FIFTEN years after opening investigations into alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in the Central African Republic, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has called a halt to pursuin
g new probes into such offences in the country.
Announcing the conclusion of the investigations, the Prosecutor of the ICC, Karim Khan, said: ‘…beyond the cases pending before the ICC, my Office will not pursue new lines of inquiry into the alleged criminal responsibility of other persons or for other conduct within the Situation in the Central African Republic.
‘Accordingly, absent a significant change in circumstances, the investigation phase in the situation in the CAR has been concluded.
‘I have informed the authorities of the Central African Republic of this decision.’
Khan said that since the opening of the investigations, his Office had ‘examined evidence related to alleged crimes committed by all
parties to the armed conflict’.
He added: ‘It carried out its work in an independent, impartial and objective manner, in partnership with survivors, civil society, and relevant national authorities.
‘We have seen tangible steps towards justice taken as a result of this work.’
Khan said one of the positive outcomes of this was the establishment the Special Criminal Court in the CAR, which ‘has been a highlight of the movement of international criminal justice in the last year’.
He said the ICC was ‘in the process of handing over material and information to support the cases and proceedings of the Special Court’.
However, he pointed out, the ICC’s work on the situation in the CAR was ‘far from over’.
Khan said his Office ‘will now concentrate its efforts on ensuring the successful prosecution of those subject to arrest warrants and significantly deepening its cooperation with the Special Criminal Court for the CAR’.
In its 20 years of existence, this is the first time that the ICC is ending its investigations, with Khan also announcing an end to similar probes in Georgia.
