On Monday, October 14, the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor announced the “reactivation” of investigations in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), following a visit by Congolese Deputy Minister of Justice Samuel Mbemba Kabuya to The Hague. Since 2004, the ICC has issued arrest warrants for seven Congolese officials, with five already tried for crimes committed in the country.
The new investigations, led by ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan, will focus on war crimes committed since January 2022 in North Kivu, eastern DRC. Khan introduced a “two-track approach,” targeting all suspected perpetrators while also supporting the Congolese justice system. He praised the formation of a steering committee to establish a Special Criminal Court for the DRC, aligning with his policy of strengthening domestic justice.
This move follows a memorandum signed with the DRC government in June 2023, a month after Kinshasa requested the ICC to resume investigations. The ICC’s involvement in the DRC has seen high-profile cases against figures like Jean-Pierre Bemba, Thomas Lubanga, and Bosco Ntaganda.
In parallel, the ICC is continuing its investigations in Côte d’Ivoire, focusing on factions from the country’s conflict, including the Forces Nouvelles rebellion led by Guillaume Soro, who went into exile in 2019 after a fallout with President Alassane Ouattara. Deputy ICC Prosecutor Mandiaye Niang confirmed that investigations into Côte d’Ivoire’s post-election violence from 2010-2011 are still ongoing, though judicial cooperation remains fragile.