Focus: Alleged crimes under the ICC's jurisdiction committed in Burundi since April 2015

Phase 2: Subject-matter jurisdiction

Jurisdiction – General status

Burundi deposited its instrument of ratification to the Rome Statute on 21 September 2004. The ICC may therefore exercise its jurisdiction over crimes listed in the Rome Statute committed on the territory of Burundi or by its nationals from 1 December 2004 onwards.

Procedural history and focus of the preliminary examination

The preliminary examination of the situation in Burundi was announced on 25 April 2016. At the time more than 430 persons had reportedly been killed, at least 3,400 people arrested and over 230,000 Burundians forced to seek refuge in neighbouring countries. The preliminary examination focusses on acts of killing, imprisonment, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, as well as cases of enforced disappearances that have been allegedly committed since April 2015 in Burundi.