The ICC is a permanent court created in 2002 to provide for international justice. The ICC is independent from the United Nations and has international jurisdiction. Since 2002, the ICC has investigated the conflict in northern Uganda, “resource-fueled” battles in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the crisis in Darfur, Sudan. Moreover, the ICC recently announced a new investigation into the violence occuring in the Central African Republic.
The Congolese government asked the ICC in 2004, to investigate the atrocities that took place during the Second Congolese War, the five year conflict that ended in 2003, and killed four million people. In Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo, a Congolose warlord named Thomas Lubanga, became ICC’s prime suspect. He is responsible for the recruitment of child soldiers to fight in his militia. In January 2006, the ICC submitted an arrest warrant for Lubanga, and within two months the Democratic Republic of Congo handed Lubanga over to the court. Lubanga’s arrest marks ICC’s first prosecutorial trial.
The ICC faces certain logistic and security battles to obtain suspects for trial. Since the ICC has no enforcement or marshall service, it is often powerless to act on its warrants. For example, in 2005, the ICC charged five Ugandan rebel commanders with crimes against humanity but have since been unable to arrest the men. Furthermore, the ICC has many international critics, who believe that ICC warrants undermine peace efforts in hostile regions. Others believe that concerns of poor infrastructure and poverty present grave problems in the region and should be concurrently addressed with the court’s actions.
For more information, please see:
Yahoo – ICC Path to Justice Tested in Congo – May 2007
Amnesty International – Amnesty Report Says Rights Situation in Africa Remains Dire – May 2007
