Summary
During the reporting period, the International Criminal Court made significant contributions to the global fight against impunity for the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole. Drawing on new tools and approaches, the Court is addressing the unprecedented demand for its work in the form of investigations, pretrial proceedings, trials and appeals, as well as reparation programmes for victims, carrying out extensive activities in highly challenging operational environments and fragile security situations in ongoing conflict zones.
Among the notable developments during the reporting period, Trial Chamber X convicted Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud of crimes against humanity and of war crimes committed between 2 April 2012 and 29 January 2013 in Timbuktu, northern Mali. Sentencing proceedings are under way, and the verdict is subject to appeal. Reparation proceedings are soon to commence. Three other trials continued in the courtrooms: the trial of Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman with regard to the situation in Darfur and the trial of Alfred Yekatom and Patrice-Edouard Ngaïssonna and the trial of Mahamat Said Abdel Kani with regard to the situation in the Central African Republic.
With regard to the situation in Uganda, Trial Chamber IX issued a reparations order in the case of Dominic Ongwen, who previously had been found guilty for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in northern Uganda between 2002 and 2005. The Chamber set Mr. Ongwen’s financial liability to €52,429,000, the highest amount of reparations to victims ordered in any case before the Court thus far. Mr. Ongwen has appealed the reparations order. The Registry will now proceed with identifying the victim population that is potentially eligible for reparations.
The Court reached a historic milestone as the Trust Fund for Victims finalized the implementation of reparations in the Katanga case with a closing ceremony held in Bunia, Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Trust Fund is also implementing other reparation orders and other programmes to benefit victims through the provision of medical treatment, psychological rehabilitation, socioeconomic support, education and peacebuilding activities, directly benefiting around 24,000 individu als in 2023.
With regard to the situation in Ukraine, four new arrest warrants were issued against the following individuals: Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu, Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation; Valery Vasilyevich Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and First Deputy Minister of Defence; Sergei Ivanovich Kobylash, Lieutenant General in the Russian Armed Forces and Commander of long-range aviation of the Aerospace Force; and Viktor Nikolayevich Sokolov, admiral in the Russian Navy and Commander of the Black Sea fleet (functions held at the time of the alleged conduct).
With regard to the situation in Mali, the arrest warrant issued in 2017 for Iyad Ag Ghaly, alleged leader of Ansar Eddine, was unsealed.
With regard to the situation in Uganda and the situation in Kenya, the Office of the Prosecutor announced the conclusion of the investigation phase. During the reporting period, the Office of the Prosecutor also continued its work with respect to the other situations that fall within its mandate. Pressure on its investigative function has greatly increased in the light of the significant range of allegations of crimes under the Rome Statute stemming from ongoing active conflicts, including in relation to the situations in Darfur, the State of Palestine and Ukraine. To address increased requirements for its investigative activities, the Office is drawing on a new evidence – processing system that was finalized during the reporting period; an increase in field presence, including through an increase in staffing in Ukraine and the establishment of an office in Caracas; and a revitalization of its policy framework, as reflected in the adoption, in December 2023, of new policies on children and on gender-based crimes.
The contents of the present report do not reflect confidential activity before the Court’s pretrial chambers, which has increased in terms of both workload and output.
On 11 March 2024, six new judges of the Court commenced their nine -year terms, and Tomoko Akane was elected President of the Court for the period 2024 – 2027.
Security issues continued to gain prominence among the priorities of senior leadership of the Court owing to, inter alia, a serious cyberattack against the Court during the reporting period and other threats and attacks to which the Court and its officials have been subjected on account of their efforts to carry out their mandate, including arrest warrants issued by the Russian Federation against several judges and the Prosecutor.
The Court is grateful for the highly valuable cooperation that it continued to receive from the United Nations on a wide range of issues, notably including operational assistance in the field on a cost-reimbursable basis. The cooperation, assistance and support of States remained essential to the Court’s operations.
Court-issued public arrest warrants are outstanding against 20 individuals:
(a) Democratic Republic of the Congo: Sylvestre Mudacumura, since 2012;
(b) Uganda: Joseph Kony, since 2005;
(c) Central African Republic: Mahamat Nouradine Adam, since 2019;
(d) Darfur: Ahmad Harun, since 2007; Omar Al-Bashir, since 2009 and 2010; Abdel Raheem Muhammad Hussein, since 2012; and Abdallah Banda, since 2014;
(e) Kenya: Walter Barasa, since 2013; and Philip Kipkoech Bett, since 2015;
(f) Libya: Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, since 2011;
(g) Mali: Iyad Ag Ghaly, since 2017;
(h) Georgia: Mikhail Mayramovich Mindzaev, Gamlet Guchmazov and David Georgiyevich Sanakoev, since 2022;
(i) Ukraine: Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Maria Alekseyevna LvovaBelova, since 2023; and Sergei Ivanovich Kobylash, Viktor Nikolayevich Sokolov, Sergei Kuzhugetovich Shoigu and Valery Vasilyevich Gerasimov, since 2024.
The Court calls upon States Parties and others to provide the necessary cooperation and assistance for their arrest and surrender to the Court.
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