hrbrief

Confirmation Hearing in Prosecutor v. Abu Garda

In Human Rights, ICC, Rwanda on February 9, 2010 at 5:00 pm

By Paul Rinefierd

Rwandan soldiers airlifted to Darfur in July 2005.

On October 19, 2009, a confirmation hearing began in the case of Prosecutor v. Bahar Idriss Abu Garda before an ICC Pre-Trial Chamber. Abu Garda is the Chairman and General Coordinator of Military Operations of the United Resistance Front, a rebel group fighting the Sudanese government. He is the first accused from the Darfur situation to appear before the ICC.  The hearing addressed allegations from a summons levied in May 2009 that Abu Garda commanded an attack on peacekeepers of the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) at Haskanita in Northern Darfur on September 29, 2007. As a result of the attack, twelve AMIS soldiers were killed, eight were wounded, and AMIS equipment was destroyed.

Compliance with Existing Mandate Must Come Before War Crimes Trials at African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights

In African Court on Human and People's Rights, African Union Council, ICC, War Crimes on February 9, 2010 at 12:00 pm

By Andrew W. Maki

“Extending the jurisdiction of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights to cover international crimes would undermine justice and accountability on the continent,” asserted a coalition of eight prominent international human rights groups in an expert opinion published December 17, 2009. The statement came in response to a February 2009 decision made by the Assembly of the African Union during its 12th Ordinary Session. The decision pertained to a perceived abuse of the principle of universal jurisdiction, a repeated topic of concern within the Assembly.

Second Congolese Warlord Trial Resumed on January 26, 2010

In Democratic Republic of Congo, Human Rights, ICC on February 9, 2010 at 8:00 am

By Rebecca Williams

Ituri, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Courtesy of Lois Michel.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) trial of Congolese warlords Germain Katanga and Matthieu Ngudjolo Chui resumed on January 26, 2010. Originally set to start in September 2009, the ICC decided to postpone the proceedings to allow for more investigation and was then forced to postpone the proceedings again when Judge Christine Van den Wyngaert was injured in a bicycle accident on December 2, 2009.