Situation in Central African Republic fr

On 22 December 2004, the authorities of the Central African Republic (CAR) referred the situation in the country to the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The CAR is a State Party to the ICC having ratified the Rome Statute on 3 October 2001. The government has provided the OTP with information in relation to the allegations of crimes and to proceedings held by the national judiciary. Significant communications were also presented by NGOs and international organisations regarding alleged crimes.

Following an analysis of the situation, on 22 May 2007 the OTP announced its decision to initiate an investigation in the CAR.

The Central African Republic has suffered decades of army revolts, coups and rebellions since it gained independence from France in 1960. The peak of violence from 2002-03 during an armed conflict between the government and rebel forces was marked by the large number of acts of sexual violence committed against the civilian population.

On 24 May 2008, Jean-Pierre Bemba became the first person to be arrested over the situation in CAR. The ICC issued a warrant of arrest against him on 23 May 2008 for war crimes and crimes against humanity that he allegedly committed in CAR from 25 October 2002 to 15 March 2003.