IN THE NEWS: ICC Prosecutor Announces that Team Will Visit Cote d'Ivoire

On January 28, 2005, the International Criminal Court's (ICC) chief Prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo, announced that an ICC team will visit the Ivory Coast.  The team's mission will be to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to open a formal investigation into alleged war crimes that occurred during the civil war there.

Ocampo stated that the government of the Ivory Coast "simply accepted our jurisdiction to investigate in the country."  The Ivory Coast has not ratified the Rome Statute - the treaty that created the ICC - but under Article 12 of that treaty, the Prosecutor may initiate an investigation if the country on whose territory the alleged crimes occurred accepts the jurisdiction of the Court.

The Prosecutor further indicated that the Ivory Coast government had sought the ICC's help in bringing to justice rebels who started the civil war in that country.  However, since only "situations" can be referred to the ICC,  the Prosecutor will consider the actions of all individuals in groups involved in the conflict.

This is potentially significant because a secret UN report on human rights violations in the Ivory Coast is rumored to have named 95 people on both sides of the conflict who are suspected of serious human rights violations.  Some have suggested that Simone Gbagbo, the wife of President Laurent Gbagbo, is on the list for her alleged role in organizing state-sponsored death squads.  The Prosecutor will evaluate all of the available evidence against both rebels and government figures in deciding whether to launch a formal investigation.

If the Prosecutor opens a formal investigation into the Ivory Coast, it could be either the third, fourth or fifth investigation initiated by the ICC. The ICC currently has two ongoing investigations into the situations in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, both of which asked the ICC to step in.

In addition, the Prosecutor recently announced that his office is evaluating the situation in the Central African Republic to determine whether to open a formal investigation there.  The Security Council has also referred the situation in the Darfur region of Sudan to the ICC. 

Updated February 18, 2005