Team from International Criminal Court finishes first trip to DR Congo – UN

A team of experts from the International Criminal Court (ICC) today concluded a five-day visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) aimed at promoting cooperation as the judicial body prepares to investigate events in the war-ravaged country over the past two years, a United Nations spokesperson reported today.

The delegation met with senior Congolese authorities, representatives of international organizations and embassies as well as members of civil society in the DRC.

“They assessed the difficulties of the operation of the Court in the field and the importance of justice and the fight against impunity for the Congolese population,” spokesperson Marie Okabe reported.

The visit stems from a request submitted in April by the President of the DRC who wrote to ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo asking him to determine whether anyone should be charged for committing crimes in the country that fall under the Court’s Rome Statute, which entered into force on 1 July 2002.