JURIST - Paper Chase: ICC prosecutor reasserts jurisdiction over Congo war crimes after new fighting

[JURIST] ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo [official profile] on Tuesday reasserted [ICC press release] that the ICC has jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide committed in the Congolese province of North and South Kivu in the wake of renewed fighting there [BBC report] and that his office intends to punish those responsible. Moreno-Ocampo, who met Friday with a delegation of DRC Congo parliamentarians, said:

Crimes must stop. The people in the two provinces of North and South Kivu have already suffered too much. Rapes; massive displacements are serious crimes and will not go unpunished.

The prosecutor's office has already begun investigatng war crimes in the Kivus, allegedly committed by members of the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) [official website], the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda (FDLR) [GlobalSecurity backgrounder], the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo (FARDC), and other groups. Moreno-Ocampo called on all parties, including regional and international organizations, to put a stop to the crimes. AP has more.

Tensions have recently increased between rebels and the pro-government militia, with talks breaking down [AP report] Tuesday that were intended to help hundreds of refugee civilians. The ICC president has urged all parties, including regional and international organizations, to support and work together with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) [JURIST news archive; ICC materials] authorities, particularly in the execution of the arrest warrant [JURIST report] issued by the ICC against Bosco Ntaganda, who is accused of committing war crimes in the DRC from July 2002 until December 2003.

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