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Your Office has recently initiated a major awareness campaign across the country. What motivates these actions of proximity?
The publicity of the proceedings is crucial to guarantee the fairness of the trial. To this end, special efforts are made daily by the Court in the countries where it is investigating in order to make the procedures accessible to the populations, including the communities affected by the alleged crimes committed in Côte d'Ivoire. The Court develops and broadcasts audiovisual programs enabling Ivorians to follow and understand the judicial proceedings taking place in The Hague. The Court will continue its information campaign, including through radio and television, to reach national media and community radios. In addition, Court staff organize sensitization sessions with key groups to encourage public participation in an interactive debate and hear the concerns and expectations of local communities.
At what level is the open investigation into the 2002 events in Côte d'Ivoire?
As the prosecutor and her office have repeatedly pointed out, our investigations in Côte d'Ivoire are continuing. The Prosecutor's Office is currently concentrating its resources on the most recent events of the Ivorian crisis.
What do you say to the victims who have been getting impatient for seven years?
While reiterating the Madam Prosecutor's determination to do everything in her power to conduct her investigation as objectively and efficiently as possible, we nevertheless understand the feeling of impatience of the victims. Again, the investigation depends on factors that are unique to it and that affect the time it takes to collect the evidence. As the Attorney General has pointed out on a number of occasions, her investigation is continuing and, in due course, the Office of the Prosecutor will not fail to provide any information it deems useful and appropriate to make public.
The Speaker Ouattara clearly said that he would not send any more Ivorians to the Cpi. What does the Cpi say and what about the case of Simone Gbagbo?
We can not speculate on a possible future non-cooperation of a state. Côte d'Ivoire has consistently cooperated with the ICC, including the surrender of Mr Laurent Gbagbo and Mr Charles Blé Goudé to the Court, for investigation and other inquiries. Generally speaking, if a State party to the Rome Statute refuses to cooperate with the ICC in violation of the decisions of the judges of the Court, it is up to the judges to record it and to refer it to the Assembly of 123 States parties to take any action that may be considered necessary to ensure cooperation. Regarding Ms. Gbagbo, the arrest warrant issued by the ICC judges in February 2012 against her is still pending, especially since the judges of the Cpi have confirmed the admissibility of this case before the Court. This means that Côte d'Ivoire remains obliged to hand over Ms. Simone Gbagbo to the Court. Ms. Gbagbo is suspected of four counts of crimes against humanity allegedly committed between 16 December 2010 and 12 April 2011 in the context of post-election violence in Côte d'Ivoire. If the authorities wished to raise again the question of the admissibility of this case before the Cpi because of the existence of a trial at the national level, it would first be necessary to ask the permission of the judges of the Cpi to present again such a demand
What is the situation of the people of the Ouattara camp on which suspicions hang?
The investigations are confidential to the Cpi. This is valid in all legal systems of the world. As has been said, the investigation is underway, the Office will communicate in due course if this should be justified. It is important to recall the importance the Office attaches to the need for thorough investigations and to base all decisions on objective elements and guided exclusively by relevant evidence and by the law of the Rome Statute. of the ICC, which is the reference text for the work of the Court.
Does the IPC plan to prosecute other people in Côte d'Ivoire, while President Ouattara claims that Ivorian justice is now equipped to conduct fair trials?
The investigation by the Prosecutor's Office in Côte d'Ivoire concerns all parties involved in the post-election crisis. In addition to the case pending before the Cpi concerning Mr. Laurent Gbagbo and Mr. Blé Goudé, the Prosecutor's Office is continuing its investigation into the alleged crimes attributable to the pro-Ouattara forces. The Office of the Prosecutor of the ICP conducts its investigation objectively. At the same time, under the principle of complementarity, Côte d'Ivoire has the primary responsibility to prosecute alleged perpetrators of crimes falling within the jurisdiction of the Rome Statute. The Public Prosecutor's Office encourages the Ivorian State to acquire the necessary means to fulfill this responsibility while cooperating fully with the Office in its investigations and prosecutions.
Are extradition warrants pending against other personalities in Côte d'Ivoire? If so, when will the sealing of arrest warrants for alleged perpetrators be lifted? Ouattara camp to silence two-speed justice criticism at the ICCP
The investigation in Côte d'Ivoire continues and in due course, the Prosecutor's Office will communicate any information it deems useful and timely publish. Indeed, given the confidentiality requirements that characterize any judicial inquiry, we are not able to tell you more.
For these 20 years, what does the Cpi foresee?
The adoption of the Rome Statute in 1998 was in itself a historic event that marked an important step in humanity's efforts to make the world more just. Commemorations for its 20th anniversary began on January 18, 2018 with the opening of the ICC Judicial Year at the seat of the Court and continue throughout this year, especially around July 17, International Criminal Justice Day. and official anniversary of the Rome Statute. We hope that the 20th anniversary marks the renewal of the commitment to the Rome Statute, the IPC, the Trust Fund for Victims, and the unprecedented system of international criminal justice created by this Treaty.
What's more, let's talk about the case of Bemba, who has just been acquitted by the Appeals Chamber of the Cpi for the war crimes and against humanity he was accused of. Do you think that Laurent Gbagbo and Blé Goudé will also be able to know the same issue?
On June 8, 2018, the Appeals Chamber of the Cpi found errors that affected the decision of Trial Chamber III condemning M Bemba. Note that the Chamber has made a decision on Mr. Bemba's responsibility in the commission of the crimes. She identified errors in the decision of the Trial Chamber that found him guilty. But the Chamber has not made any decisions on other alleged crimes or other perpetrators. This judgment shows that the ICC works and guarantees fair trials for all. The Appeals Chamber has the role of interpreting the Rome Statute and checking whether errors have affected the decisions of the Trial Chambers. Effective justice requires that guilt be pronounced only when strong evidence of guilt is submitted to the judges and that decisions are made in accordance with the correct interpretation of the applicable legal rules. It was also the first appeal judgment concerning the responsibility of the military superiors. The Appeals Chamber of the IPC therefore had a great responsibility in the clear interpretation of the legal rules concerning such liability. Concerning the Gbagbo – Blé Goudé affair, the two cases are different and independent. The judges in charge of the Gbagbo-Blé Goudé case will make their decisions according to the elements of the file and the rules of the applicable law. It is not our role to speculate on the judges' decisions.
What are the Prerequisites for an Inmate to Be Entitled on Provisional Release Before the ICC?
In accordance with the ICC texts, judges of the Trial Chamber periodically review their release decision or detention of the suspect. They assess whether there have been changes in the relevant circumstances regarding the need to keep the suspect in detention to ensure that he is before the Court, that he does not continue to commit crimes, or that he does not obstacle to the investigation or the proceedings before the Court.
Is the payment of a bond authorized to obtain provisional release before the Court?
No, the International Criminal Court does not use a surety system. It is the judges who decide whether or not to remain in detention, in view of the criteria of the Rome Statute and whether there is a need to impose conditions or not.
We hear here and there that Laurent Gbagbo could benefit from a release, as is the case of J.P Bemba, for lack of sufficient evidence. What do you think ?
We can not speculate on these questions. It will be up to the judges to decide if such a request is presented to them, whether it would be necessary or not to keep Mr. Gbagbo in detention while the proceedings are ongoing.
Finally, a word, perhaps, to the Ivorians who will read you?
It will first be necessary to emphasize that, for reasons of witness protection and the dignity of the victims, certain hearings and documents are not, for the moment, public; this means that only the judges of the Court have a global vision of the whole file presented before them. Judges are the guarantors of the fairness of the procedure and it is up to them alone to decide. If there is a reasonable doubt, the judges of the Cpi do not convict an accused. The Rome Statute creates a system, certainly complex, but with the aim of providing fair justice, where the rights of the Defense are fully assured and where the victims have their voices heard. All actors in this system work to combat impunity and to bring to light a truth supported by judicially admissible means of proof. It is this pursuit of justice and truth that can give hope that we are moving towards a lasting peace because based on justice and where repeated examples of the fight against impunity will eventually create a deterrent effect to ensure our children and our grandchildren a less violent and just world.
Source: Cpi Office in Ivory Coast and Mali
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