Libya Charges Coming/Prosecutor-ICC

Independent Films, Politics

International Criminal Court Prosecutor Luis Ocampo briefed the UN Security Council pursuant to Resolution 1970 by which Libya was referred to the ICC for investigation and potential prosecution,

As I anticipated in my earlier blog, - "ICC Prosecutor: Libya Evidence to Charge" - http://diplomaticallyincorrect.org/films/blog_post/icc-prosecutor-libya-evidence-to-charge-by-ambassador-mo/27748 , Prosecutor Ocampo has moved quickly announcing his intention to request arrest warrants for 3 Libyan nationala, and I would not be surprised if one of them is a Gaddafi.

China voiced its concern that the UNSC Resolution not be applied in a manner inconsistent with Libya's sovereignty. China though voted for the Resolution, but may be now behind the curve of developments and sentiment. As the expression goes, "the horse is out of the barn." Or, more accurately, the file is beyond the Security Council's hands, and the Prosecutor sees himself in charge, at least for the moment. (Ocampo may have moved so quickly also to preempt any possible amnesty deal with Colonel Gaddafi).

Transcripts / Production notes / Scripts

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Prosecutor, International Criminal Court (ICC):
“The evidence collected by the Office of the Prosecutor confirms this assessment. It establishes reasonable grounds to believe that widespread and systematic attacks against the civilian population have been and continue to be committed in Libya, including murder and prosecution as crimes against humanity. In addition and since the end of February, there has been an armed conflict in Libya. In this context, there is also relevant information on the alleged commission of war crimes.”
4. Wide shot, Security Council
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Li Baodong, Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations:
“China calls for complete and strict implementation of the Council’s resolution. The international community must respect the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Libya and the internal affairs of Libya must be left to the Libyan people to decide. We would not be in favour of any arbitrary interpretation of the Council’s resolutions nor of any actions that go beyond the Council’s mandate.”
6. Med shot, Moreno-Ocampo
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Susan Rice, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations:
“The Prosecutor has highlighted the deeply troubling actions by the Libyan Government and its security forces, including incidents in which Qadhafi forces fired at civilians, reports of torture, rape, deportations, enforced disappearances, the use cluster munitions and heavy weaponry against civilian targets in crowded urban areas, and blocking humanitarian supplies. All of this underscores the gravity of what we are witnessing in Libya today.”
8. Zoom out, Security Council
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Prosecutor, International Criminal Court (ICC):
“I’d like to inform you that I informed the Security Council and in a few weeks I will request before the judges of the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant against three individuals that in accordance with our evidence are the most responsible of the most serious crimes committed in Libya. Basically we presented a case on two aspects; crimes against humanity as murder, shooting civilians in demonstrations; and crimes against humanity as persecution, meaning illegal arrest, torture and forced disappearance of people in different cities under the control of the regime.”

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

10. Close up, camera

4 MAY 2011, NEW YORK CITY

11. Zoom out, Moreno-Ocampo walks away from the stakeout position

STORYLINE:

The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor will ask the court’s judges to issue arrest warrants for three people who he said seem to bear the greatest responsibility for crimes against humanity committed in Libya since a pro-democracy movement emerged in mid-February.

Luis Moreno-Ocampo told the Security Council today (4 May) that in the coming weeks he will apply to the ICC’s pre-trial chamber for the arrest warrants.

Moreno-Ocampo said the evidence collected so far by investigators working for his office “establishes reasonable grounds to believe that widespread and systematic attacks against the civilian population have been and continue to be committed in Libya, including murder and prosecution as crimes against humanity."

In addition, he said, since the end of February, when peaceful protests turned into an armed conflict, “there is also relevant information on the alleged commission of war crimes”, including the use of imprecise weaponry such as cluster weapons, multiple rocket launchers and mortars in crowded urban areas, particularly the city of Misrata.

According to the Prosecutor, evidence indicates that security forces have shot at peaceful protesters in multiple locations; as the result of such shootings, 500 to 700 persons died in February alone. The Government allegedly also hired mercenaries and brought them into the country, the statement noted. Torture, killings and enforced disappearances have also been reported.

In his address to the Council, Chinese Ambassador Li Baodong stressed that “China calls for complete and strict implementation” of the Council resolution adopted on 26 February that referred the situation in Libya to the ICC, and that “the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Libya” must be respected.

He pointed out that China “would not be in favour of any arbitrary interpretation of the Council’s resolutions nor of any actions that go beyond the Council’s mandate.”

US Ambassador Susan Rice, for her part, said that the actions highlighted by the ICC Prosecutor are “deeply troubling” and they underscore “the gravity of what we are witnessing in Libya today.”

Speaking to journalists outside the Council, Moreno Ocampo detailed the charges against the three suspects, which include “crimes against humanity as murder, shooting civilians in demonstrations; and crimes against humanity as persecution, meaning illegal arrest, torture and forced disappearance of people in different cities under the control of the regime.”

Meanwhile, humanitarian agencies continued today to deliver aid to civilians caught up in the ongoing conflict in the North African country.

About 1,000 migrants are expected to be evacuated today by ship from Misrata, where fighting has been especially heavy, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

About 180 tons of food, water and infant supplies will also be delivered today, bringing the total of supplies of humanitarian aid to more than 3,000 tons.

OCHA remains extremely concerned about the situation in Misrata, where fighting has raged for more than six weeks. Access to food, water and other supplies is limited in some parts of the city, and many medical facilities are short of trained personnel.

Directors:

• Muhamed Sacirbey UNTV

Producers:

• Susan Sacirbey