Libya: UN continues to send aid as Security Council debates crimes against humanity
4 May 2011
The International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor will ask the court’s judges to issue arrest warrants for three people who he said seem to bear the greatest responsibility for crimes against humanity committed in Libya since a pro-democracy movement emerged in mid-February.
As United Nations humanitarian agencies continued today to deliver aid to civilians caught up in the ongoing conflict in the North African country, Luis Moreno-Ocampo told the Security Council in a statement that “in the coming weeks” he will apply to the ICC’s pre-trial chamber for the arrest warrants.
Mr. Moreno-Ocampo said the evidence collected so far by investigators working for his office “has confirmed the fears and concerns” in the Council resolution adopted on 26 February that referred the situation in Libya to the ICC.
“The evidence collected establishes reasonable grounds to believe that widespread and systematic attacks against the civilian population have been and continue to be committed in Libya, including murder and persecution as crimes against humanity,” he said.
Evidence indicates that security forces have shot at peaceful protesters in multiple locations and that the Government hired mercenaries and brought them into the country, the statement noted. Torture, killings and enforced disappearances have also been reported.
“The efforts to cover up the crimes have made it difficult to ascertain the precise number of victims but there is credible information that estimates that, just as the result of such shootings, 500 to 700 persons died in February alone.
“It is difficult to estimate the numbers because dead bodies were removed from streets and hospitals. Doctors were not allowed to document the number of dead and injured admitted to hospitals after the violent clashes began. blah blah
No bodies, why does that sound familiar?
2 comments:
dead can dance
?
Post a Comment