Situation in Democratic Republic of the Congo fr

In March 2004, the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) referred the situation of grave crimes allegedly committed on the territory of the Democratic Republic of Congo, since 1 July 2002 to the International Criminal Court (ICC). After investigating whether crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC had been committed in DRC, the Chief Prosecutor announced on 23 June 2004, his decision to open the Court’s first investigation.

The prosecutor decided to focus the investigation on the perpetrators most responsible for crimes committed under the jurisdiction of the ICC, in the region of Ituri (Northeast DRC). Thomas Lubango Dyilo, the founder and Commander-in-Chief of the Forces patriotiques pour la libération du Congo, was arrested on 19 March 2005 and transferred to the ICC. He is the first accused to face trial before the International Criminal Court.

Cases before the ICC for the situation in the DRC

• Thomas Lubanga Dyilo
• Germain Katanga
• Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui
• Bosco Ntaganda