UN / ICC IRAQ

The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Fatou Bensouda, announced that she has decided to re-open the preliminary examination into the responsibility of officials of the United Kingdom for war crimes involving systematic detainee abuse in Iraq from 2003 until 2008. UNIFEED - UNTV

• Categories: News & Features / News Stories / Unifeed
• Video Length: 00:01:40
• Production Date: 13 May 2014
• Asset Language: Original
• Corporate Name: INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT - ICC
• Subject Topical: DISARMAMENT; CRIMES; CRIMINAL JUSTICE
• Geographic Subject: IRAQ
• MAMS Id: 1016915

Description

STORY: UN / ICC IRAQ
TRT: 1.40
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 13 MAY 2014, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

Shotlist

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

13 MAY 2014, NEW YORK CITY

2. Wide shot, dais
3. Med shot, reporters
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Fatou B. Bensouda, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court:
“I have received earlier this year substantial information, much more than what we had in 2006, I think, on alleged crimes that were committed by the UK forces. And I am able to go, to do the UK forces as opposed to the US forces as you asked me, because the United Kingdom is a state party to the Rome Statute, and as you know the ICC has jurisdiction over crimes that are committed on the territory of a state party or by nationals of a state party.”
5. Med shot, photographer
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Fatou B. Bensouda, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court:
“It’s not an investigation. It is a process whereby we, first of all, check for issues of whether the subject matter, crimes, have been committed, and who is most responsible for those crimes, whether the national jurisdiction is doing anything to address those crimes, and whether it will be in the interest of justice to carry on with the preliminary examinations.”
7. Med shot, cameraman
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Fatou B. Bensouda, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court:
“We are not going to say that we’ll go after the military or we’ll go after the civilian political, we will be just looking at the persons, whoever they are, who bear responsibility for those crimes if we are going to investigate.”
9. Zoom out, end of presser

Storyline

Today, (13 May), the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (“ICC”), Fatou Bensouda, announced that she has decided to re-open the preliminary examination into the responsibility of officials of the United Kingdom for war crimes involving systematic detainee abuse in Iraq from 2003 until 2008.

Bensouda told a press conference in New York that she has received “substantial information” warranting a preliminary examination of the alleged crimes.

During the preliminary examination, the Prosecutor shall consider issues of jurisdiction, admissibility and the interests of justice, in order to decide whether or not the criteria to open an investigation under article 53 of the Rome Statute have been met.

She noted that the Court is looking into the allegations against the United Kingdom military but not against the United States forces which had been accused of similar crimes, “because the United Kingdom is a state party to the Rome Statute.”

Iraq is not a State Party to the Rome Statute, however, the ICC has jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed on the territory of Iraq by nationals of states parties.

Bensouda said “we are not going to say that we’ll go after the military or we’ll go after the civilian political, we will be just looking at the persons, whoever they are, who bear responsibility for those crimes if we are going to investigate.”

The re-opened preliminary examination will analyse, in particular, alleged crimes attributed to the armed forces of the United Kingdom deployed in Iraq between 2003 and 2008.