ICC: Democratic Republic of Congo

On April 19, 2004, President Kabila formally requested the International Criminal Court's (ICC) help in investigating and prosecuting those responsible for committing atrocities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), an ICC member. Two months later, on June 23, ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo announced the Court's first formal investigation into the alleged atrocities.  The Prosecutor’s announcement followed a year of preliminary evaluation of information submitted to the ICC by governments, non-profit organizations and individuals. 

The conflict in the DRC is the deadliest documented conflict in African history.  Nearly 4 million people have lost their lives since 1998 - the majority of them women and children.  Although a peace agreement was signed in April 2003 and the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) was established to implement the peace agreement, tensions in the region are still high. However, the government’s referral of the situation combined with its commitment of cooperation will facilitate the efforts of the ICC.

Latest News Stories:

The International Criminal Court Will Hold Its First Hearing On March 15th To Discuss the Progress of the DRC Investigation
February 23, 2005 -- The International Criminal Court (ICC) will soon hold its first ever status conference.  The hearing will address "the progress of the investigation of the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo."
+ READ MORE ABOUT THE ICC STATUS CONFERENCE ON THE DRC

Resources:

• Report: In Uncharted Waters (CGS)  PDF
• ICC in the DRC (ICC)  HTML
• Press release on referral of situation in the DRC to the ICC (ICC)  HTML
• Press release on ICC's first open investigation (ICC)  HTML

Last updated April 22, 2005