In a decision dated July 16, 2015, Pre-Trial Chamber 1 (PTC) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) granted the request by Comoros to review ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda’s decision to not investigate the interception of a humanitarian aid flotilla by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), which resulted in ten deaths and numerous injuries on May 31, 2010. In her decision dated
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On April 22, 2015, the Central African Republic’s transitional parliament voted to adopt a law to create a Special Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity that have been committed in the Central African Republic since 2003. In order for the Special Criminal Court to now be established, its acting president, Catherine Samba-Panza, must enact
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On December 5, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda, withdrew the charges against Uhuru Kenyatta, the current President of Kenya, who is accused of having committed crimes against humanity committed during Kenya’s 2007-2008 election violence. The newly-withdrawn charges alleged that Kenyatta was criminally responsible as an indirect co-perpetrator of crimes against humanity, including murder, deportation or
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Last week, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda, announced the opening of a second investigation into the Central African Republic (CAR), this time with respect to alleged international crimes committed since late 2012. More than 5,000 people have died in recent months due to sectarian fighting in the country. “The list of atrocities is endless. I
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Last week, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) published a joint report providing an overview of human rights abuses committed in Libya from May through August 2014, amid ongoing fighting among militias for control of Benghazi and Tripoli. See UNSMIL & OHCHR, Overview of Violations of International Human Rights
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The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) last week issued its first convictions against former senior Khmer Rouge leaders, finding Nuon Chea and Khieu Samphan guilty of crimes against humanity committed during the Khmer Rouge’s rule in the 1970s. [ECCC Press Release] The convictions, part of only the second set of charges to be resolved by the
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In a controversial decision, the African Union has decided to specifically exempt senior government officials from prosecution by a proposed regional human rights court, which will otherwise be authorized to try individuals accused of crimes against humanity and other serious international crimes. At its 23rd Ordinary Session in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea last week, the Assembly of the African Union (AU) adopted an amendment to
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The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Ms. Fatou Bensouda, has published a Policy Paper on Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes describing the approach her office will take with regard to such crimes going forward. The Policy Paper, released on June 5th of this year, is the latest indicator that the Office of the Prosecutor plans to emphasize sexual and gender-based
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The parliament of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has approved legislation granting amnesty for acts of insurgency, acts of war, and political offenses, while excluding amnesty for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. [UN News Centre] This amnesty proposal originated as part of the December 2013 agreement to end fighting between the DRC army and the M23
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