It was in 2003 when Luis Moreno-Ocampo (born in Buenos Aires, 1952), then a professor at Harvard University, received the news that he would become the first Chief Prosecutor of the newly formed International Criminal Court. His previous experience in prosecuting the Argentinean military juntas, who were responsible for committing atrocious crimes during President Videla's dictatorship, in what would be known as the "Dirty War," made him a credible choice.
Moreno-Ocampo could not reject the invitation. In the seven years he's headed this Office, this tenacious man has indicted the President of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, for genocide, and prosecuted three Congolese rebels as well as the former Vice President of the DRC, Jean Pierre Bemba. His high-powered job in Argentina was simply training for his most important mission: to enforce the rule of law across the world.
Question. We see you every day in meetings with senior officials, civil society representatives, students and journalists. You have the enormous responsibility of being the first Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, charged with convincing the world of the existence of a new idea: global justice. What challenges do you face?
Answer. The Rome Statute is a confederation of states determined to end atrocities. It is a modern concept which is based on a core value: there are no more massive crimes. These crimes cross borders, they are expandable, and this what the international community needs to address. When a national prosecutor makes a decision, it is implemented automatically, but at the international level, it is not the same. I have to apply the law and explain to the states what we do. That's the challenge, to explain this new idea.
Q. You present yourself as an independent prosecutor whose decisions are not determined by politics. Your job is to apply the law. However, you need the political commitment of the states involved to implement this idea of global justice. How do you handle this dilemma?
A. This is an agreement signed by the states. On the one hand, we must ensure that the countries that signed the Rome Statute honour their commitment. And on the other hand, we have to make the states that did not sign it, such as China, Russia and the United States, understand what we are doing. My job is to remind these countries: "This is the law." I cannot convince them, I will never do so. I have to get used to being unpopular, as no one agrees with the referee. We generate opposition because we are establishing a revolutionary idea; we are changing the rules of the game.
Q. You don't have a police force or an army to implement arrest warrants. However, you said that the power of this Court lies in its legitimacy. But, as you just mentioned, you don't have the support of big powers like the U.S. and China. How does this lack of commitment affect your legitimacy?
A. It affects their legitimacy, not ours. The Court has gained an enormous legitimacy in a few years and that's incredible. It has been achieved in such a short time because the idea [of the establishment of the ICC] was ready. Humanity was predisposed to welcome us and we appeared.
Q. When you took up the Office in 2003, there were only three employees. What is the process of building up an institution that had been planned 50 years ago?
A. That was fascinating. When I arrived at The Hague, the Court had fifteen floors; six floors were for the Office of the Prosecutor and it consisted of only two professionals and one assistant. We had to build everything up from scratch. I hired the best experts from all over the world. It was a challenge to reconcile all these differences and get something positive.
Q. Why did you accept this job?
A. One day I received a call telling me that the ICC was looking for a Chief Prosecutor and that my name was among the candidates. I thought I was not going to be selected. I was also nominated in 1993 for the post of Prosecutor of the [International Criminal Tribunal] for the former Yugoslavia but my country, Argentina, did not support it. When I received the news that I was appointed, I was working as a professor at Harvard University. That job was fascinating; it was a dream. But being the Prosecutor of the ICC was much more than a dream. How could I say no? So I left everything behind. I sold my law firm and I came here to be part of this project.
Q. Are you the right person to lead the Office of the Prosecutor of the first permanent criminal court?
A. During the trial of the juntas in Argentina, I learned how to investigate massive crimes. The corruption cases also taught me the difficulty of handling criminal cases when the government does not support you. So I believe that my experience as a prosecutor in Argentina has given me valuable knowledge at the international level.
Q. In the trial of the juntas, you also learned that justice can help reconcile a divided society. Do you think that the proceedings in The Hague can bring peace and reconciliation to those regions where heinous crimes have been committed?
A. Those leaders who commit crimes justify them by saying that they just protected their people. Thus the only way to end the logic of killing your enemy is to create a legal system where there are no enemies. If someone rapes my daughter, nobody can oblige me to reconcile with the aggressor, but I am forced to not kill him. It is a system in which we don't kill our enemy but we put him in prison. That's different.
Q. Kenya is a clear example of the need for cooperation by states. Last December, your Office presented a list of six people suspected of having the greatest responsibility for the post-electoral violence in 2007. Among them, there are members of the current government. You have requested the judges to call them to appear in Court. Will they come to The Hague?
A. Yes, we have asked the judges to cite them to appear before the Court. Instead of issuing an arrest warrant, we want them to come voluntarily, and the good thing is that the six [suspects] have said yes.
Q. The Kenyan Government has already announced its intention to withdraw from the Rome Statute. In that case, Kenya would be the first of the 114 signatory states to do so. The decision will not affect the course of investigations and the proceedings against the accused, but how will this gesture affect the ICC's credibility, especially in the region?
A. In Kenya, I have 93 percent of the population's support. [Within the government] there are divisions, of course. When you try to put limits on power, those in power react.
Q. Let's talk about your first case against the Congolese rebel, Thomas Lubanga. What seemed a simple case (one charge, recruitment of child soldiers) has become a mess. The Defence accused the Office of the Prosecutor of having collaborated with intermediaries who convinced the former child soldiers to lie in their testimony.
A. The Lubanga trial is going well. The Defence tried to attack the Prosecution and that's OK; it's right. We have a strong case. We have made our submissions and we have told the judges that we did not act improperly.
Q. Is Omar al-Bashir an obsession? (The ICC has issued an arrest warrant against the Sudanese President, accusing him of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Darfur)
A. No, I'm obsessed that the genocide continues. I have nothing personal against Omar al-Bashir. What haunts me is that we cannot stop the genocide.
Q. The African Union has asked the UN Security Council to suspend proceedings against the Sudanese President because it compromises the peace in the region. Why does the Council continue to entrust you with such a complex case?
A. None of the African states made that petition to the [Security] Council. There are many political games in there, and they use it to attack me personally. The ICC judges made a decision on Darfur; it was not my decision. That was another thing I learned in Argentina, that there are no half measures. People either love you or they hate you.
Q. Let's talk about Colombia. There are national legal mechanisms in place, and therefore it is not your duty to investigate. But five years after the implementation of "Justice and Peace" (the legal framework that demobilised more than 30,000 irregular fighters involved in the commission of serious crimes), there is only one sentence on the table. Are these legal proceedings genuine?
A. The court requires that the investigations and prosecutions are genuine. No doubt that in Colombia these proceedings are genuine. It is true that they've been delayed; yes, there have been problems, but [the Colombian] case is very complex. Colombian judges are very good and the Justice and Peace Law has allowed them to uncover hundreds of thousands of killings. Colombia is a sophisticated country and this law is also a very sophisticated one, very complex and interesting. This is a unique process in the world.
Q. Your mandate will come to an end in June 2012. What would you like to do before leaving the Office?
A. The plan is very clear. This year we will finish the trials of [Thomas] Lubanga and [Germain] Katanga and [Mathieu] Ngudjolo. We will open the trial against Callixte Mbarushimana, and there will also be important progress in the investigations in Kenya; basically each case will go forward. My job is also to lay the foundations of this institution, so we are developing clear policies and ensuring coordination with the other organs of the Court. In short, this year I want to ensure a harmonious relationship between the states parties and the Court.
Q. Who could be a good successor?
A. That's the states parties' choice . My task will be to help the candidate to understand very well what we do. It will be an orderly transition.
Q. Is being the Chief Prosecutor of the ICC the job of your life?
A. Of course. This is for me the most important mission in the world.
Sheila Vélez is a freelance journalist and author of the "Lubanga Chronicles" which document the ICC trial
sheila.velez@aegistrust.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
