THE HAGUE, September 9, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The International Criminal Court (ICC) is in session at The Hague. Prince Zeid Ra’ad Zeid Al-Hussein of Jordan, the session president of the assembly of State Parties to the ICC, commended the States Parties for defending the court from domestic attempts to weaken its powers. Dr. Bernard Bot, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands criticized the U.S. for refusing to ratify the court.
The Prosecutor, Moreno-Ocampo, announced that his Office will be investigating alleged crimes falling within the jurisdiction of the Court and will be making arrests in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. He commended the governments of the Congo and Uganda for their cooperation with the court in making such actions possible on their soil.
Moreno-Ocampo said, “we assume that we will finish the investigation of one case during this year and, if defendants are arrested, will start the trial in that case at the beginning of 2005. We also plan to investigate two other cases, to finish one in 2005, and, if the defendants are arrested, to start that trial. We estimate that we will open an investigation in a new situation in the middle of next year.” Previous LifeSiteNews.com coverage: Ramifications of The International Criminal Court for War, Peace And Social Change https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2002/feb/020212a.html
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