International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan, during a visit to Kinshasa, appealed for witnesses to atrocities committed in areas of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo occupied by Rwandan forces and M23 fighters.
His visit coincided with the announcement of an international peace conference scheduled for April.
Khan met with President Felix Tshisekedi at the African Union City to discuss the security and humanitarian crisis plaguing the eastern DRC. According to the Congolese presidency, Khan officially launched an appeal for evidence of atrocities committed in the occupied territories.
“Those who have evidence of crimes of genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity are requested to send them to the ICC website,” Khan stated. The Congolese presidency welcomed the initiative, declaring that “this visit marks a decisive step in the fight against impunity for crimes committed on Congolese soil.” President Tshisekedi reaffirmed the government’s commitment to fully cooperate with the ICC to ensure justice for the numerous victims in the east.
Khan affirmed that “the Congolese population has the right to protection and justice.” He assured that the ICC, which signed a memorandum of understanding with the DRC in 2023, is “closely monitoring the situation prevailing in the East” of the country.
An international conference on peace, security, and justice is planned for April in Kinshasa. “This conference will be responsible for examining the causes of the instability that we have been experiencing for years in the eastern part of the country,” explained Professor Taylor Lubanga, DRC-ICC Cooperation Monitoring Officer. Participants are expected to discuss the potential establishment of a Special Criminal Court for the DRC, a judicial mechanism that would allow for local trials of the most serious crimes committed on Congolese territory.
AC/Sf/fss/abj/APA