The International Criminal Court Builds Its Case.

While the world eagerly awaits any ICC announcement concerning the case of Omar al-Bashir, the fight to end impunity in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues to move forward.

In an interview with Reuters, chief ICC prosecutor Luis-Moreno Ocampo said that he will appear before the judges of the ICC's first trial chamber on Wednesday, October 1 to discuss the case against Omar al-Bashir. As this process moves forward, the ICC continues to receive criticism over its focus on Africa and the Sudanese government continues to press for a suspension of charges in the interests of peace and security in the region.

With this as a backdrop, the fight against impunity continues, as the ICC announced that two men charged in connection with war crimes in the eastern DRC will stand trial in The Hague. Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui will be tried on charges of recruiting child soldiers and committing a number of war crimes, including willful killings and rape as part of an attack on the village of Bogoro, in Congo's Ituri region.

This follows the trial of Thomas Lubanga on similar charges and an arrest warrant for Bosco Ntaganda in relation to crimes committed during latter days of the Second Congo War.

For more information on the conflict in the eastern DRC, please visit our Area of Concern page at http://www.genocideintervention.net/educate/crisis/democratic_republic_of_congo.