Saturday, April 14, 2012

Is Ocampo Taking Sides in Cote d'Ivoire?

Louis Moreno-Ocampo, the outgoing Prosecutor of the ICC, has apparently sent a letter to Guillaume Soro congratulating him for his election as the Speaker of the National Assembly in Cote d'Ivoire. Mr Soro is the immediate former Prime Minister, an ally of President Ouattara, and (former) leader of Forces Nouvelles (FN), an armed group that once controlled the North of the Country. FN were part of the coalition of armed forces that removed Laurent Gbagbo from power. Reports have linked FN, under the leadership of Soro, to serious crimes committed in the recent conflict that the ICC should at least investigate.

Kevin Jon Heller of Opinio Juris analyses this, and other previous missteps by Ocampo., Read HERE.

Does this gesture indicate that the Office of the Prosecutor has taken sides, in ways that would suggest bias against Gbagbo's side? Is victors justice at work in Cote d'Ivoire?

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