International Criminal Court targets Ituri

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has selected Ituri District of northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) as "the most urgent situation" under its jurisdiction to be addressed, the court reported from The Hague on Wednesday. A statement from the office of the prosecutor discussed the status of some 499 complaints received from 66 countries since the ICC was established on 1 July 2002 following ratification of the Rome Statute. It said the prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo of Argentina, was analysing available information and would be seeking additional information on crimes committed and would assess the ability of the Congolese state to deal with them. It added that the court was aware of the peace process under way in the country, and said it hoped that the efforts of the international community to halt the violence would succeed. Quoting detailed evidence in its possession, which indicated that 5,000 civilians had been killed in Ituri between July 2002 and early 2003, the court said such crimes "could constitute genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes, and could thus fall within the jurisdiction of the ICC." It added that these deaths were "just a fraction" of civilians killed since conflict erupted in the Congo in 1998. With regard to allegations of money-laundering and other crimes committed outside the DRC that might by related to these atrocities, Moreno-Ocampo said he believed that an investigation would be crucial to prevent future crimes and for the prosecution of those already committed. Economic interests in the exploitation of the Congo's natural resources are widely blamed for fuelling conflict in the country. Since September 2000, a UN panel of experts has been investigating illegal activities in this domain. "If the alleged business practices continue to fuel atrocities, these would not be stopped even if current perpetrators were arrested and prosecuted," Moreno-Ocampo said. "[Our office] is establishing whether investigations and prosecutions on the financial side of the alleged atrocities are being carried out in the relevant countries," he added. As for the ability of the Congolese transitional government to investigate and prosecute the crimes allegedly committed in Ituri, the court said it supported "efforts being made by national and international actors alike to help the country along the road to peace", and that it would "bear these efforts in mind as it continued to follow the situation in the DRC closely". [For the complete ICC statement, go to www.icc-cpi.int ]