Renewed Strategic Plan Bears Fruit for International Criminal Court, Chief Prosecutor Says, Briefing Security Council on Work in Libya
Speakers Press for Strong Cooperation between ICC, Libyan Authorities
The implementation of a renewed Strategic Plan for the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in Libya has provided “significant and clearly discernible” results, its Prosecutor told the Security Council today, cautioning however that real and profound resource restrictions are having an impact on his Office’s work.
Karim Khan, noting that his comments were limited by obligations of confidentiality and subject to judicial orders, highlighted progress in the acceleration of investigations, use of technological applications and cooperation with Libyan authorities during his biannual briefing to the Council on the ICC’s activities in Libya.
Speaking via videoconference, he said that he aims to complete investigative activities on key lines of inquiry by the end of 2025. He also intends to work with stakeholders in the next six months to prepare a plan for this, pursuant to resolution 1970 (2011). “Whether that goal is achievable will depend on if we can collectively deliver on the plans outlined,” he said, including through cooperation with Libyan authorities.
Over the last six months, his Office has undertaken over 15 investigation missions and collected more than 4,000 items of evidence. “Lines of investigation against key suspects have been successfully concluded,” he said, adding that progress has been made regarding inquiries on crimes in detention facilities and those against migrants.
He cautioned, however, that “we cannot take this progress for granted” as the Office is facing real and profound resource restrictions. Based on a fundamental strategic review of his Office’s work, he said that he has identified resource shortfalls within its regular programme budget and has requested an increased budget for 2024, particularly to investigate financial flows and proceeds of crime.
In ensuing debate, Council members called for greater cooperation between the Court and Libyan authorities and for steps to be taken to ensure a more stable ICC budget.
France’s representative, taking note of the Court’s request for an increased budget, welcomed progress on the lines of inquiry outlined in the strategy. She emphasized the need for cooperation with Libyan authorities to combat impunity and acknowledged progress made by the Office — as a result of such cooperation — on detention centres and crimes against migrants, leading to the arrest and prosecution of key suspects.
The United States’ representative expressed disappointment at the absence of steady and reliable cooperation from the Libyan national authorities. He called on them to grant visas to investigators, enforce arrest warrants and swiftly finalize the establishment of an Office of the Prosecutor liaison in Tripoli.
Gabon’s representative similarly encouraged the Prosecutor to keep working closely with Libyan authorities and to engage other stakeholders to a greater degree, including civil society. Dialogue with victims, victims’ associations and local communities should be enhanced, she said, adding that there is also a need to prioritize an approach that promotes the establishment of truth, justice and reparations.
The delegate of the Russian Federation called the ICC’s activities ineffective and politicized. “The only real priority for the ICC is made-to-order trials which are shamelessly paid for by Western countries,” she said, suggesting that the Council — which referred the situation in Libya to the Court — consider recalling the case.
Libya’s representative, speaking at the end of the meeting, said that while his delegation appreciates the Prosecutor’s efforts, there is nothing new to be said. “For the Libyan people, the Libyan file before the ICC is stagnant and has been stagnant for years.” Libya is committed to holding accountable all those who perpetrated crimes and atrocities, and its judiciary is committed to fair and impartial trials. He urged the Prosecutor to share the results of the Court’s work, adding: “We cannot remain under the mandate of the ICC indefinitely because the Libyan judiciary was not established yesterday; it has a long history.”
THE SITUATION IN LIBYA
Briefing
KARIM KHAN, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, said that his Office has made significant progress in the implementation of the renewed Strategic Plan which it presented 18 months ago “to deliver on the hopes and legitimate expectations of survivors in Libya”. This includes accelerating its investigative activities, undertaking over 15 missions in three regions, collecting more than 4,000 items of evidence, including video and audio material, and conducting numerous interviews. The Office is reaching key benchmarks in its key lines of inquiry, in particular in addressing crimes related to the 2014-2020 operations. “Lines of investigation against key suspects have been successfully concluded,” he said, adding the Office is approaching the stage “where investigative activities in relation to this priority line of inquiry can be assessed as complete”. Positive progress has also been made regarding inquiries on detention facilities and crimes against migrants, he added.
Engagement with those affected by alleged Rome Statute crimes has been deepened, he continued, noting that the Office’s ongoing presence in the region has helped in this regard, providing access to new key potential evidence and witnesses. The Office is also continuing to make progress in harnessing advanced technology, including cloud management of evidence and the use of artificial intelligence to transcribe video materials. It has launched a digital platform, OTPLink, allowing more secure transfer of information from stakeholders, including witnesses. His Office has also deepened collaboration with national authorities, with a more dynamic approach to complementarity. This renewed approach has been particularly impactful in investigating crimes against migrants. The Office must work as a hub, not an apex, with national authorities, he emphasized. Over the last six months, the Office has worked closely with the Joint Team investigating crimes against migrants on the Central Mediterranean Route, which it formally joined in 2022 and which represents a fundamentally new way of working with national authorities. Joint investigation missions have been carried out and weekly meetings with key partners held, while a Joint Team partners strategic-level meeting will be held in December. Based on this collective work, the Office has been able to provide tangible support in ongoing investigations and prosecutions with respect to key suspects in human trafficking in Italy and the Netherlands, he said.
He went on to describe challenges concerning cooperation in the last reporting period, including obtaining visas for operation-level field missions that would have accelerated cooperation in forensics. However, there has been “discernable improvement”, with visas being received today for the team in Libya. In the last six months through the partnership with affected communities and Libyan authorities and partners, the Office has continued positive momentum and is seeing results. But “we cannot take this progress for granted”, he said, emphasizing that the resource restrictions which the Office faces are real and profound. Based on a fundamental strategic review of his Office’s work, he has identified resource shortfalls within the Office’s regular programme budget and requested an increased budget for 2024, particularly to investigate financial flows and proceeds of crime.
There must be a provision of a clear vision as to the ultimate collective goal, he said, and referrals from the Security Council to the Office cannot be a never-ending story. The new strategy seeks to provide greater clarity on what the Office is doing and focused on. In his opinion, the results of this new strategic approach are significant and clearly discernible. As it builds on this momentum, it is critical the Office engages with the Council, the Government of Libya and survivors to chart a path for successful completion of its activities. This includes longer-term, deeper engagement with national authorities based on complementarity. Going forward, he said that he intends to work in the coming six months with key stakeholders to prepare a plan for completion of activities by the Office pursuant to resolution 1970 (2011). The aim is to complete investigative activities in relation to key lines of inquiry by the end of 2025. “Whether that goal is achievable will depend on if we can collectively deliver on the plans outlined” in the report, including through cooperation with Libyan authorities, he said....
https://press.un.org/en/2023/sc15483.doc.htm
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