From 25 to 27 August, the ICC Prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo, will conduct an official visit to Bogota at the invitation of the Government of Colombia and the country's Public Prosecutor's Office. The Prosecutor paid an earlier visit to Colombia in October 2007.
Prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo will participate in the opening session of the seminar "Reflections on Judicial Investigations in Colombia from an International Perspective" organised for prosecutors and judges. He will also meet with senior officials from the Government, the Prosecutor's Office and the Supreme Court of Justice as well as representatives of Colombian civil society in the context of the ICC Office of the Prosecutor's ongoing analysis of the situation in Colombia. During his stay in the country, he will also pay tribute to the victims and accompany the Public Prosecutor's Office on an exhumation in Urabá.
In accordance with the Rome Statute, Prosecutor Moreno Ocampo and his team will continue the ongoing examination of the investigations and proceedings in Colombia, focusing particularly on the people who may be considered among those most responsible for crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC. As stated by the Prosecutor during his last visit: "With the International Criminal Court, there is a new law under which impunity is no longer an option. Either the national courts must do it or we will."
The Prosecutor will also seek further information on the investigations and proceedings being conducted in Columbia against soldiers and politicians - members of Congress among them - allegedly involved in crimes committed by paramilitaries and guerillas. In this context, he will seek further information on the extradition of 15 former paramilitaries being tried under the Justice and Peace Law to the United States of America in May 2008.
The ICC Office of the Prosecutor is also looking into allegations on the existence of international support networks assisting armed groups committing crimes within Colombia that potentially fall within the jurisdiction of the Court. Letters requesting information have been sent to Colombia's neighbours, to other States and to international and regional organisations.
The International Criminal Court is an independent, permanent court that investigates and prosecutes persons accused of the most serious crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes if national authorities with jurisdiction are unwilling or unable to do so genuinely. The Office of the Prosecutor is currently investigating in four situations: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Northern Uganda, the Darfur region of Sudan, and the Central African Republic, all of which are still engulfed in various degrees of conflict with victims in urgent need of protection.
For more information, please contact:
Nicola Fletcher
OTP Media Liaison Officer (French)
nicola.fletcher@icc-cpi.int
+31 (0) 70 515 8071 (office)
+31 (0) 650 890 473 (mobile)
Florence Olara
OTP Public Information Co-ordinator (English)
florence.olara@icc-cpi.int
+31 (0) 70 515 8723 (office)
+31 (0) 6 5029 4476 (mobile)