Preliminary examination

Democratic Republic of the Congo II

ICC-01/23

On 23 May 2023, the Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC received a second referral from the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (“DRC”) under article 14 of the Rome Statute regarding the situation in its own territory, in accordance with its prerogatives as a State Party to the Rome Statute. The first referral, received in March 2004 from the Government of the DRC, resulted in the assignment by the Presidency of the situation in the DRC to Pre-Trial Chamber I on 5 July 2004. On 14 October 2024, the Prosecutor announced that he had decided to renew the Office’s investigative efforts in the DRC, with a priority focus given to any alleged Rome Statute crimes occurring in North Kivu since January 2022. This will be done within the scope of the existing DRC situation.

In its second referral, the Government of DRC requests the Prosecutor to initiate an investigation with respect to alleged crimes within the jurisdiction of the Court committed in North Kivu, DRC, from 1 January 2022 to date.

On 15 June 2023, the Presidency assigned the Situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo II to Pre-Trial Chamber I.

Next steps

On 14 October 2024, the Prosecutor announced that he had decided to renew the Office’s investigative efforts in the DRC, with a priority focus given to any alleged Rome Statute crimes occurring in North Kivu since January 2022. This announcement followed the Office’s assessment of the DRC’s second referral and the Prosecutor’s determination that the latest episodes of violence in North Kivu since 2022 were interconnected with patterns of violence and hostilities that have plagued the region since at least 1 July 2002, and that therefore, any alleged Rome Statute crimes committed in North Kivu since 1 January 2022 would fall within the remit of the ongoing investigation opened in June 2004.