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Certaines De Suspects De Boko Haram En Proces Au…

Le Procureur Général Nigérian Alhaji Abubakar Malami a commencé cette semaine le procès du deuxième groupe des 1000 personnes soupçonnées d’être des membres du Boko Haram. La plupart sont en détention pré procès depuis cinq ans.

Dans un changement de stratégie remarquable, les procès sont  ouverts à certaines organisations de la société civile, notamment la Coalition Nigériane pour la Cour Pénale Internationale (CNCPI) et la Commission Nationale des Droits de l’Homme (CNDH). Les rapports des observateurs de la CNCPI ont montré que  tous les quatre tribunaux dans l’État du Niger se sont engagés à conclure leurs affaires assignées la semaine prochaine.

Près de 100 suspects dans le premier groupe qui ont été mettre en procès en octobre 2017 étaient libérés pour l’absence de preuve et les OSC qui sont responsable du deuxième group cette semaine signalent l’absence de preuves contre les suspects inculpés.

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Boko Haram : L’armée Camerounaise Rejoint Les Troupes Nigérianes…

Les soldats camerounais ont uni leurs forces avec les troupes Nigérians dans l’état de Borno pour lutter contre le groupe terroriste Boko Haram dans le nord-est du Nigeria.

Cette évolution a eu lieu après les autorités militaires de deux pays ont rencontré le lundi pour rejoindre leurs efforts dans la lutte contre les insurgés de Boko Haram dont les activités ont posé une grande menace pour leurs pays.

Lundi, une déclaration de la porte-parole de l’opération Lafiya Dole, Onyema Nwachukwu, un colonel, a déclaré que les troupes camerounais, dont son nombre n’a pas été spécifié est arrivées avec leurs armes et munitions.

Le commandant du théâtre au commandement militaire et centre de contrôle, connu sous le nom d’opération Lafiya Dole, Rogers Nicholas, un majeur général de division, présidé dans l’orientation des troupes camerounais après leur arrivés à Gwoza, une  ville dans l’état de Borno .

Accueillant les troupes dans le théâtre de fonctionnement, le commandant du théâtre les a chargés  de montrer la discipline et le professionnalisme dans l’exécution de leurs tâches assignés et leurs obligations. Il les a  priés d’être courageux et de montrer leur agression envers les insurgés pendant les opérations.

« Grande général Nicholas a également averti les troupes d’être obéissant aux instructions de leur commandants, ajoutant que leur conformité avec les instructions facilitera la défaite concluant des insurgés plus tôt que prévu.

« Le commandant du théâtre était accompagné par le chef de la Défense des  Forces Camerounais délégation Général de Brigade Djonkeb Frederick, l’Agent Général qui commande 7 division. Majeur général Ibrahim Yusuf, le chef du quartier général de l’équipe, Théâtre de Commande, le Général de Brigade, IL Akinlawon et d’autres hauts  officiers  militaires de les deux pays.

SOURCE; NCICC VERSION ANGLAIS

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LA CPI JURE DE TRAVAILLER DE MANIERE INDEPENDENTE DANS…

Le Jeudi, La Cour Pénale Internationale a assuré les Philippines qu’elle travaillerait « en toute indépendance » dans la conduite d’un examen préliminaire des crimes qui auraient été commis par l’administration Duterte dans sa guerre contre la drogue.

“Après un examen prudent, indépendant et impartial d’un certain nombre de communications et de rapports sur des crimes présumés relevant potentiellement dans le cadre de la Cour Pénale Internationale (” CPI “ou” la Cour “), j’ai décidé d’ouvrir un examen préliminaire sur chaque situation “, a déclaré le procureur de la CPI, Fatuous Bensouda, dans un communiqué.

Bensouda a déclaré que «l’examen préliminaire de la situation aux Philippines analysera les crimes qui auraient été commis dans cet État Partie depuis au moins le 1er juillet 2016, dans le cadre de la campagne« guerre contre la drogue »lancée par le gouvernement des philippines.

 

SOURCE”: NCICC

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Human Rights Commission Zambia Bemoans Impunity and Gross Human…

THE Human Rights Commission (HRC) has bemoaned of the escalating rate on the abrogation of citizens’ rights in the country despite its existence to curb the vice in the country.

Commission chairperson, Mudford Mwandenga says it was saddening to note that people’s rights were still being violated in the country despite the existence of the HRC mandated to guard citizens from any of deprivation of their fundamental entitlements.

Mr. Mwandenga lamented that despite the commission having been mandated to fight human rights abuses under the 1996 Act 39, the entity has still been perceived to be ‘toothless’ to deal with such violations.

He has called for improvement of strides that would guarantee the fundamental freedoms and rights of people in the country.

The human rights chief said abrogation of children’s rights especially on early child marriages among girls was still rampant coupled with political violence, the application of the Public Order Act (POA), labour related incidents and deplorable police cells and prisons, a scenario he described that it leaves much to be desired.

He said the commission is saddened over the failure to incorporate the social, economic and cultural aspects in the bill of rights in 2016.

Mr. Mwandenga made the observations when he paid a courtesy call on Kalomo district commissioner, Cosmas Chiiba yesterday in the company of his director, Florence Chibwesha who are on a familiarization tour of Southern province to enhance and strengthen linkages with its various stakeholders in upholding citizens’ rights in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human rights.

Meanwhile, Mr. Chiiba has called on the commission to consider establishing its offices in districts as opposed being in provincial centres to effectively address the challenges of human rights violations. The commission is currently having offices in six provinces in the country.

 

SOURCE; Lusaka timeshttps://www.lusakatimes.com/2018/02/08/rights-commission-bemoans-unabated-rights-abuse-zambia/

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Libya Commander Turns Self In For ICC Questioning

A Libyan commander wanted by the International Criminal Court on war crimes charges announced he has handed himself in to the allied forces of strongman Khalifa Haftar.

Mahmoud al-Werfalli — who commands the Benghazi-based Al-Saiqa Brigade loyal to Haftar — has been under an arrest warrant for the past six months over the cold-blooded executions of at least 33 people in 2016 and 2017.

Calls for Werfalli to face justice have grown since he was accused of personally shooting dead some 10 jihadist prisoners last month at the scene of a deadly bomb attack on a mosque in Benghazi, Libya’s second city.

In a video posted on Facebook overnight Tuesday to Wednesday, the commander announced “I am handing myself in to military police” under the command of Haftar, whose forces dominate the east of the country.

The claim could not be independently verified.

In the footage Werfalli insisted on his “innocence” and justified the executions as “sentences” against jihadist “killers”.

This is not the first time that Werfalli has reportedly been held by Haftar’s forces.

When his arrest warrant was issued in August 2017 Haftar’s forces insisted he was in their custody and would face a military trial.

The United Nations in late January reiterated its demand for “the handing over of Mahmoud al-Werfalli immediately to the ICC in The Hague” after the latest reported killings in Benghazi.

The UN said it had documented “at least five similar cases, in 2017 alone, carried out or ordered by Werfalli”.

Libya has been mired in chaos and violence since longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi was ousted and killed in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.

A UN-backed unity government based in the capital Tripoli has struggled to assert its authority outside western Libya. Haftar supports a rival administration based in the east.

However, after much protest and threats by Sahawat fighter Makhada to wipe out the general command, Werfalli was released and returned to benghazi

 

SOURCE;

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L’UA Demande L’avis De La JPI Sur Les Immunites…

L’Union Africaine(UA) cherche l’avis de la Justice Pénale Internationale(JPI) en ce qui concerne l’immunité du chef de l’Etat. La 30th session du sommet de l’Union Africaine des chefs d’Etat et de gouvernement qui se terminé la semaine passé à Addis-Ababa avec l’organe régional acceptant de continuer avec une demande de chercher un avis consultatif de la plus haute juridiction de l’UA – la Cour internationale de justice – en ce qui concerne l’immunités des chefs d’Etat et de gouvernement et d’autres hauts fonctionnaires.

Le  mouvement vient après des années de bataille juridique autour de l’exécution des mandats d’arrêt de la CPI contre le président soudanais Omar Al-Bashir, qui a voyagé dans plusieurs pays africains qui sont parties au Statut de Rome, le traité constitutif de la CPI.

Plus récemment, les juges de la CPI a constaté que l’Afrique du sud a manqué faire droit aux obligations qui lui incombent en vertu du statut de Rome à arrêter Al-Bachir lors d’un visite en 2015. L’Union africaine est en faveur de la position de l’Afrique du sud que les obligations concurrentes selon le droit international coutumier ….obligations en vertu du droit de la CPI.

En demandant à son groupe africain à New York de placer immédiatement la demande d’avis consultatif de la Justice Pénale Internationale(JPI) à l’ordre du jour de l’Assemblée générale des Nations Unies, l’Union africaine demande des précisions sur la relation entre l’article 27 du Statut de Rome(capacité officiel qui manque de rapport) et l’article 98 (coopération en ce qui concerne la renonciation de l’immunité et le consentement à céder) et les obligations des États parties à la CPI en vertu du droit international.

Allan Ngari, chercheur principal à l’Institut d’études de sécurité à Pretoria:

«Idéalement, les juges de la Chambre d’appel de la CPI devraient interpréter la loi fondatrice de la Cour avec finalité, mais une telle décision pourrait ne pas être perçue comme véritablement objectif par les États africains et l’UA qui ont remis en question la légitimité de certains travaux de la CPI. Particulièrement concernant le mandat d’arrêt contre le président Omar AL-Bashir du Soudan. S’il est correctement une victime d’un coup monté par l’AGNU, l’avis consultatif de la JPI offre l’occasion de résoudre les divergences d’interprétation de la  question des immunités de poursuites judiciaires pour les actuels chefs d’État devant la CPI et éventuellement les obligations correspondantes des États et des États non parties avec la coopération de la  CPI. Ces questions sont au centre des tensions entre les Etats africains et l’UA d’une part, et la CPI de l’autre. ”

L’UA a également chargé le groupe africain des États parties à la CPI de demander la création d’un groupe de travail sur la question des immunités et de la coopération allié, et d’exhorter la prochaine Assemblée des États parties  de la CPI à retirer de son ordre du jour la considération du Plan d’action sur les stratégies d’arrestation.

Le rassemblement des chefs d’Etat africains a également exprimé sa inquiétude profonde face à la décision de la CPI de juillet 2017 qui a jugé l’Afrique du Sud non conforme au Statut de Rome et a condamné l’ouverture de l’enquête de la CPI au Burundi en 2017.

S’adressant à l’ouverture du sommet, le président de la Commission de l’Union africaine, Moussa Faki Mahamat, a déclaré que 2018 serait l’année de la lutte contre la corruption et la réforme institutionnelle.

Le secrétaire général de l’ONU, Antonio Guterres, a également déclaré à l’ouverture du sommet que l’association entre l’Afrique et l’ONU était “solide et fondé sur des principes solides de droits de l’homme et de bonne gouvernance.” M. Guterres a également rencontré Al-Bashir en tant que les questions comme le force de maintien de la paix conjointe UA-ONU au Darfour.

 

AU seeks ICJ Opinion on Head of State Immunities

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ICC Prosecutor Renews call for Libyan Commander’s Arrest

The International Criminal Court prosecutor issued a renewed appeal Friday to Libyan authorities to arrest a Libyan commander wanted by the court for war crimes, after he was linked to a shocking video purported to show brutal killings.

Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in a statement that she is deeply concerned by a twin car bombing in Benghazi that killed at least 34 people this week and that she is “equally appalled” by images purportedly showing commander Mahmoud al-Warfalli killing 10 people “in what appears to constitute retaliation” near the site of the bombings.

In a video that went viral on social media, the shooter, a man in military uniform, is seen standing before 10 blindfolded people in blue jumpsuits who are on their knees, hands tied behind their backs. He then opens fire with a machine gun, shooting each man in the head.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said the shooter appears to be Al-Warfalli.

The United Nations Security Council called on the court to begin investigating atrocities in Libya in 2011 as former ruler Moammar Gadhafi violently cracked down on protests against his regime. But the court still has yet to take custody of any suspect from the lawless country.

The court issued an arrest warrant for al-Warfalli in August 2017 on suspicion of involvement in the killings of 33 people in 2016 and 2017.

“I am dismayed that Mr. Al-Werfalli appears to remain in a position of command, and allegedly continues to commit crimes with impunity, despite an official statement from the General Command of the Libyan National Army in August 2017 that Mr. Al-Werfalli had been arrested and was under investigation by a military prosecutor,” Bensouda said.

She appealed to the chief of the Libyan National Army, Gen. Khalifa Haftar, “to heed my previous call to the LNA to work with the Libyan authorities to enable the suspect’s immediate arrest and surrender to the ICC.”

Bensouda said the “appalling cycle of violence and impunity in Libya cannot be allowed to continue for the sake of the Libyan people and the security and stability of the country and the region.”

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Baseline Meeting of African Civil Society Network on International…

On the 23rd to 25th of January 2018, the  Coalition for the International Criminal Court  (CICC)  together with the Nigerian Coalition for the International Criminal Court (NCICC) organized a baseline meeting of African Civil Society Network working on International Criminal Justice at Hotel Ibis Marcoury Abidjan. The aim of the meeting was to create a network of Civil Society  that would encourage the African government to  support the Hague based court.

The baseline meeting brought together not less than 15  African countries including leaders of national coalitions for the ICC in various African countries, Magistrates, Human rights groups and representatives from P.E countries and countries under investigation.

The meeting saw to an interactive round table session of members suggesting credible ideas on how to bridge the gap between the ICC and Africa. Participants also discussed the need to have in place a strong mechanism or institution that makes it possible to punish perpetrators of heinous and atrocious human rights violations and seek justice for victims of such violations.

 

“We are concerned that 20 years after the entry into force of the Rome Statute, many state parties are yet to enact legislation’s implementing the provisions of the Statute into their national laws. ” said Chino Obiagwu, chairman of the Nigerian coalition for the ICC in his opening remarks. “This network is a key means of raising awareness  among the African people and encouraging African governments to support the Rome Statute system”.

The meeting was supported by the Coalition for the International Criminal Court and hosted by the Ivorian Coalition for the ICC.

 

Pictures of the baseline meeting

 

Photos of the baseline meeting

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ICC judges ‘prejudiced’ say lawyers for DR Congo’s Bemba

Former Congolese vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba. AFP PHOTO / POOL / Michael Kooren

Lawyers for former Congolese vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba Tuesday slammed his conviction for war crimes, accusing judges of “prejudice” and calling for the judgement to be scrapped.Bemba, 55, is appealing an 18-year jail term handed down by the International Criminal Court in June 2016 after judges found him guilty on five charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in atrocities committed by his troops in the Central African Republic (CAR).

Once the powerful leader of the Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC) and a wealthy businessman, the court said Bemba had failed to stop a series of rapes and murders by his soldiers in the CAR in 2002 and 2003.

But Bemba’s lawyer Peter Haynes told a hearing at the Hague-based ICC that trial judges chose to ignore much of the evidence presented by the defence.

“A hatchet was simply taken to the defence case,” Haynes told the five appeals judges.

“The trial chamber’s approach to evidence was unbalanced. For no articulated reason, the trial chamber ignored important evidence on central issues,” Haynes said.

This included the testimony of a retired senior French military officer, Brigadier-General Jacques Seara, who told judges that Bemba was not in command of his troops when they carried out the crimes.

Seara’s evidence was totally dismissed by the judges “notwithstanding his wealth of experience which entitled him to give evidence,” Haynes said.

“Simply put, the trial chamber deviated so substantially from the essential conditions of a fair trial that prejudice must be presumed,” he said.

“No trial judgement can be allowed to stand in such circumstances.”

Bemba’s case which opened in November 2010 was the first before the ICC to focus on sexual violence as a weapon of war, and the first to underline a military commander’s responsibility for the conduct of troops under his control.

In an appeal filed before the court, Bemba’s lawyers however said the judges’ “findings on effective control fall far outside established military doctrine and practice”.

Bemba’s trial “invented a theory of command responsibility which is a military impossibility”, his defence team said.

In a separate trial, Bemba was also sentenced in March last year to one year in jail and fined 300,000 euros for bribing witnesses during his main war crimes trial.

Bemba is expected to address the hearing, due to last until Monday.

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International Criminal Court May open Israel War Crimes Probe

Eastern Gaza City, six months after 2014's Operation Protective Edge (Aaed Tayeh/ Flash90)

Eastern Gaza City, six months after 2014’s Operation Protective Edge (Aaed Tayeh/ Flash90)

Israel’s National Security Council reportedly warned members of the Knesset’s powerful Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee last week that the International Criminal Court could open an investigation at some point this year into the 2014 Gaza war and West Bank settlement construction.

Colonel Amit Aviram (res), a senior member of the committee, submitted to the Knesset committee a secret presentation entitled, “Strategic Situation Assessment for 2018,” Channel 10 news reported Monday.

One of the slides on security threats listed a concern that, in 2018, the prosecutor of the ICC in The Hague will move from the examination phase and open investigations into 2014’s Operation Protective Edge and construction in the West Bank,” the report said.

In addition, he reportedly warned that in the absence of peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, there is likely to be an increase in both attempts to delegitimize Israel and calls to boycott the Jewish state.

On December 4, 2017, the chief prosecutor of the ICC, Fatou Bensouda, published a report, “Preliminary Examination Activities 2017,” in which she gave updates on preliminary examinations into Palestinian claims against Israel, launched in January 2015.

“In the past year, the Office has also progressed in its analysis of the alleged crimes committed by both parties to the 2014 Gaza conflict, as well as certain alleged crimes committed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem since 13 June 2014,” she wrote.

Regarding Israel’s war against the Hamas terror organization in Gaza, she wrote, “The Office has sought to select incidents which appear to be the most grave in terms of the alleged harm to civilians and civilian objects and/or are representative of the main types of alleged conduct.”

In her conclusion, Bensouda wrote, “The Office has made significant progress in its assessment of the relevant factual and legal matters necessary for the determination of whether there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation.”

She said the assessment would continue with a view to reaching “conclusions on jurisdictional issues within a reasonable time frame.” However, she gave no indication as to whether she was likely to move beyond preliminary examinations to a full investigation or not.

Israel’s 50-day summer 2014 campaign against Hamas in Gaza originally began as a predominantly aerial campaign in response to repeated rocket attacks from the Strip, similar to the 2012 Operation Pillar of Defense. But after Hamas made use of its cross-border tunnel network to carry out attacks inside Israel, the focus shifted to tackling the subterranean threat.

A total of 74 people — 68 IDF soldiers, 11 of whom were killed in cross-border tunnel attacks; and 6 civilians — died on the Israeli side of the conflict. In Gaza, more than 2,000 people were killed, with Israel putting the number of civilians killed at approximately 50 percent, the rest being combatants. Gaza itself was badly damaged by the fighting.

In February 2017, the Knesset passed legislation allowing the Israeli government to expropriate private Palestinian land ex post facto, where illegal outpost homes had been built, provided that the outposts were established “in good faith” or had government support and that the Palestinian owners received financial compensation for the land.

However, Israel’s High Court of Justice has given the government until February to explain why the legislation should not be struck down on constitutional grounds.

SOURCE: ISRAEL TIMES

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