BBC (June 23): War crimes body to probe DR Congo

[Jack Rabbit]

From the BBC Online
Dated Wednesday June 23

War crimes body to probe DR Congo

The International Criminal Court has announced its first investigation will look into allegations of serious crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The alleged offences to be investigated include rape, torture and the use of child soldiers in the country.
ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo described the move as a "major step forward" for international justice.
The court, which was set up two years ago, is the first permanent body to investigate war crimes.

Read more.

Let us hope this is an auspicious beginning to the dawn of an era of international justice.

The ICC has larger missions ahead of it, as we know.

[Jack Rabbit]

1. Human Rights Watch: ICC’s First-Ever Probe Must Be Effective

Press Release from Human Rights Watch
Dateline Brussels, Wednesday June 23

ICC’s First-Ever Probe Must Be Effective
Criminal Responsibility in Congo Conflict Reaches Across Borders

Amid recent killings and rapes by government and rebel soldiers in the eastern Congo, the decision by the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) prosecutor to systematically investigate war crimes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo could not be more timely, Human Rights Watch said today.
Luis Moreno Ocampo, the ICC prosecutor, today June 23, announced the beginning of this first-ever investigation by the prosecutor’s office of this newly established court. Earlier this year, the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) transitional government triggered the action by requesting the ICC prosecutor to investigate crimes in the Congo. The prosecutor’s office can investigate where national courts are unable or unwilling to do so, and its authority can be triggered by a formal request from the state involved.
“There will be no meaningful transition in the Congo without putting an end to impunity for the horrific crimes that have characterized the conflict there,” said Richard Dicker, director of the International Justice program at Human Rights Watch. “The recent killings and rapes in the eastern Congo underscore the urgent need for a thorough and effective investigation into these and other horrific crimes.”
Human Rights Watch estimates that at least 5,000 civilians died from direct violence in Ituri between July 2002 and March 2003, with hundreds more having died in this eastern region during the past year. These victims are in addition to the 50,000 civilians who died there since 1999, according to U.N. estimates. Since the formation of the transitional government in Kinshasa last year, several thousand more have died in deliberate attacks on civilians by armed groups in the Northern Katanga province.
These losses are just part of an estimated total of 3.3 million civilians dead throughout the Congo, a toll that makes this war more deadly to civilians than any other since World War II. In Bukavu, south Kivu, both government and dissident forces carried out war crimes, killing and raping civilians in their battle to control the city. This is only the latest round of fighting in the eastern parts of Congo, where massive violations of human rights have become commonplace.

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