ICC Prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo wants to launch a formal investigation into post-election in Kenya

Photo (Associated Press): The International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands

Where Is Amsterdam Located?

Where is Amsterdam, you might be wondering? Amsterdam is the capital city of the Netherlands, and this country is located in North-West Europe between Germany in the east, Belgium in the south, and the North Sea in the north and west.

Amsterdam is located in the province of North-Holland. The provincial capital of North-Holland is not Amsterdam, though, but Haarlem. (Harlem in New York is named after Haarlem, because of the Dutch founders of New York.)

Sometimes foreigners mistakenly think that The Hague is the capital of the Netherlands, because the Dutch government is located there. Amsterdam is clearly the cultural capital of the Netherlands, though: it has the biggest museums, the leading orchestras, two universities, most national newspapers and a thriving art scene. It's a popular tourist destination: 4 million tourists annually come to see the old city center's architecture and canals, visit the museums and experience the liberal, international culture.

The Netherlands are sometimes popularly called 'Holland', but actually Holland refers to the western provinces of North-Holland and South-Holland within the Netherlands. The inhabitants of the Netherlands are called the Dutch.

Distances To Amsterdam From Abroad

How far is Amsterdam from some major world capitals?

Click here to read full story at www.amsterdam-advisor.com. The flying times refer commercial airliners and are averages.
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Report from:   Aljazeera.net
Date:  Thursday, November 26, 2009
16:33 MECCA Time, 13:33 GMT

Title:  Prosecutor requests Kenya inquiry

The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has asked judges to allow him to launch a formal investigation into post-election in Kenya.

The ICC said on November 6 it would consider a prosecution request to investigate suspected crimes against humanity committed during the clashes, which left at least 1,300 people dead.

"There is a reasonable basis to believe that crimes against humanity within the jurisdiction of the court were committed," Luis Moreno-Ocampo said in The Hague, Netherlands, on Thursday.

"In particular, crimes of murder, rape and other forms of sexual violence, deportation or forcible transfer of population and other inhuman acts."

The violence broke out after Raila Odinga, now prime minister in a power-sharing government, accused his rival for the presidency, Mwai Kibaki, the incumbent president, of winning the December 27, 2007 poll through widespread fraud.

Hundreds of thousands of people were forced from their homes as the violence raged.

Investigation

Moreno-Ocampo has been conducting a preliminary investigation into the clashes since February last year and said during a visit to Kenya last month that he wished to pursue "those responsible".

This is the first time that the ICC prosecutor has sought to open an official investigation on his own initiative, one of three ways in which a case can come before the international court.

Other cases before the court had either been referred by countries that have signed up to the court's founding Rome Statute or by the UN Security Council, as in the case of the conflict in Darfur, Sudan.

Elizabeth Evenson, counsel in the international justice programme of Human Rights Watch, said: "The ICC is a court of last resort, and when national authorities are unwilling to act, it is supposed to step in.

"Today's announcement shows that the ICC prosecutor can and will act on his own in situations of serious crimes."

The Kenyan government has yet to act on the recommendation of its own inquiry that a special tribunal be set up to investigate the violence.

Moses Wetangula, the Kenyan foreign minister, said earlier this month that Nairobi would assist any ICC to investigation, but was committed to a "local solution".

In July, Kofi Annan, the former UN secretary-general who helped broker the power-sharing deal between Kenya's leaders, sent the ICC a list of names of key suspects that is believed to include senior government officials.

Click here for photo - Moreno-Ocampo, left, has been carrying out his own investigation since February last year [AFP] - with thanks to Aljazeera.net
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Books by Dr. Luis Moreno Ocampo & Bio

Here is a copy of a bio from http://www.loc.gov/bicentennial/bios/democracy/...

Luis Moreno Ocampo, a graduate of the University of Buenos Aires Law School, is currently in private practice in Buenos Aires, where he specializes in corruption control programs for large organizations. He also serves as an adjunct professor of Penal Law at his alma mater.

Mr. Moreno Ocampo played a key role in the trials related to Argentina's democratic transition.

He was the assistant prosecutor in the trials against the military junta (1985), and in the trials against the chief of the Buenos Aires Police (1986).

When he served as District Attorney for the Federal Circuit of the City of Buenos Aires from 1987 to 1992, he was in charge of the trials against the military responsible for the Falklands [Malvinas] war (1988), those who headed the military rebellions in 1988, and prosecuted many large public corruption cases.

He has worked with both the Inter-American Development Bank and the United Nations, aiding governments to establish systems to control corruption.

He was the co-founder of Poder Ciudadano, a non-governmental organization which promotes citizen responsibility and participation.

Mr. Moreno Ocampo is a member of the Advisory Committee of Transparency International, a world-wide organization that reduces corruption in international business transactions; in addition he serves as its President for Latin America and the Caribbean.

His publications include In Self Defense, How to Avoid Corruption (1993) and When Power Lost the Trial: How to Explain the Dictatorship to Our Children (1996). He has developed methods to teach law and conflict resolution through a daily television show called Forum.

Click here to see Dr. Moreno Ocampo's books listed on Amazon.co.uk

Here is a snapshot of my search today on Amazon.co.uk

Books › "Luis Moreno Ocampo"
Showing 4 Results

1. En Defensa Propia - Como Salir de la Corrupcion by Luis Moreno Ocampo (Paperback - Dec 1993)
2 Used & new from £29.95

2. La Hora De La Transparencia En America Latina: El Manual De Anticorrupcion En La Funcion Publica (Etica y Transparencia) by Valeria Merino, Juan Lozano, and Luis Moreno Ocampo (Paperback - 1 Mar 1998)
Buy new: £12.00
18 Used & new from £5.85
Usually dispatched within 3 to 5 weeks
Eligible for FREE Super Saver Delivery.

3. Brida by Paulo Coelho and Luis Gabriel Moreno Ocampo (Paperback - Jun 1998)
3 Used & new from £43.80

4. Cuando El Poder Perdio El Juicio by Luis Moreno Ocampo (Paperback - Jun 1996)
1 Used & new from £27.59

Front cover of Dr. Moreno Ocampo's book.
Source:  Amazon.co.uk website, with thanks.
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Photo: The Chief Prosecutor Mr. Luis Moreno Ocampo, sworn in on the 16th of June 2003. (Source:  ICC / Sudan Watch archives February 27, 2007)



Photo:  ICC to name first Darfur suspects - ST/Reuters (Source: Sudan Watch archives February 27, 2007)

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YouTube:  ICC's Moreno Ocampo on arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir



Posted to YouTube by EUXTV, March 04, 2009 with the following caption and tags under the category of News & Politics:

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, reacts to the court's decision to issue an arrest warrant for Omar al-Bashir, the President of Sudan. Al-Bashir is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Category: News & Politics

Tags: Luis Moreno Ocampo war crimes Sudan Darfur Omar al Bashir president Africa Chad EUFOR MINURCAT genocides tubemogul eux eux.tv the hague icc international criminal court tsjaad soedan khartoum al-Bashir goz beida EUX.TV European elections 2009 European Union European Parliament EuropeanUnion EuropeanParliament EUX EUXTV

The National Electoral Commission has cancelled arrangements which made voter registration easier for Sudanese citizens living in Kenya

Report from Sudan Radio Service, Thursday, 26 November 2009:

(Nairobi) - The National Electoral Commission has canceled arrangements which made voter registration easier for Sudanese citizens living in Kenya.

Earlier this week, the NEC had decided that a valid passport or a student ID was enough to enable people to register. People without a valid passport were able to register if they were accompanied by a witness who could vouch for their identity.

However, speaking to Sudan Radio Service on Thursday in Nairobi, the Sudanese ambassador to Kenya, Majok Guangdong, said the Embassy had received a letter from the NEC which set out the new registration requirements.

[Majok Guandong]: "Yesterday, we received a letter from the National Electoral Commission indicating that the procedures should follow the law, which states that a person should be Sudanese, 18 years and above, holding a valid Sudanese passport and a resident permit. People who do not meet these requirements will not be able to register."

Ambassador Guandong fears that fewer people will register following the announcement of the new requirements.

[Majok Guandong]: "I think the number of people will definitely reduce because there is no flexibility and the people who will turn out will be just those who meet the new requirements. I am expecting that the numbers of Sudanese coming to register will drop considerably."

He urged Sudanese citizens living in Kenya to continue to participate in the voter registration exercise.

Click on National Election Commission label here below to view related news and updates.  Cross-posted at Sudan Watch.

Voter registration requirements for Sudanese living in Kenya have been eased

Note that the voter registration process in Sudan, which was to end on November 30, has been extended to December 7.

Report by Sudan Radio Service, Tuesday, November 24, 2009:

(Nairobi) - Voter registration requirements for Sudanese living in Kenya have been eased to make it simpler for them to vote.

The Sudanese Ambassador to Kenya, Guandong Majok, described the new conditions to Sudan Radio Service on Monday.

[Guandong Majok]: “A Sudanese student who is 18 years old or above must have a valid passport and a student ID. This is considered as one of the conditions you should have to register. Regarding parents who are here with their children in schools, we have agreed that the mother should have a valid passport and have one of her children enrolled as a student in Kenya. This will enable her to register. We also formed a committee with a chief and people who know the members of the community because there are Sudanese who have been here since the war and after the peace agreement they got Sudanese passports and they live here. We also formed a committee between the Sudanese community and the embassy so that they can act as witnesses for people they know and these people will be allowed to register with their witness.”

There has been a marked increase of people going to register following the announcement of the new requirements.

Kuol Nyang Kuol is a registration officer at the Embassy. He spoke to Sudan Radio Service on Monday.

[Kuol Nyang Kuol]: “From November 10th until Sunday, only one or two people came during the whole day but today, as you can see, there are more than a hundred people.”

The voter registration process, which was to end on November 30, has been extended to December 7.

UPDATE on Thursday 16:16 PM GMT UK Nov 26 2009:

The National Electoral Commission has cancelled arrangements which made voter registration easier for Sudanese citizens living in Kenya

Sudanese in Kenya to Register at Embassy

The ambassador said the Embassy will also facilitate ways in which Sudanese living in other parts of Kenya will be registered. However he said that the process may be different for people living in refugee camps.

He called on Sudanese in East Africa to come out and register in large numbers in order to be able to exercise their right to vote in the elections.

Voter registration will go on for the next ten days.

From Sudan Radio Service, Monday, 16 November 2009:
Sudanese in Kenya to Register at Embassy

(Nairobi) - The Embassy of the Sudan in Kenya launched its voter registration campaign in Nairobi on Monday to register Sudanese living in Kenya for the upcoming general elections in Sudan.

The move follows concerns by Sudanese living in Kenya last week that they may not be able to take part in the elections since Kenya was not included in the list of countries that was circulated by NEC last month.

Speaking at a press conference in Nairobi on Monday, Ambassador Majok Guangdong said the Embassy will also facilate the issuing of documents to enable Sudanese in Kenya to register for the upcoming elections.

[Ambassador Majok Guangdong]: “The Sudanese in the Diaspora have the right to participate in the presidential elections which are going to be held concurrently with the other elections such as those for the president of GOSS, the national assembly, the state governors, state legislative assemblies, and the southern Sudan legislative assembly. The National Elections Commission has decided to open a registration centre in 14 countries outside Sudan, including Kenya, which hosts the majority of the Sudanese Diaspora in East Africa.”

Voter registration will go on for the next ten days.

The ambassador said the Embassy will also facilitate ways in which Sudanese living in other parts of Kenya will be registered. However he said that the process may be different for people living in refugee camps.

[Ambassador Majok Guangdong]: “We are also considering opening registration centers in Nakuru and Eldoret; this will take place in the course of next week so that we give our citizens there the opportunity to exercise their right to vote in the coming historical elections.
The question of Kakuma, we need to make an assessment. Most of the people in Kakuma are refugees and we assume that they may not have valid documents. We are also appealing to the Sudanese citizens who have no documents to come to the embassy and get valid documents to qualify for registration.”

He called on Sudanese in East Africa to come out and register in large numbers in order to be able to exercise their right to vote in the elections.

NEW PUBLICATION: Peace and Security Council Report - November 2009

Here is a copy of an email received

From: Security Council Report
Subject: Peace & Security Council Report
12 November 2009

Readers of Security Council Report may be interested to know of the recent launch in Addis Ababa of a similar publication designed to provide monthly information about the work of the AU Peace and Security Council. It is called the "Peace and Security Council Report" (To access the November 2009 edition you can click here).

Peace and Security Council Report is produced and published by the Addis Ababa office of the Institute for Security Studies of South Africa. Security Council Report has assisted ISS with the development of this concept and it is pleased that ISS has taken SCR's Monthly Forecast as a model. We are pleased to have been able to help.

You are able to subscribe to regularly receive the Peace and Securty Council Report by clicking here.

Further details may be obtained from the programme directly at:
Peace and Security Council Report Programme
Institute for Security Studies
PO Box 2329
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Tel: +251-11-372-11-54
Fax: +251-11-372-59-54

_______________________________________________

Security Council Report
One Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza
885 Second Avenue at 48th Street, 31st Floor
New York NY 10017

Tel: 212.759.9429 • Fax: 212.759.4038

contact@securitycouncilreport.org
www.securitycouncilreport.org

Cross-posted to Ethiopia Watch and Congo Watch and Sudan Watch and Here is a copy of an email received

From: Security Council Report
Subject: Peace & Security Council Report
12 November 2009

Readers of Security Council Report may be interested to know of the recent launch in Addis Ababa of a similar publication designed to provide monthly information about the work of the AU Peace and Security Council. It is called the "Peace and Security Council Report" (To access the November 2009 edition you can click here).

Peace and Security Council Report is produced and published by the Addis Ababa office of the Institute for Security Studies of South Africa. Security Council Report has assisted ISS with the development of this concept and it is pleased that ISS has taken SCR's Monthly Forecast as a model. We are pleased to have been able to help.

You are able to subscribe to regularly receive the Peace and Securty Council Report by clicking here.

Further details may be obtained from the programme directly at:
Peace and Security Council Report Programme
Institute for Security Studies
PO Box 2329
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Tel: +251-11-372-11-54
Fax: +251-11-372-59-54

_______________________________________________

Security Council Report
One Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza
885 Second Avenue at 48th Street, 31st Floor
New York NY 10017

Tel: 212.759.9429 • Fax: 212.759.4038

contact@securitycouncilreport.org
www.securitycouncilreport.org

Cross-posted to Ethiopia Watch and Congo Watch and Sudan Watch and Uganda Watch.

IMPORTANT NEWS: Some Sudanese living abroad may vote in elections - Ten arrested for impersonating registration officials in Rumbek, Southern Sudan

Report by Sudan Radio Service, Thursday, November 12, 2009:
Some Sudanese Living Abroad May Vote in Elections

(Nairobi) - Sudanese living in Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and Malaysia will now be able to register for the elections scheduled for 2010.

The National Election Commission had earlier exempted some countries from participating in the voter registration exercise which started on November 1.

The Sudanese Ambassador to Kenya, Majok Guandong, told Sudan Radio Service in Nairobi on Thursday that he had received a circular from the NEC instructing him to start the voter registration. exercise in Kenya.

[Majok Guandong]: “Yes it is true, the news came yesterday morning (Wednesday) that the NEC has allowed us to establish voter registration centers in Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and Malaysia. So since yesterday we have been informing the Sudanese who are residing here, starting from tomorrow (Friday). The registration process will start at the Embassy and the GOSS liaison office. This is good news, because it is a constitutional right for the Sudanese to vote in the elections.”

Majok Guandong said that the registration period will be extended to compensate for the late start. He emphasized that the exercise will take 30 days, as required by NEC.

[Guandong]: “If we start tomorrow (Friday), we will be counting the days we have missed since the official start day, because it should be 30 days as scheduled. Secondly, all the documents are available at the Sudanese Embassy, and all Sudanese have the right. Since 1997, more than 5000 Sudanese have managed to get official documents, the passport, identity cards etc. The process is still on. So they have the right, if they need any official documents, there is no problem at all.”

Earlier, the deputy chairman of the NEC, Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, told Sudan Radio Service that NEC was only concentrating on the countries with large Sudanese populations.

The countrywide voter registration exercise is scheduled to finish at the end of November.

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Report by Sudan Radio Service, Thursday, November 12, 2009:
Ten Arrested for Impersonating Registration Officials in Rumbek

(Rumbek) - Ten people posing as registration officers have been arrested in Rumbek, Lakes state.

The 10 are under police custody as investigations are going on. They are being held for registering voters, collecting people’s identification and convincing people not to register at the official registration centers set up by the state High Elections Commission.

Our correspondent in Rumbek, Mageng Wade, sent this report.

[Mageng Wade]: “These people said that they were being sent and given money by the NCP to come and register people locally in order to prevent them from registering for the elections next year. So that is the agenda behind the registration of people in their houses.”

Rumbek Central county commissioner Abraham Akol Bol also spoke to Sudan Radio Service.

[Abraham Akol] “They have been arrested by the police and they are now under police investigation and we have not yet received information from the police whether this group belongs to a political party. They were trying to register people and were telling them not to go to the registration centers because they had already been registered. They also took ID cards from the citizens, those who tried to register but the culprits were found by police and they are now under investigation.”

The deputy governor of Lakes state, David Ngok, said that the people are trying to sabotage both the voter registration exercise and the elections.

[David Ngok]: “If there are some people who are trying to sabotage the voter registration process then they are also sabotaging the elections. We will not tolerate this as the government because this is government policy and it’s part of the CPA and the constitution so we will not allow them to do it.”

The deputy governor of Lakes state, David Ngok, spoke to Sudan Radio Service on Thursday

Click on 'Election' label (here below at Sudan Watch) to read news report Nov. 10, 2009, entitled "SSDF to sue NEC for denying Sudanese in Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia a chance to register as voters in the general elections"

Cross-posted to Sudan Watch and Uganda Watch and Ethiopia Watch and Egypt Watch and Congo Watch.
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UPDATE: From Sudan Tribune by Ngor Arol Garang, Friday, Nov. 13, 2009:
National election board accepts additional countries for Sudanese Diasporas

November 12, 2009 (MALAKAL) — The National Election Commission (NEC) of Sudan today confirmed acceptance of additional countries to the previous list for registration and voting to enable Sudanese abroad to participate in the upcoming elections next year.

Following the publication of a list of countries comprised mostly the Golf countries where the members of the Sudanese Diaspora are from northern Sudan, the SPLM asked to take in consideration African countries where Southerners reside massively.

The initial list includes Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Sultanate of Oman, Bahrain, the UK, Belgium (for all Western Europe) and Washington, New York, Los Angles for the USA.

"We have allocated more registration and voting centers in Africa and Asia, said Abel Alier, NEC chairman at Malakal airport as he was en route to Khartoum after inspecting southern states voter registration centers.

Countries newly agreed upon for inclusion by the two parties in Africa includes Uganda, Kenya, and South Africa as well as and Malaysia, he said adding discussions are underway to add other neighboring countries.

Therefore, as commission, "we request Sudanese people residing in those countries to immediately establish contacts with the Sudanese embassies and other designated offices for registration," he emphasized.

Asked why being selective with countries hosting number of Sudanese people abroad to participate in the ongoing voter registration, he said, national election commission gets approval of countries to be included in the registration process from the presidency.

"The Presidency is the highest authority which decides on issues pertaining to country affairs such as voter registration," he commented expressing wishes all Sudanese people abroad open registration centers.

However, he was quick to say the Commission tries its best to ensure inclusion of more centers so that every Sudanese participates in the upcoming elections.

He said constitution allows participation of legally registered citizens to elect their leaders in the upcoming April 2010 elections.

"If you are not registered, it will be hard to vote for the person one sees as leader," he said adding voter registration remains opened to the last day of November 2009.

Alier also requested local authorities to give logistical supports to voter registration teams. He also acknowledged assistance being rendered by United Nation Mission in Sudan in transportation of voter registration materials and teams in where government supports is required.

"UNMIS is greatly supporting registration process in water zones and areas without good roads mostly in the southern part of the country and transitional areas," he stressed.

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