The International Criminal Court’s prosecutor opened an investigation on Tuesday into allegations of rape and sexual violence in the Central African Republic committed during the armed conflict of 2002 and 2003.
”We believe that grave crimes falling within the jurisdiction of the court were committed in the Central African Republic. We will conduct our own independent investigation, gather evidence, and prosecute the individuals who are most responsible,” ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo said in a statement.
The ICC will investigate allegations of rape and other acts of sexual violence perpetrated against at least 600 reported victims, the statement said.
This is the first time the prosecutor is opening an investigation in which allegations of sexual crimes far outnumber alleged killings, it said in a statement.
The prosecutor said some of the worst allegations relating to killing, looting and rape occurred during intense fighting in October and November 2002 and in February and March 2003.
”Attacks against civilians followed a failed coup attempt; there emerged a pattern of massive rapes and other acts of sexual violence perpetrated by armed individuals. Sexual violence appears to have been a central feature of the conflict,” it said.
The ICC said credible reports indicated that rape had been committed against civilians, including elderly women, young girls and men.
The Central African government referred the situation to the ICC prosecutor in December 2004 and provided information in relation to the allegations.
The ICC prosecutor is also monitoring the spill-over of violence from Sudan’s Darfur region into the Central African Republic and Chad.
Earlier this month, the ICC judges issued their first arrest warrants for suspects accused of war crimes in Darfur. About 200 000 people have been killed since the conflict began in 2003 when rebels took up arms against the government.
The ICC, the world’s first permanent war crimes court, started work in 2002 and is now supported by 104 nations, although still not by Russia, China and the United States. – Reuters