International Criminal Court Now Fully Operational

December 2, 2007 10:40 a.m. EST

New York, NY (AHN) - With on-going cases concerning the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, northern Uganda and the Sudanese region of Darfur, the International Criminal Court (ICC) is now fully operational, says its president, Judge Philippe Kirsch.

ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo also urged governments to ensure the arrest of those already indicted by the ICC - Joseph Kony and four other commanders of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda, and two figures from the Darfur conflict.

Both were speaking at a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on Friday, with Kirsch saying that half of the world has ratified the ICC, with Japan and Chad recently topping ICC membership to 105 countries.

"Most importantly, it is increasingly recognized that the court is having the impact for which it was created - deterrence of crimes and improving chances for sustainable peace," he said.

Established in 1998 and based in The Hague, Netherlands, the ICC has jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

In comparison, the International Court of Justice deals with disputes between states and does not have criminal jurisdiction to prosecute individuals.