Jean-Pierre Bemba

• July 9, 2018

If President Joseph Kabila’s continued violations of his country’s constitutional term limits were not enough of a warning, the first paragraph of the latest report by United Nations experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo sets the record straight, saying: “Armed actors continuously used the delay in the electoral process to promote acts …

Africa, Human Rights, P5 Monitor, Security Council

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Checking on the Health of the International Criminal Court

Dulcie Leimbach

• December 8, 2016

THE HAGUE — At the glassy, eco-minded new building of the International Criminal Court here in the Netherlands’ capital, people who are being tried may still be called “detainees,” but make no mistake: they remain accused of such atrocities as murder, torture and child-soldier recruitment as well as gang-raping women and girls. It’s business …

Africa, Child Soldiers, Gender Violence, ICC, International Justice

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South African Decision to Quit the ICC Draws Critics in Africa and Beyond

Barbara Crossette

• October 24, 2016

South Africa’s announcement on Oct. 21 that it intends to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, which has jurisdiction over war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, has met strong opposition from civil society groups in that country and other African and international human-rights organizations. Africa has played major roles in the independent court, …

Africa, ICC, International Justice

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A Top Candidate Is Sidelined for the Post of UN Expert on Torture

Dali ten Hove

• September 4, 2016

The United Nations Human Rights Council will soon choose five new experts to monitor various human-rights topics, with nominees put forth by the council’s president. One top candidate, on torture, has stirred up controversy, and recently, his candidacy was sidelined for the second-top candidate in an unusual decision by the council president. Special procedures, …

Human Rights

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The International Criminal Court Fends Off ‘Ferocious’ Attack, Prosecutor Says

Alice Speri

• September 28, 2013

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor – Fatou Bensouda – was busy in New York this week, rallying support for the court on the sidelines of the 68th United Nations General Assembly annual debate. The Gambia native, who succeeded Luis Moreno-Ocampo, an Argentine, to head the prosecutor’s office, talked exclusively to PassBlue about her …

Africa, Human Rights, ICC, International Justice, Middle East, Security Council

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Rape in War: It’s Not a Given Any Longer

Dulcie Leimbach

• January 9, 2013

One of Fatou Bensouda‘s missions as the new chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court is to make rape during conflicts a thing of the past. Until 20 years ago, she said in a speech at the United Nations recently, sexual violence and other sexual attacks were “all but ignored and dismissed as regrettable …