This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 THE HAGUE 001837 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL KAWC KJUS ICTY KICC
SUBJECT: ICC: PROSECUTOR FOCUSES ON CONGO, DISCLAIMS ANY 
ABILITY TO EXAMINE U.S. FORCES IN IRAQ 
 
REF: THE HAGUE 01806 
 
Sensitive But Unclassified; Protect Accordingly. 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: On July 16, the Chief Prosecutor of the 
International Criminal Court (ICC), Luis Moreno-Ocampo, held 
a press conference in The Hague to discuss information his 
office has received from around the world about possible 
areas for ICC inquiry.  During the ICC's first year, the 
Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) received 499 communications 
from individuals and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in 
66 different countries.  The largest number of communications 
came from Germany (93), the United States (70), France (58), 
the United Kingdom (33), the Netherlands (29) and Spain (23). 
 As expected (see reftel), Ocampo is focusing his 
investigative energies on the Congo and ruling out an 
examination of the situation in Iraq with respect to U.S. 
forces.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) In his first press conference, ICC Chief Prosecutor 
Ocampo reviewed the jurisdiction of the ICC, summarized 
incoming communications from individuals and NGOs and 
explained his interest in the Congo.  Details on these topics 
may be found in the ICC press release reproduced at para 6. 
His office has identified the situation in Ituri, Democratic 
Republic of Congo (DRC), as the most urgent situation to be 
examined at this time.  If he uncovers sufficient reason to 
do so as a result of his preliminary examination, the OTP 
will seek authorization from a Pre-Trial Chamber of the Court 
to initiate an investigation.  Ocampo stated that the primary 
focus will be to determine the ability or willingness of the 
transitional government in DRC to investigate and prosecute 
the alleged crimes. 
 
¶3. (U) Ocampo fielded several questions from the press.  He 
noted that the Court has received several communications 
regarding the war in Iraq which generally lack detail. 
Ocampo said that since neither Iraq nor the United States is 
a State Party to the Convention, the ICC has no jurisdiction 
over such matters.  (For the same reason, he said that two 
communications regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict 
would not be examined by his office.)  He advised that 
individuals with specific information should address their 
concerns directly to the USG.  With respect to allegations 
concerning British forces in Iraq, Ocampo said that OTP would 
only examine them if the UK were "unable or unwilling" to 
investigate (a point referenced in the press release at para 
6).  Several questions alluded to the USG's status as a 
non-party and its efforts to negotiate Article 98 agreements. 
 When one reporter asked if Washington's "aggressive 
campaign" was affecting the ICC's work, he responded, "I do 
not know . . . we will see."  When pressed further, he said 
that it was not his job to worry about U.S. policy and that 
it was his personal feeling that in the future, all 
countries, including the United States, will join the ICC. 
Ocampo implied an interest in working with non-parties such 
as the United States when discussing OTP's need for solid 
information on Congo; he said that there is open-source 
information available, such as the Department's Human Rights 
Report, but that he hoped governments would provide access to 
closed-source information as well. 
 
¶4. (U) In addition to reporting on developments in OTP, 
Ocampo affirmed that he is also concentrating on building up 
the staff of his organization with a focus on investigators. 
By the end of 2003, he said, he expects to have 51 staffers 
working primarily on investigations.  By the end of 2004, he 
hopes to have 122 staffers divided into three teams. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Comment:  While the announcement of OTP interest in 
the Congo was not surprising, it is a somewhat risky gambit 
given OTP's limited resources and the fact that it will be 
some months, at the earliest, before Ocampo is in a position 
to conduct a full-fledged investigation into Ituri, let alone 
initiate a prosecution.  His failure to mention other 
situations rumored to be among his interests, such as 
Colombia, may reflect his recognition that limited resources 
will enable him to focus only on the Congo over the coming 
months.  More unexpected than what he expects to investigate 
was his signal to individuals and NGOs that he would hope 
that they only bring to his attention matters arguably within 
his mandate.  End comment. 
 
¶6. (U) Begin text of ICC Press Release: 
 
16 July 2003 
COMMUNICATIONS RECEIVED 
BY THE OFFICE OF THE PROSECUTOR OF THE ICC 
Since July 2002, the Office of the Prosecutor has received 
499 communications from 66 different countries. These 
communications address a broad range of crimes allegedly 
committed in a number of regions around the world. Almost all 
of these communications request the Office of the Prosecutor 
to undertake legal action. 
 
Some of the complaints received cannot be investigated by 
this Office because they are outside the jurisdiction of the 
International Criminal Court. The provisions establishing the 
jurisdiction of the Court were negotiated between more than 
150 countries over a period of more than four years. In 
accordance with those provisions, the Court may exercise 
jurisdiction if genocide, crimes against humanity or war 
crimes are committed on or after 1 July 2002. The 
jurisdiction of the Court may be triggered by a referral from 
the United Nations Security Council, a State Party or the 
Prosecutor exercising his proprio motu powers to initiate an 
investigation. To this date, there have not been any 
referrals by the Security Council or by a State. 
 
In order to launch an investigation proprio motu, the 
Prosecutor must seek the authorization of a Pre-Trial Chamber 
of the Court. In this case, the alleged crimes must have been 
committed by nationals of a State Party or have taken place 
in the territory of a State Party. 
 
¶I.    Allegations of crimes that are not within the 
jurisdiction of the ICC 
 
Temporal jurisdiction 
The Office has received over 50 communications containing 
allegations of acts committed before 1 July 2002, so they are 
not within the temporal jurisdiction of the Court. 
 
Subject-matter jurisdiction 
A number of communications allege criminal acts which by 
their nature lie outside the subject-matter jurisdiction of 
the Court. Some letters and complaints, for example, allege 
criminal acts related to environmental damage, drug 
trafficking, money laundering, tax evasion, and judicial 
corruption. Other communications call upon the Court to 
become a court of appeals for decisions taken by domestic 
courts or they concern human rights violations outside the 
scope of the Statute. 
 
Under the Rome Statute, these allegations do not fall within 
the jurisdiction of the Court. The Court is not designed to 
deal with violations of human rights unless they constitute 
genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes. 
 
The crime of aggression 
Thirty-eight communications express the view that a crime of 
aggression took place in the context of the war in Iraq. 
 
The Court cannot exercise jurisdiction over alleged crimes of 
aggression until the crime is defined and the conditions for 
the exercise of jurisdiction are set out. The Assembly of 
States Parties of the International Criminal Court may adopt 
such a provision at a review conference to be convened in 
¶2009. Thus, the alleged crime to which these communications 
refer does not fall within the jurisdiction of the Court. 
 
Crimes committed in the territory of non-States Parties 
Sixteen communications with no detailed information relate to 
acts allegedly committed by United States, troops on the 
territory of Iraq. Since neither Iraq nor the United States 
is a State Party to the Statute, the ICC has no jurisdiction 
in these matters. 
 
There are two brief communications with no detailed 
information about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These 
communications do not involve any State Party. The alleged 
crimes, therefore, do not fall within the jurisdiction of the 
Court. 
 
The Office has received communications alleging the killing 
of civilians by army soldiers in the Ivory Coast. The media 
has reported that the Ivory Coast has asked the UN Security 
Council to refer the situation in the country to the 
Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in accordance 
with Article 13(b) of the Rome Statute, but the Office of the 
Prosecutor has received no information from the State or the 
Security Council. Thus, at this time, the Prosecutor of the 
Court cannot investigate the crimes allegedly committed 
because Ivory Coast is not a State Party to the Rome Statute. 
 
II.   Crimes allegedly committed by nationals of a State 
Party or in the territory of a State Party 
 
The Office of the Prosecutor has received some communications 
referring to crimes allegedly committed by nationals of a 
State Party.  For example, some communications refer to acts 
allegedly committed by States Parties who were part of the 
coalition forces during the war in Iraq. Pursuant to the Rome 
Statute, the jurisdiction of the ICC is complementary to that 
of national criminal jurisdictions. Thus, in order for the 
Court to exercise jurisdiction over these alleged crimes, it 
is necessary to determine whether the national authorities 
concerned are unwilling or unable to investigate or prosecute. 
 
The Office of the Prosecutor expects that future 
communications alleging the commission of crimes falling 
within the jurisdiction of the Court contain specific 
information concerning the ability or willingness of national 
authorities to deal with those crimes, as well as a 
description of the efforts undertaken, if any, to seek 
redress before those authorities where appropriate. 
 
 
III.  Decision by the Office of the Prosecutor to closely 
follow the situation in Ituri, Democratic Republic of Congo 
 
The Office of the Prosecutor has selected the situation in 
Ituri, Democratic Republic of Congo, as the most urgent 
situation to be followed. The Prosecutor himself and selected 
staff are analyzing the information available and will 
request additional information on the occurrence of crimes 
and assess the ability of the State to deal with them. The 
Office is conscious of the peace process under way, and hopes 
that the efforts of the international community to halt the 
violence will bear fruit. The Office of the Prosecutor will 
use all the powers at its disposal to contribute to the 
prevention of future crimes and the investigation and 
punishment of the alleged crimes committed in Ituri. If 
necessary, the Office of the Prosecutor will seek 
authorization from a Pre-Trial Chamber to start an 
investigation. 
 
a. Crimes allegedly committed in the Democratic Republic of 
Congo 
 
The Office of the Prosecutor has received six communications 
regarding the situation in Ituri, including two detailed 
reports from non-governmental organizations. These reports 
estimate that 5,000 civilians have been killed in Ituri 
between July 2002 and early 2003. These deaths are just a 
fraction of the civilians who reportedly have died since the 
conflict started in 1998.  The estimated total number of 
deaths varies in different reports, ranging between 2.5 and 
3.3 million people. The deaths are a consequence of the 
fighting as well as of indirect causes including starvation, 
landmines, untreated injuries and diseases (including the 
transmission of HIV/AIDS through rape). 
 
The fighting taking place in Ituri seems to be the outcome of 
ethnic strife and of the struggle for local power, 
intertwined with national and regional conflicts. All of 
these aspects of the situation are fueled by the way natural 
resources are exploited. 
 
Specifically, the reports allege that armed assailants in 
Ituri massacred unarmed civilians, some solely on the basis 
of their ethnicity, killing scores of people in individual 
attacks over the past year. Members of different armed 
groups, reportedly vying for control over the region,s 
natural resources, have also allegedly carried out summary 
executions, systematic torture, unlawful arrests and 
detention of individuals, and abductions of persons whose 
whereabouts remain unknown. Crimes specifically targeting 
women have also been reported as taking place frequently in 
Ituri, including rape and other forms of sexual violence. 
 
This information is corroborated by different United Nations, 
national human rights, media and non-governmental 
organizations reports. The report on the latest of four 
Security Council missions to the Democratic Republic of 
Congo, issued on 16 June 2003, described the occurrence of 
gross violations of human rights in the eastern part of the 
country, including murder, mass rape, large-scale 
displacement of civilians, the use of child soldiers and 
even, reportedly, cases of ritual cannibalism. 
 
These crimes could constitute genocide, crimes against 
humanity or war crimes, and could thus, fall within the 
jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. 
 
b. Money-laundering and other crimes committed outside the 
Democratic Republic of Congo which may be connected with the 
atrocities 
 
Various reports have pointed to links between the activities 
of some African, European and Middle Eastern companies and 
the atrocities taking place in the Democratic Republic of 
Congo. The alleged involvement of organized crime groups from 
Eastern Europe has also been mentioned. Their activities 
allegedly include gold mining, the illegal exploitation of 
oil, and the arms trade. There is general concern that the 
atrocities allegedly committed in the country may be fueled 
by the exploitation of natural resources there and the arms 
trade, which are enabled through the international banking 
system. 
 
Although the specific findings of these reports have not been 
confirmed, the Prosecutor believes that investigation of the 
financial aspects of the alleged atrocities will be crucial 
to prevent future crimes and for the prosecution of crimes 
already committed. If the alleged business practices continue 
to fuel atrocities, these would not be stopped even if 
current perpetrators were arrested and prosecuted. The Office 
of the Prosecutor is establishing whether investigations and 
prosecutions on the financial side of the alleged atrocities 
are being carried out in the relevant countries. 
 
c. Ability of the government of the Democratic Republic of 
Congo to genuinely investigate and prosecute the crimes 
allegedly committed in Ituri 
 
A transitional government was being established in the 
Democratic Republic of Congo on 30 June 2003. This government 
stated that it intends to put an end to the bloodshed, but in 
order to do this it requires the resolved assistance of the 
international community. 
 
The United Nations Security Council is following the 
situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo closely. It has 
sent four missions to the country, the last on 7-16 June 
¶2003. According to the report of this last mission fighting 
continues to affect the area, and impunity remains rampant in 
Ituri. 
 
In their last meeting on 7 July 2003, members of the Security 
Council again expressed their concern about the situation in 
the country. In this meeting the Council received information 
from Jean-Marie Guhenno, Under-Secretary-General for 
Peacekeeping Operations, and from Bertrand G. Ramcharan, 
acting High Commissioner for Human Rights.  There was a 
general recognition that the transitional government faces 
many difficulties, but also that peace cannot be restored 
without an end to impunity. Several possibilities and 
complementary mechanisms -- including national truth 
commissions and a human rights observatory agreed upon during 
the Inter-Congolese Dialogue at Sun City (South Africa) -- 
have been identified. The members of the Security Council 
have also acknowledged the need for international assistance 
to effectively investigate the alleged crimes and punish the 
perpetrators. 
 
The United States Department of State,s 2002 country report 
on the Democratic Republic of Congo confirms the difficulties 
of the national government to control the territory. It also 
described the inability of judicial and police authorities to 
investigate and prosecute the alleged crimes. 
 
The Office of the Prosecutor on the International Criminal 
Court supports the efforts being made by national and 
international actors alike to help the country along the road 
to peace, and will bear these efforts in mind as it continues 
to follow the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo 
closely. 
 
End text of ICC press release. 
RUSSEL