Algeria
Angola
Benin
Bostwana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Comoros
Congo Brazaville
congo RDC
Cote Divoire
Djibouti
Egypt
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Gabon
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea Bissau
Kenya
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali
Mauritania
Mauritius
Morocco
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger
Nigeria
Rwanda
Sao Tome
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Sudan
Swaziland
Tanzania
Togo
Tunisia
Uganda
Zambia
ZimbabweWar Crimes Court Due to Start Probes in Central African Republic: U.N.
May 29, 2018
BY STEPHANIE NEBEHAY*
GENEVA (Reuters) – A special criminal court to try the worst crimes committed in the Central African Republic (CAR) is due to start its formal investigations next week, the United Nations’ deputy representative in the country said on Monday.
Deadly clashes are back on the rise, state control is breaking down and inter-faith violence threatens to flare again. At least 26 people died in an attack by unidentified armed assailants on a church in the capital Bangui earlier this month.
“For us to stop this… horrible cycle (of revenge), the only way is to create a judiciary system that is credible, that is legitimate and that works, hence the special criminal court,” Najat Rochdi, U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Central African Republic and deputy special representative, told a news briefing in Geneva.
“The good news is that the special criminal court is going to be operational next week,” she said, adding that if it did not succeed, some people may return to seeking revenge.
The tribunal, which will be based in the CAR and composed of both national and international judges, will prosecute alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Some 2,000 U.N. police are helping national authorities to arrest high-profile suspects, Rochdi said, adding: “Arrests are happening.” She gave no details of the arrests.
The United Nations is also supporting the CAR government in “developing a legitimate and credible and not corrupted regular judiciary system”, she added.
Repeated political crises in CAR have fueled conflict since 2003. Major violence erupted in 2013 when a mostly Muslim Seleka rebel coalition overthrew then-president Francois Bozize, prompting reprisals from Christian “anti-balaka” militias.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has been investigating alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in CAR since 2012.
The new court was agreed to in 2015, but it has taken time to finalize victim and witness protection, rules of procedure, and the swearing in of judicial police, Rochdi said.
Violence by armed groups is often aimed at wringing concessions from the government, including an amnesty, which Rochdi said would be a “disaster for the country”.
“The situation has worsened, one has to acknowledge it,” she said, citing an upsurge in violence in Bangui and elsewhere.
Nkemnji Global Tech
Featured
Cameroon’s Kumba Massacre: Fomunyoh Appeals for Serious Negotiation to Tackle the Conflict
Pan African Visions | October 27, 2020 1:09 am
Insight Into Biden-Harris Agenda for African Diaspora
Pan African Visions | October 27, 2020 12:02 am
Mozambique: Driver and guide jailed over death of 64 Ethiopian immigrants
Pan African Visions | October 26, 2020 11:02 pm
Cameroon: Emerging Leaders 2020 Cohort Urged to be visionaries
Pan African Visions | October 26, 2020 10:53 pm
Recent News
-
Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone lifts curfew temporarily for four weeks
October 27, 2020 1:35 am
-
Cameroon’s Kumba Massacre: Fomunyoh Appeals for Serious Negotiation to Tackle the Conflict
October 27, 2020 1:09 am
-
Insight Into Biden-Harris Agenda for African Diaspora
October 27, 2020 12:02 am
-
Mozambique: Driver and guide jailed over death of 64 Ethiopian immigrants
October 26, 2020 11:02 pm
-
Cameroon: Emerging Leaders 2020 Cohort Urged to be visionaries
October 26, 2020 10:53 pm
Leave a Reply