THE CHIEF prosecutor at the International Criminal Court has asked its judges to authorise an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity, including rape, allegedly committed in the west African state of Côte d’Ivoire.
If the investigation is given the go-ahead, it will examine allegations of crimes committed since November 28th, 2010, the date of the country’s disputed election, in which President Alassane Ouattara unseated the incumbent, Laurent Gbagbo. Mr Ouattara won the election with 54.1 per cent of the vote, but, despite pressure from the international community, including the US, UN, EU, the African Union and the Economic Community of West African States, Mr Gbagbo refused to step down.
He was finally arrested in April 2011 after months of fierce fighting, which led to allegations of atrocities on both sides.
According to the court chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, reliable sources suggest that at least 3,000 people were killed, 72 disappeared and 520 were arbitrarily arrested or detained during the post-election violence.
The prosecutor said there were also more than 100 reported cases of rape – though the number of unreported cases was believed to be considerably higher.
“Those reports are a reasonable basis for believing that both pro-Gbagbo and pro-Ouattara forces committed crimes falling under the jurisdiction of the ICC.
“The identification of the persons who bear the greatest criminal responsibility for ordering or facilitating the most serious of these alleged crimes is now the main objective of the envisaged investigation.”
According to the court, President Ouattara sent a letter to Mr Moreno-Ocampo urging him to open the investigation.
“He is working closely with the regional organisation – the Economic Community of West African States – to make sure the crimes do not go unpunished,” said a court spokesperson.
Last night, however, the proposed investigation was criticised as inadequate by Amnesty International, which said it should cover serious human rights violations committed since September 19th, 2002, the start of the civil war in Côte d’Ivoire, which split the country in two. It remains divided, with a rebel-held north and a government-held south.
“If the ICC limits its proposed investigation to the recent post-election violence it would deny justice to hundreds of women who suffered rape and other sexual violence since 2002,” said Erwin van der Borght, Amnesty’s Africa programme director.
“It will mean the vast majority of victims will not receive justice, truth or reparations. Their rights must not be denied by arbitrary limits.” If the investigation goes ahead, it will be the first time the court has opened a case in a state that is not a party to the Rome Statute of the court, but which has accepted its jurisdiction.