International Criminal Court prosecutors receive referral from Central African Republic

The Central African Republic (CAR) has asked prosecutors from the International Criminal Court (ICC), the world's permanent war crimes tribunal, to investigate whether potential crimes have been committed in that country - the third such referral for the new court.

ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo will conduct an analysis to determine whether a formal investigation should begin after receiving the request in a letter from the CAR's Government, UN spokesperson Marie Okabe said today.

She said Mr. Moreno-Ocampo will have to obtain more information about the gravity of the alleged crimes and the relevant domestic court proceedings in the CAR before he can decide whether an investigation can start. The ICC is currently conducting investigations in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) after referrals from those two nations.

The CAR has been beset by instability and violence for many years, and the UN has had a peace-building office - known by the French acronym of BONUCA - in place there since February 2000.

Established by the Rome Statute of 1998, the ICC can try cases involving individuals who have been charged with committing war crimes after 1 July 2002. The ICC is based in The Hague in the Netherlands and, as of September last year, 97 countries are States Parties to it.