Mali calls on ICC to investigate war crimes

by admin
Jul 19, 2012
The Government of Mali has asked the International Criminal Court in The Hague to investigate possible instances of war crimes and crimes against humanity, after Islamists seized control of the North of the country earlier this year.

In a visit to The Hague, Malian Justice Minister Malick Coulibaly alleged that there were,
“grave and massive violations of human rights and international humanitarian law committed particularly in the north of the country.”
He also added that the Malian government had declared itself "unable to prosecute or try the perpetrators".

The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda stated that,
"I have instructed my office to immediately proceed with a preliminary examination of the situation."
If a full investigation is launched in Mali, it would be the eight case taken up by the ICC, with all of them taking place in Africa.

Erwin van der Borght, Amnesty International’s Africa Programme Director, commented,
“This is the fifth time an African state has either referred crimes committed on its own territory to the ICC or accepted the ICC’s jurisdiction, indicating that governments across the continent are now acknowledging the importance of the ICC in providing justice to victims,”
“The fact that the ICC is examining the situation in Mali sends an important message to those planning and committing these crimes that they cannot act with impunity and may be brought to justice,”
“However, it’s crucial that the Court looks at the full scope of alleged crimes across the country, including those carried out by Malian security forces.”
Earlier this month, Bensouda warned rebels that the destruction of religious shrines in the country’s north constituted war crimes, which the IIC may investigate.

See our earlier post: Mali religious shrine destructions ‘war crimes’ – ICC (01 July 2012)

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