Statement of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, concerning referral from the Gabonese Republic On 21 September 2016, I received a referral from the Government of the Gabonese Republic regarding the situation in Gabon since May 2016 with no end-date. In reference to article 14 of the Rome Statute, Rule 45 of the Rules of Procedure and Evidence and Regulation 25(1)(b) of the Regulations of the Office of the Prosecutor, the Government of the Gabonese Republic requests the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “Court”) “to open an investigation without delay”. In accordance with the requirement of the Rome Statute my Office will be conducting a preliminary examination in order to establish whether the criteria for opening an investigation are met. A preliminary examination is not an investigation but a process of examining the information available in order to reach a fully informed determination on whether there is a reasonable basis to proceed with an investigation pursuant to the criteria established by the Rome Statute. Specifically, under article 53(1) of the Rome Statute, as Prosecutor, I must consider issues of jurisdiction, admissibility and the interests of justice in making this determination.  The Office gives due consideration to all submissions and views conveyed to it during the course of a preliminary examination, strictly guided by the requirements of the Rome Statute and in the independent and impartial exercise of its mandate. My Office will examine information regarding crimes allegedly committed by any groups or individuals involved in the situation. Where a referral is accompanied by supporting documentation that identifies potential perpetrators, my Office is not bound or constrained by the information contained therein when conducting investigations in order to determine whether specific persons should be charged. After careful analysis of all available information, I shall make a determination that will be made public in due course. The Gabonese Republic is a State Party to the Rome Statute, and as such, the ICC has jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes committed on the territory or by nationals of Gabon since 1 July 2002, the date when the Statute entered into force in Gabon.  

By Baron Henri Estramant. Wednesday, 28 September 2016, State of Israel: Shimon Peres (Hebrew: שמעון פרס) formerly 9th president and thrice prime minister of Israel; a celebrated Nobel prize-winning visionary who pushed his country towards peace with the Arab neighbours, passed away early morning near Tel Aviv. He was 93 years old. Peres is survived by three children. In July 2014, he was the world’s oldest head of state when he stepped down from the presidential office at the age of 90 years old. Born as Szymon Perski on 2 August 1923 in Vishneva, then Poland (today Belarus), to a well-off merchant family; Shimon Peres and and his nuclear family moved to Palestine in 1934. Quickly rising through the échelons of power of Israel’s Labour Party, he became a top aide to Ben-Gurion, first prime minister of Israel. Peres shared the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize for his work in reaching an interim peace agreement with the Palestinians, claiming symbolically the prize alongside late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israel’s former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin. Peres was one of Israel’s most admired leaders. He first became a member of the Knesset in 1959. Subsequently he held virtually every senior political office in Israel over his seven-decade standing career, including three ephemeral terms as prime minister as well as stints as foreign minister, minister of finance, defence and transport. For further information: Knesset’s profile on Shimon Peres: https://www.knesset.gov.il/mk/eng/mk_eng.asp?mk_individual_id_t=104

The European Commission reported on the EU’s relocation and resettlement schemes and the implementation of the EU-Turkey Statement. At the same time, outlined the steps still needed to be taken by Greece in view of a future resumption of Dublin transfers from other Member States while also reporting on the temporary border controls carried out at internal Schengen borders under the Council recommendation of 12 May 2016. European Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans said: “The implementation of the EU-Turkey Statement has continued, and the reduction in attempts to cross the Aegean and in deaths at sea has confirmed its core rationale. I also welcome the efforts of Member States to increase relocation and resettlement. However, those who can do more should do so urgently. We can only effectively manage asylum and migration in Europe, and preserve the Schengen area, if we all work together in a spirit of solidarity and responsibility.” Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos said: “All our measures on migration are interlinked. The EU-Turkey Statement has led to concrete positive results. The increased efforts made by Member States over the past months on relocation, with more than 1,200 relocations alone in September, demonstrate that relocation can be speeded up if there is political will and a sense of responsibility. The success of our common approach over the last months is essential for the success of everything else, including a gradual return to the Dublin system and a normal functioning of Schengen. Relocation has to succeed.” One year after the entry into force of the relocation schemes, the groundwork has been laid and significant progress achieved. September recorded 1,202 relocations, the highest monthly number so far, twice as high as during the previous reporting period. In total, 5,651 persons have been relocated from Greece (4,455) and Italy (1,196). The efforts by Italy and Greece, the Member States of relocation, EU agencies and international organisations have resulted in close to 100% fingerprinting, strengthened security, and a significant increase in the number of relocation applicants and acceleration of relocation transfers, particularly in the latest months from Greece. With the increased capacity of the Greek Asylum Service, and if Member States step up their efforts, it should notably be possible to relocate the remaining relocation candidates present in Greece (around 30,000) within the next year. Member States have continued to increase their efforts on resettlement – offering legal and safe pathways to 10,695 people so far of the agreed 22,504 under the July 2015 scheme. An additional 1,071 Syrian refugees have been resettled from Turkey between June and 27 September, tripling the number of people resettled and bringing the total number from Turkey under the EU-Turkey Statement to 1,614. The continued decrease of people crossing irregularly or losing their lives in the Aegean continues to be proof of the Statement’s effectiveness so far. The average daily arrival of 85 persons per day since June, in comparison to over 1,700 per day in the month preceding the implementation of the Statement and 7,000 per day in October 2015, shows that the business model of smugglers can be broken. Return operations have continued to be carried out with an additional 116 persons returned since the Second Report, bringing the total number of persons returned under the Statement to 578, and the Greek administration has made further efforts to increase the rate of returns, in full compliance with EU and international law. The Commission has continued to accelerate the delivery of funding under the Facility for Refugees in Turkey, having already allocated a total amount of €2.239 billion of the €3 billion foreseen for 2016-2017. The amounts contracted have increased to €1.252 billion. The Commission is making all necessary efforts to ensure an acceleration of disbursements under the Facility, which have now reached €467 million.

The Hague, 28 September- The Judges of the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT) held their first in-person plenary session in The Hague on 26 and 27 September 2016. During the plenary, the Judges discussed issues pertaining to the internal functioning of the Mechanism, ways to further strengthen its efficiency, and its Rules of Procedure and Evidence. During the plenary, the President of the Mechanism, Judge Theodor Meron, reported to the Judges on a variety of matters related to the Mechanism’s work. The Mechanism’s Prosecutor, Serge Brammertz, briefed the plenary on the work of the Office of the Prosecutor. The Registrar of the Mechanism, John Hocking, also addressed the plenary concerning issues related to his area of responsibility. The Mechanism has a roster of 25 Judges, who serve only when called upon to do so by the Mechanism President and are expected to exercise their functions remotely in so far as possible, unless required to be present at the seat of one of the two branches.