 5 June 2023, the common Legal
Representatives of Victims in the case of The Prosecutor v. Ali Muhammad Ali
Abd-Al-Rahman (“Ali Kushayb”) made their opening
statement before Trial Chamber I of the ICC, representing 600 victims.
Legal representation of the victims allows them
to present their views and concerns to the ICC judges when their interests are
affected. Victims may also present evidence.
Mr. Abd-Al-Rahman is accused of 31 counts of war
crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Darfur, Sudan,
between August 2003 and at least April 2004. The trial, in this case, opened
before Trial Chamber I on 5 April 2022.
On 26 January 2023, the Pre-Trial Chamber
I of the ICC granted the Prosecutor’s request,
dated 24 June 2022, to resume
the investigation into the Situation of the Republic of the Philippines.
Following a careful analysis of the materials provided by the Philippines, the
Chamber indicated that it was not satisfied that the Philippines is undertaking
relevant investigations that would warrant a deferral of the Court’s
investigations on the basis of the complementarity principle. This decision
followed a request from the Philippines to defer the investigation, pursuant to
Article 18(2) of the Rome Statute.
The Philippines was a State party to the Rome
Statute since 1 November 2011 but deposited a written notification of
withdrawal from the Statute on 17 March 2018, which took effect on 17 March
2019. The Court retains jurisdiction with respect to alleged crimes that
occurred on the territory of the Philippines while it was a State Party.
More information on the Situation can be found here.
b. Situation
in Ukraine [Issuance of arrest warrants]
On 17 March 2023, the Pre-Trial Chamber
II of the ICC issued
warrants of arrest for two individuals in the context of the situation in
Ukraine: Mr. Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, President of the Russian Federation,
and Ms. Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Children’s Rights in
the Office of the President of the
Russian Federation.
On the basis of evidence collected and analyzed
by the Office of the Prosecutor, the Pre-Trial Chamber confirmed that there are
reasonable grounds to believe that President Putin and Ms. Lvova-Belova bear
criminal responsibility for the unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian
children from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, contrary to
article 8(2)(a)(vii) and Article 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute. The crimes were
allegedly committed in Ukrainian-occupied territory at least from 24 February
2022.
More information about the Situation can be
found here.
c. Situation
in Venezuela I [Authorization to resume the investigation]
On 27 June 2023, the Pre-Trial Chamber I
of the ICC authorized
the Office of the Prosecutor to resume its investigation into the situation in
the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela I, following its request dated 1 November
2022.
The Chamber concluded that, whilst Venezuela is
taking some investigative steps, its domestic criminal proceedings do not
sufficiently mirror the scope of the Prosecution’s intended investigation. It
indeed appeared that Venezuela has taken limited investigative steps, that it
is not investigating the factual allegations underlying the contextual elements
of crimes against humanity, and that the focus of the domestic investigations
appears to generally be on direct and/or lower-level perpetrators. The Chamber
also noted that the domestic investigations appear to not sufficiently address
the forms of criminality the Prosecution intends to investigate – referring in
particular to the discriminatory intent underlying the alleged crime of
persecution and the apparent insufficient investigation of crimes of a sexual
nature.
More information on the Situation can be found here.
On 15 June 2023, the Government of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) submitted
a new referral to the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC, requesting that
the Court initiate an investigation into alleged crimes under the Statute
committed in North Kivu province, from 1 January 2022 to date.
This is the second referral by the Government of
the DRC concerning alleged Rome Statute crimes committed on its territory. The first referral, received in March
2004, requested the Prosecutor to investigate alleged crimes within the
jurisdiction of the Court committed in the territory of the DRC from 1 July
2002 onwards. The first referral resulted in the opening of an investigation in
June 2004 and the prosecution of a number of cases against individuals responsible
for Rome Statute crimes committed during the armed conflict in the DRC.
The Prosecutor will now conduct a preliminary
examination promptly in order to assess, as a preliminary matter, whether the
scope of the two situations referred by the DRC Government are sufficiently
linked to constitute a single Situation.
More information about the Preliminary
Examination can be found here.
4) Other Developments
a. Activities
of the Office of the Prosecutor
i.
Thirty-sixth report on
the activities of the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC to the UN Security
Council in relation to the situation in Darfur, Sudan [Report]
On 25 January 2023, the ICC Prosecutor presented
its thirty-sixth report on the activities of his Office in relation to the
situation in Darfur, Sudan, over the period of August 2022 to January 2023.
During this period, the Office focused on implementing the renewed strategic
approach and roadmap in relation to the situation in Darfur. While the Office
has taken significant steps forward, full cooperation of Sudanese authorities
remains central to accelerating investigative work and delivering on the legitimate
expectations of survivors.
ii. Public
consultation launched by the Office of the Prosecutor to renew its policy paper
on crimes against or affecting children
On 9 March 2023, the Prosecutor of the
ICC made a call
for public submissions to amend its 2016 Policy
on Children. In launching this policy renewal process, the Office of the
Prosecutor will seek to develop new and innovative approaches to its work so as
to make children more visible and further improve effectiveness in the
investigation and prosecution of crimes against or affecting children.
Véronique
Aubert, Special Advisor to the Prosecutor on Crimes Against and Affecting
Children, will be assisting the Prosecutor and the Office in renewing this
policy.
iii. Twenty-Fifth
report of the Prosecutor of the ICC to the UN on the Situation in Libya
On 12 May 2023, the Prosecutor of the ICC
presented its twenty-fifth
report on the Situation in Libya to the UN Security Council. The latter
reflects an acceleration of investigative and cooperation activities under the
new Strategy through deepened engagement with witnesses, victims, civil society
organizations, international organizations, and States Parties. In particular,
the Office has filed multiple arrest warrant (under seal) applications related
to key lines of inquiry ahead of the schedule set out in its Situation Roadmap.
Through this Policy renewal process, the Office
of the Prosecutor (OTP) seeks to reflect recent advances in its pursuit of
accountability for sexual and gender-based crimes as well as incorporate new
and innovative approaches to investigating and prosecuting these acts.
On 24 May 2023, a thematic roundtable
meeting on the crime of gender
persecution was also organized and addressed the Office of the Prosecutor’s
renewed commitment to systematically address sexual and gender-based crimes and
take a more focused approach to investigating and prosecuting gender
persecution.
v. Launch
of advanced evidence submission platform: OTPLink
On 24 May 2023, the Prosecutor of the ICC
announced the launch
of OTPLink, a new application for online and email-based evidence
submissions by all external stakeholders and witnesses to my Office. This tool
seeks to provide a clear, single-access point, replacing various systems and
processes that were previously in use for the receipt of information, including
submissions pursuant to Article 15 of the Rome Statute.
On 6 June 2023, the Prosecutor of the ICC
and the Minister of Justice of the DRC signed a new Memorandum
of Understanding, which reflects a desire to strengthen cooperation within
a new framework of dynamic complementarity, focused on delivering concrete
deliverables.
On 9 June 2023, the Prosecutor of the ICC
and the Government of Colombia signed a new
Action Plan, which sets clear and common objectives for a deeper
collaboration.
On 10 June 2023, the Prosecutor of the
ICC and the President of the Republic of Venezuela signed a Memorandum
of Understanding, establishing an in-country office of the Office of the
Prosecutor (OTP) of the ICC in Venezuela. This document was concluded within
the framework of the first
Memorandum of Understanding signed with President Maduro on 3 November 2021
and followed their agreement upon the ICC Prosecutor’s second visit to
Venezuela in March 2022 to proceed with the establishment of an OTP office.
On 10 February 2023, the ICC judges elected
Mr. Osvaldo
Zavala Giler as Registrar for a period of five years by an absolute
majority by secret ballot. Mr. Osvaldo Zavala Giler succeeds Mr. Peter Lewis,
whose five-year mandate ended on 16 April 2023.
On 5 April 2023, Osvaldo Zavala Giler was
sworn
in as Registrar of the ICC during a public ceremony held at the seat of the
Court in The Hague, The Netherlands.
More information about the Registry can be found
here.
The ICC has a Liaison Office to the United
Nations in New York and seven field presence/country offices: Kinshasa and
Bunia (Democratic Republic of the Congo, “DRC”); Kampala (Uganda); Bangui (Central
African Republic, “CAR”); Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire); Tbilisi (Georgia); and
Bamako (Mali). ICC field presence/country offices are essential to develop and
maintain cooperative relationships with key stakeholders in situation countries
and to support the Court's mandate and resulting activities in these countries.
On 6 April 2023, the TFV announced the official
launch of its transformative reparation program in Georgia. The reparations
program will focus on providing the most vulnerable victims with medical
treatment, counseling, and psychosocial support, as well as livelihood and
socio-economic initiatives to address conflict-related harm. The TFV program
for victims of the Situation in
Georgia, which is under the jurisdiction of the ICC, is regarding victims
of war crimes and crimes against humanity of the conflict in and around South
Ossetia between 1 July and 10 October 2008.
More information about the Trust Fund for
Victims can be found here.
iii. Ms.
Deborah Ruiz Verduzco was selected as TFV
Executive Director [Trust Fund for Victims]
On 25 April 2023, the TFV announced that
following a competitive recruitment process led by the TFV Board of Directors,
Ms. Deborah
Ruiz Verduzco was selected as the new Executive Director of the Trust Fund
for Victims. She will assume her duties on 1 May 2023.
More information about the Trust Fund for
Victims can be found here.
d. Other
activities
iv. Establishment
of a due
diligence process for the coming election of six ICC judges
On 28 February 2023, the Bureau of the
Assembly of States Parties established a due
diligence process for the election of six judges in 2023 whereby “the Independent
Oversight Mechanism shall establish a confidential channel for the receipt of
allegations of misconduct against any of the nominated candidates.” This
process aims to ensure that the six judges that will be elected during the
twenty-second Assembly of States Parties of December 2023 are “persons of high
moral character, impartiality, and integrity who possess the qualifications
required in their respective States for appointment to the highest judicial
office,” as provided by Article 36, paragraph 3, of the Rome Statute.
On 25 April 2023, the President of the
ICC and the Executive Director of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement
Cooperation (Europol) signed a Working
Arrangement at Europol Headquarters in The Hague, The Netherlands. The
Arrangement provides a legal framework to establish cooperative relations
between the ICC and Europol for the two institutions to enhance their
cooperation and encourage the exchange of information, knowledge, experience, and
expertise.
On 13 June 2023, the ICC,
the Registry,
the Office
of the Prosecutor, and the Trust
Fund for Victims strategic plans were launched. This effort underscores the
commitment of the three organs of the Court to the One-Court principle. It also
strengthens the Court’s relationship with the Trust Fund for Victims by
promoting greater synergies while upholding the organs' independence in
judicial proceedings.
