ICC prosecutor to renew Congo investigation, focusing on North Kivu

By Charlotte Van Campenhout, AMSTERDAM Netherlands

International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan said on Monday his office will renew an investigation into Democratic Republic of Congo, focusing on alleged crimes committed in the North Kivu province since January 2022.

The renewed efforts will aim to address allegations including potential war crimes and crimes against humanity, and it will assess the responsibility of all parties involved, without targeting specific groups, Khan added.

He linked recent violence in the area to regional patterns of conflict dating back to 2002, when the ICC's jurisdiction in the DRC began.

The decision followed a second referral from the DRC government in May 2023, which requested an investigation into what the country called the systematic pillaging of its natural resources in eastern Congo by the Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) and the M23 rebel group.