May 28th, 2009
THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT:
"A global system of Justice for victims of the most serious crimes"
By Mohammed Legally-Cole
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the Darfur Consortium and the Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS) organized a panel discussion on "The ICC and Africa". in the context of the African Commission on Human and People's Rights (ACHPR). This event on International Justice and Africa held on the 15th May 2009 at the Jaama Hall of the Kairaba Beach Hotel in Banjul, The Gambia.
In her presentation, Mme Fatou Bensouda, Deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said that "the purpose of the ICC is to put an end to those crimes, and as such to bring justice and accountability to the victims and the affected populations, and that "the goal of the ICC is also to contribute to the prevention of such crimes, and of the victimization of the generation and communities."
She also said that "victims of unimaginable atrocities that deeply shock the conscience of humanity," a fundamental new provisions contained in the Rome Statute. The crimes they suffer are so serious that they are of concern to the international community as a whole", noted that "victims are of course the first and most important beneficiary of our work."
On the issue of victims and African, Mme Fatou Bensouda expressed dismay by some critics that "this court is targeting Africans", adding that "the court has opened investigations into four situations, all within the African context, which is contrary to what critics say", noting that "this is not the sign of some sort of "western bias" from the court.
She emphasized that African countries played a crucial role in the negotiation of the Rome Statute of the court, and the result of that process was a comprehensive treaty establishing the first permanent International Criminal Court.
The Deputy Prosecutor of the ICC also expressed that presently "Africa is the single largest region represented in the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute. This representative has continued to grow and there are currently 30 African States Parties (more than half of the membership of the African Union) out of a total of 108." She added that "African citizens represent an important contingent to the most senior positions."
Dilating on some of the works of the ICC, Mme Bensouda confirmed that "we have indicted Thomas Lubango Dyilo in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) because he victimized thousands of children (boy and girls), turning them into killers, looters, sexual slaves." "We have indicted Joseph Kony and other leaders of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Northern Uganda because they used thousands of young children to kill their own families and destroy their own communities," noting that "because of the non execution of these pending arrest warrants, the LRA continues to commit these horrible crimes upon a whole new generation of victims, in Southern Sudan, in CAR, in the DRC," adding that "this is not acceptable."
"The ICC have also indicted the President of the Sudan, Omar Al Bashir, because he pursues the extermination of 2.5 millions Africans, she also confirmed, adding that "we are working for the African victims, nobody cares for the Darfuris, they have no oil, everything they have that was of value to them is their land, their homes, their crops, their families have been taken from them by the government. African are tired of double standards. The ICC is a solution and it is based on only one standard, applicable to all the law," Mme Bensouda explained.
The Deputy Prosecutor said that "the important innovations in terms of victims rights brought forth the Rome Statute. "Firstly, it contains a commitment of the International Community to take responsibility for the protection of victims of the most serious crimes, should national states fail to uphold their responsibilities. To achieve this goal, the Statute gives a mandate to an independent prosecutor to investigate and prosecute the crimes, protecting the rights of the victims, respecting their interest, contributing to full and effective reparation and respecting the rights of the accused.
Secondly, it empowers victims as actors in the international Criminal Court justice system, with a right to express their views and their concerns independently in proceedings where their personal interests are affected.
Mme Fatou Bensouda developed and dilated on 4 points which are as follows: On the issues of the Office of The Prosecutor's (OTP), prosecutorial strategy as defined by Prosecutor Moreno Ocampo to seek to develop, focused, investigation and prosecutions.
She said "the OTP adopted a policy of focusing it s efforts on the most serious crimes and on those who bear the greatest responsibility for those crimes. Determining which individuals bear the greatest responsibilities for those crimes is done according to, and dependent on, the evidence that emerges in the course of an investigation."
In the view of the OTP, factors relevant in assessing gravity include the scale of the crimes, the nature of the crimes, the manner of the commission of the crimes and the impact of the crimes," she also noted, mentioning that "the court is currently finalising its courtwide strategy for victims, which will also help to define all the rights of the victims before bthe court."
In the issue of victims and witness protection, The Deputy Prosecutor said that "this is a major challenge the court is faced with and we cannot afford to accept any risk for those people, for their families, for those who might be at risk on account of the information provided and for the intermediaries." She also expressed that "we have a fantastic track redord: no witness has been wounded or killed in 6 years."
On the issue of victims participation, Mme Fatou Besouda sait the participation of victims is a milestone in the Rome system and the prosecutor is committed to make it work. "It is a main feature of the Staute and the Rules, which seek to define with as much precision the nature of those rightds (i.e. rights to protection, participation, express views and concerns at all stages of the proceedings where their personal interst are affected), rights to reparation could also take the form of restitution, indemnification or rehabilitation and the procedures to implement them", she explained.
"The VPRS (Victims Participation and Reparation Section) plays a fundamental role in this regard. Under the regulations of the OTP, our investigationds inform the victims of the existence and role of the VPRS as soon as we enter in contact with them", she further explained, noting that "the main point remains, beyond our distict duties and powers, that there is a shared recognition among all parties and participants to proceedings that the autonomous participation of victims will be key to the enduring legitimacy and efficiency of the court," adding that "victims are required to demonstrate why their interst are affected by the evidence or issue, upon which the Chamber will decide, on case-by-case basis whether or not to allow such participation."
On the issu of victims reparations, The Deputy Prosecutor, Mme Fatou Bensouda mentioned the importance of the full system of reparations envisioned in the Statute including through the Trust Fund for victims." She also said that such a global scheme is important, noting that "the victims need to receive individual orcollective reparations to ensure the full cycle of justice." She also affirmed that "the policy of the Office is to request freezing of assets early on in proceedings, in order to provide for future reparations. It is a standing instruction of the Prosecutor to the teams."
In a breakdown background, Mme Fatou Bensouda, deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said that the ICC is a fantastic new tool to control violence in the world, to deter crimes, to promote national proceedings, but it can only be successful if we never yield to political considerations, and she further expressed that "indeed, impunity is not an abstract notion. It emboldens criminals and allows that the same horrible crimes could be committed against a whole new generation of victims."
She emphasized that "today in Darfur, Ahmed Haroun, a man indicted by the court, for attacking his victims in the camps. And the head of the Sudanese Government, Omar Al Bashir has command over the whole state apparatus to order and facilitate the criminal plan he has for Darfur," noting another case that "Today, Joseph Kony, the first man indicted by the court, for kidnapping thousands of children, transforming them into killers or sexual slaves, is attacking in the Central African Republic (CAR) and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)." It happened because the international community lacked resolved and let him use the time and the resources of Juba talks to promote his criminal goals. He is now unflinching violence on a new generation of victims.
The Deputy Prosecutor also explained that "the ICC represents a unique opportunity for the communities in conflict torn regions around the world to come together. As for Africa, our cases are about individual responsibility of criminals. There can be no solidarity with individuals alleged to have committed massive crimes. There can be no solidarity with ICC indictees and fugitives from the court. The work of Justice can help communities to come together and move forward."
In her conclusion, Mme Fatou Bensouda, The Deputy Prosecutor to the ICC said "the Rome Statute and the ICC are a promise to the victims and to the affected communities, a promise for justice, accountability and hope." She also said, "The court sets limit, Redlines, but to be efficient, we need the whole of the international community to respect and uphold those redlines. We must give certainty to the criminals and the negotiators have to respect the same limit."
"We all agreed to draw these lines, as African countries we are essential actors in the Rome negotiations. We have taken this step based on the failure of past models, such as amnesties and immunities. These lines will be successful, we will only be successful if all actors abide by them, I count on your support," she finally concluded.