Tuesday, "March 12, 2019"
Top ICC official affirms
The International Criminal Court has no barrier to carrying out preliminary examination, investigation and subsequent trial against the perpetrators of crimes against the Rohingyas.
It will not in anyway be a hindrance despite the fact that Myanmar is not a state party to the Rome Statute and will not cooperate with the office of the prosecutor in this regard, said Phakiso Mochochoko, head of the Jurisdiction, Complementarity and Cooperation Division at the office of the ICC prosecutor.
Addressing a press briefing at a city hotel yesterday, he made it clear that the ICC process was not against any state or government; rather it was against individuals who were responsible for the atrocities.
“ICC process is not about Myanmar; it's not about Myanmar as a state. It's about an individual's criminal responsibility,” he said after a delegation from the office of the prosecutor of ICC completed a weeklong visit to Bangladesh.
Elaborating on ICC trial process and individual criminal responsibility, Mochochoko said it was all about the people who were responsible, who had given instructions, who had commanded and the people who did all other things and facilitated in committing these alleged crimes.
He, however, said Myanmar's non-cooperation might present a little bit of challenge for them in terms of investigation but there was no barrier to going ahead without cooperation from Myanmar.
Expecting cooperation from everyone, he said this was not the first time they engaged in this kind of process, but they had faced many other such situations before. “Almost all of them have come to fruition -- in one way or another." The Hague-based ICC has already brought the Rohingya issue under its jurisdiction and set up a court for trial of the perpetrators. The visit tookplace to have the “preliminary examination" aimed at establishing the case.
On September 18 last year, ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in a written statement and video message that she had begun an inquiry -- formally known as a “preliminary examination” -- to establish whether there was enough evidence to merit a full investigation.
Mochochoko, who headed the delegation, said the independent and impartial preliminary examination of the situation in Bangladesh/Myanmar was going on and would follow its course.
“Preliminary examination is not an investigation, but an assessment of the Rome Statute criteria to decide whether an investigation into the situation at hand is warranted.”
In Cox's Bazar, the delegation visited the refugee camps and met government authorities, humanitarian agencies and NGOs, as well as a member of victims' representatives.
It will not in anyway be a hindrance despite the fact that Myanmar is not a state party to the Rome Statute and will not cooperate with the office of the prosecutor in this regard, said Phakiso Mochochoko, head of the Jurisdiction, Complementarity and Cooperation Division at the office of the ICC prosecutor.
Addressing a press briefing at a city hotel yesterday, he made it clear that the ICC process was not against any state or government; rather it was against individuals who were responsible for the atrocities.
“ICC process is not about Myanmar; it's not about Myanmar as a state. It's about an individual's criminal responsibility,” he said after a delegation from the office of the prosecutor of ICC completed a weeklong visit to Bangladesh.
Elaborating on ICC trial process and individual criminal responsibility, Mochochoko said it was all about the people who were responsible, who had given instructions, who had commanded and the people who did all other things and facilitated in committing these alleged crimes.
He, however, said Myanmar's non-cooperation might present a little bit of challenge for them in terms of investigation but there was no barrier to going ahead without cooperation from Myanmar.
Expecting cooperation from everyone, he said this was not the first time they engaged in this kind of process, but they had faced many other such situations before. “Almost all of them have come to fruition -- in one way or another." The Hague-based ICC has already brought the Rohingya issue under its jurisdiction and set up a court for trial of the perpetrators. The visit tookplace to have the “preliminary examination" aimed at establishing the case.
On September 18 last year, ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in a written statement and video message that she had begun an inquiry -- formally known as a “preliminary examination” -- to establish whether there was enough evidence to merit a full investigation.
Mochochoko, who headed the delegation, said the independent and impartial preliminary examination of the situation in Bangladesh/Myanmar was going on and would follow its course.
“Preliminary examination is not an investigation, but an assessment of the Rome Statute criteria to decide whether an investigation into the situation at hand is warranted.”
In Cox's Bazar, the delegation visited the refugee camps and met government authorities, humanitarian agencies and NGOs, as well as a member of victims' representatives.
No comments:
Post a Comment