Weah, Koijee Risk Prosecution by the International Criminal Court for Election Violence

Fatou Bensouda, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court

Washington (Globe Afrique) – Liberia is slowly inching towards state-sponsored terrorism and violence against its citizens. Fatou Bensouda, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), stated, ‘when passions run high during elections, and people do not act with restraint, this may lead to large-scale crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC. In such a case, the office of the prosecutor will not hesitate to act under the criteria defined by the Rome Statute.

She went on to say, “Political leaders are equally obliged to ensure that the electoral process and elections proceed calmly and that they, their supporters and sympathizers, refrain from any violence before, during and after elections.”

Liberia is a party to the Rome Statute. And, Article 15 of the Rome Statute allows ICC Prosecutors to investigate allegations of crimes based on information from victims, nongovernmental organizations or any other reliable source.  Moreover, the ex officio provisions of the Statute give victims and survivors a role in the ICC process by enabling them to trigger investigations.

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