An ICC prosecutor will reopen the Congo probe with a North Kivu focus

Karim Khan, the prosecutor for the International Criminal Court (ICC), announced Monday that his office will reopen an investigation into the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with a particular emphasis on alleged crimes that have been perpetrated in the North Kivu province since January 2022.

Khan stated that the ongoing efforts will evaluate the responsibilities of all parties involved, without focusing on any particular organization, and will attempt to address claims such as possible war crimes and crimes against humanity.

He connected the latest violence in the region to regional conflict trends that go all the way back to 2002, when the ICC first gained jurisdiction in the DRC.

The ruling came after the DRC government made a second referral in May 2023, asking for a probe into what it described as the Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) and the M23 rebel group’s systematic looting of its natural resources in eastern Congo.