Luis Moreno-Ocampo

Luis Moreno-Ocampo (born 4 June 1952, Buenos Aires) is the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC). He is thus responsible for investigating and prosecuting war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Born in Buenos Aires and a citizen of Argentina, he gained a reputation prosecuting abuses by senior military officials and for his work to combat corruption.

Legal career

A 1978 graduate of University of Buenos Aires Law School, Moreno-Ocampo was a law clerk from 1980 to 1984 to the Argentine Solicitor General before rising to prominence as the assistant prosecutor of the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons in the 1984-1985 "Trial of the Juntas". The prosecution of nine senior figures, including three former heads of state, of the military dictatorship that ran the country from 1976 to 1983 resulted in five convictions. It was the first prosecution of senior commanders for the mass killing of civilians since the Nuremberg Trials followed the Second World War.

Over the next few years, Moreno established a reputation for his willingness to confront the rich and the powerful of Argentina. In 1986 he was assistant prosecutor in the trial of senior members of the Buenos Aires Police Force, including General Ramón Camps, for gross human rights abuses. He was part of the extradition team that sent General Guillermo Suárez Mason to the U.S. state of California, led the prosecution of the leaders of two military rebellions (in 1987 and 1990), and was the Main Prosecutor of the review for the military trial for malpractice against the commanders of the Falklands War ( _es. Guerra de las Malvinas/Guerra del Atlántico Sur) .

In 1992, Moreno-Ocampo left his position as Main Prosecutor of the Argentine Federal Court to start a law firm specializing in corruption control, criminal law and human rights law. At the same time he became an Associate Professor of criminal law at the University of Buenos Aires. He has also been a guest professor at Stanford University and Harvard Law School. As well as his professional duties, he has been highly active in the anti-corruption NGO Transparency International, being the former president of its Latin America and Caribbean office and a current member of its global governing board.

International Criminal Court

Luis Moreno-Ocampo was elected unopposed to the position of ICC Prosecutor in 2003 by a ballot of more than 70 countries and sworn in on 16 June 2003.

Initial investigations

His initial investigations have focused on the abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo following the formal end of the Second Congo War, the insurgency of the Uganda-based Lord's Resistance Army , the Darfur conflict of western Sudan and most recently, the Central African Republic.

The International Criminal Court and the 2003 invasion of Iraq

In March 2003, the United States and its allies, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Poland invaded Iraq. The UK, Australia, and Poland are all state parties to the Rome Statute which established the ICC and therefore their nationals are liable to prosecution by the court for the violation of any relevant international criminal laws. The Office of the Prosecutor of the ICC reported in February 2006, that it had received 240 communications in connection with the invasion of Iraq in March 2003 which alleged that various war crimes had been committed.

On 2006-02-09, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, in his position as Prosecutor of the ICC, published a letter that he had sent to all those who had communicated with him concerning the above, which set out his conclusions on these matters, following a preliminary analysis of the complaints. He explained in his decision letter, that essentially two sets of complaints were involved. He explained that the legality of the invasion was not within his competence because crimes against peace have not yet been incorporated into the Rome Statute; and that in the other cases none of them were of sufficient gravity to warrant forwarding to the ICC.Luis Moreno-Ocampo " [http://www.icc-cpi.int/library/organs/otp/OTP_letter_to_senders_re_Iraq_9_February_2006.pdf Letter:Public reply with his conclusions allegations of war crimes during the invasion of Iraq in March 2003] "(PDF) 9 February 2006]

Genocide and War crimes charges against the President of Sudan

Moreno-Ocampo, as the ICC's chief prosecutor for Darfur, announced on July 14, 2008, ten criminal charges against Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, accusing him of being responsible for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/14/sudan.warcrimes1?gusrc=rss&feed=worldnews The Guardian: Sudan's Bashir charged with Darfur war genocide ] ] The ICC's prosecutors have claimed that al-Bashir "masterminded and implemented a plan to destroy in substantial part" three tribal groups in Darfur because of their ethnicity. Moreno-Ocampo has filed an application for arrest warrant against al-Bashir with the Pre-Trial Chamber of the Court.

The indictment against al-Bashir was immediately strongly contested in the legal community, for instance by Antonio Cassese [ [http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=94248 The Daily Star: The decision on Darfur has been tactically mishandled ] ] , former head of the UN Commission of Enquiry on Darfur, and by Professor William Schabas [ [http://humanrightsdoctorate.blogspot.com/ Blog of Professor William Schabas: PhD studies in human rights ] ] .

Leaders from three Darfur tribes, said to be the victims of war crimes, sued Ocampo for libel, defamation and igniting hatred and tribalism. [http://www.islamonline.net/english/news/2008-09/14/03.shtml]

Sexual misconduct allegation

Since July 2008 Luis Moreno-Ocampo has come under strong pressure as a result of a judgment [ [http://www.ilo.org/public/english/tribunal/fulltext/2757.htm Judgment 2757 - ILO Administrative Tribunal ] ] by the International Labour Organization (ILO) Administrative Tribunal to set aside his decision to dismiss a whistleblower for making a complaint [http://www.innercitypress.com/ocampocomplaint.pdf Complaint to the Presidency of the ICC] that the prosecutor had been guilty of sexual abuse against a female journalist while on an official visit to South Africa. The evidence in the complaint against Moreno-Ocampo included a digital recording of a telephone conversation between the victim and a colleague of the whistleblower. Although the victim denied that Moreno-Ocampo had used force against her, the ruling of the ILO Tribunal noted that:

"The recorded telephone conversation that occurred two days after the alleged event indicated that the journalist was distressed. And in that conversation, she indicated unambiguously that the Prosecutor “took [her] keys” and that she had consented to sexual intercourse “to get out of [the situation] ”."

The news of the judgment was first published in the Swedish national daily Svenska Dagbladet [ [http://www.svd.se/opinion/brannpunkt/artikel_1489853.svd Svenska Dagbladet Brännpunkt: The Prosecutor Damages the Hague Court ] ] and the UK Daily Telegraph, [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/lawreports/joshuarozenberg/2446064/Omar-al-Bashir-of-Sudans-prosecutor-Luis-Moreno-Ocampo-should-resign.html Daily Telegraph: Omar al-Bashir of Sudan's prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo should resign ] ] both raising the issue of Luis Moreno-Ocampo's removal from office or resignation.

Notes and references

External links

* [http://www.icc-cpi.int/otp/otp_bio.html Chief Prosecutor biography] , ICC official site
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2965263.stm Profile: Luis Moreno Ocampo] , BBC News, 21 April 2003
* [http://www.irinnews.org/S_report.asp?ReportID=47572 UGANDA: Interview with ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo] , IRIN news, 9 June 2005
* [http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/video.php?id=1771 Luis Moreno-Ocampo Interview] on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos
* [http://www.article42-3.org Web site with links concerning sexual misconduct case]