Crimes in Guinea:the ICC report which "overwhelms" the authorities ...

THE HAGUE-The International Criminal Court (ICC) has just published a damning report on Guinea, a habit of violence that very often results in deaths.  The six-page note published on December 14, 2020 was viewed by Africaguinee.com.  It evokes the situation of the evolution of the file of the massacre of September 28, 2009.

 Indeed, Guinea has been the subject of a preliminary examination since October 14, 2009. Under Article 15 of the Rome Statute, ratified by Guinea since October 1, 2003, the Court has jurisdiction to judge crimes.  which were committed on Guinean territory or by its nationals.  The report focuses on five chapters: a reminder of the procedure, question of jurisdiction at the preliminary examination stage, assessment of admissibility, activities of the office, conclusion and next steps.

 The report highlights the activities carried out and especially the promises not kept by the Guinean authorities regarding the opening of the trial.  The prosecutor's office announces that it will rule on the admissibility of the case during the year 2021.

 "Given the length of the preliminary examination and the particular challenges posed by the situation in terms of complementarity, the Bureau will intend to develop a framework defining a certain number of criteria and indicators, adapted to the situation of Guinea, which  will allow it to refine its admissibility analysis. In addition to the aforementioned roadmap, the definition of this framework will allow the Office to make an informed decision on admissibility during the year 2021 ", we read.  .

 Conclusions ...

In its conclusions, the International Criminal Court mentions that since the previous report of the Bureau, the Guinean authorities have not taken any concrete measures to organize the trial devoted to the events of September 28, 2009. The last meeting of the steering committee dates back to  until August 2019 and the Guinean authorities have not communicated any new timetable for the opening of the trial in question, after having failed to respect the one announced in October 2019.

 "In order to ensure that the national authorities make concrete progress in organizing the holding of a trial, the Office has invested unprecedented time and effort, but which has its limits.  explained the Prosecutor in his last statement of October 9, 2020, the Guinean authorities must demonstrate, in the coming months, that they have the will and the capacity both to fight against impunity and to prevent new cycles of violence  ", urges the report.

 Next steps…

 Along with its assessment of the measures to be taken for the organization of the trial, the Office announces that it will consult the Guinean authorities and stakeholders on the development of a frame of reference, the purpose of which will be to enable the Office to  define the indicators on which it could, in principle, be based to conclude, in due time, whether it will ultimately be appropriate to open an investigation or to defer to the national judicial process after the implementation  a truly relevant procedure.  The Bureau also specifies that it intends to communicate a draft of this reference framework to the Guinean authorities and other stakeholders in order to receive their observations during the first half of 2021.

 To be continued…

 A synthesis by Diallo Boubacar 1

 For Africaguinee.com