ICC Prosecutor and Deputy Prosecutor visit Kinshasa

ICC-CPI-20060410-131

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Mr Luis Moreno Ocampo, and the Deputy Prosecutor for Prosecutions, Mrs Fatou Bensouda, paid an official visit to Kinshasa from 2 to 4 April 2006. The visit took place against the backdrop of the investigation underway in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and was the Prosecutor’s first visit to a country in respect of which an investigation has been opened. It built upon the first ever arrest and hand-over of a person charged by the Court, following the transfer of Mr Thomas Lubanga Dyilo to The Hague on 17 March 2006 pursuant to a warrant of arrest issued by Pre-Trial Chamber I. 

During his visit, Mr Ocampo met with the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mr Joseph Kabila, the Vice-President in charge of the Political, Security and Defence Commission and the Minister of Justice, as well as with other Congolese officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Military Prosecutor’s Office.

His meeting with the Congolese head of state focused mainly on cooperation between the ICC (OTP) and the DRC. The Prosecutor attached particular importance to the Court’s continued involvement in the DRC. “I am determined to continue striving for the people of Ituri and of the Congo as a whole. Mr Lubanga’s arrest represents a milestone in turning the aspirations embodied by the Rome Statute into a reality, that is: putting an end to impunity and atrocities throughout the world,” he said following his meeting with Mr Kabila.

Mr Ocampo also met with non-governmental organisations working in particular on human rights to discuss cooperation between them and his Office and to examine issues concerning the first arrest and transfer operation ever carried out for the Court. These discussions also provided a forum for explaining the next phases in the proceedings. Talks were also held with representatives of the international community in Kinshasa, including MONUC, in order likewise to discuss cooperation and to provide explanations about the current and future proceedings at the Court.
The charges against Mr Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, the first person ever to be handed over to the Court, concern his alleged participation in the commission of war crimes that is: the enlistment and conscription of children under the age of fifteen years and the use of them to participate actively in hostilities.

One of the aims of the Office of the Prosecutor is to investigate and help prevent the commission of crimes in the region. The Office of the Prosecutor reiterates that the investigation is being conducted in an independent fashion with the cooperation of the competent national and international institutions and in conjunction with efforts to bolster the activities that need to be undertaken now in order to end the grave crimes being committed by armed groups. The end goal is to protect the civilian population living in the region and to put an end to impunity.

---

For further information please contact Mr Paul Madidi On +243 (0)81 899 46 21 or +243 (0) 99 80 11 403.

Source: Office of the Prosecutor