International Criminal Court intends to open office in Libya's Tripoli: Chief prosecutor

By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday announced plans to open an office in Libya's Tripoli, as he marked "significant progress" from their works in Libya.

Stressing the need to "walk shoulder to shoulder not for our own individual interests or the interests of the ICC," Karim Asad Ahmad Khan urged solidarity with the "interests of humanity and the people of Libya" during a UN Security Council session.

Khan emphasized that "continuing business as usual will lead us to the abyss."

Noting that his team "made strong progress" in the last six month alone, he said "the Libya unified team has completed 80 missions in three geographic areas. They have collected more than 800 pieces of evidence including video and audio material. They've taken more than 30 statements, interview statements, screening statements.

He further stated that they have obtained significant and concrete evidence of crimes against migrants, particularly concerning crimes in detention centers.

Calling it a "landmark moment," Khan announced a roadmap in which he said it "could be the completion of the investigative stage."

Khan stated that the roadmap would be implemented in collaboration with Libyan parties, the UN Security Council, and other countries, as it intends to complete the investigative phase by the end of 2025 initially.

He said it will seek more arrest warrants, aim to support start of judicial proceedings at ICC and will transition to judicial and complementarity efforts.

"Of course, it's not going to be easy," he said, adding that there is "an enthusiasm" to open an office in Tripoli to help support the investigation processes related to the cases.

Khan also responded to Russia's Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia's remark about the ICC's lack of action on Palestine since 2015 and the US Congress' call to sanctions ICC officials involved in investigating not only the US but also its allies.

Expressing his gratitude to Nebenzia for his "concerns," Khan reiterated that he and his office would not be shaken or deterred by threats, emphasizing their responsibility to seek justice for victims.

Khan stated, "We have a duty to stand up for justice to stand up for victims and I am fully cognizant that there are goliaths in this room, that are goliaths with power, with influence."

"We are an international organization that are international servants, and we have something called the law. All I can do is say that we will stand up to the best of our ability we will stand up and apply the law with integrity with independence," he added.