By Mel O’Brien

Lately there seems to be an increase in the number of stories surfacing concerning the names and whereabouts of wanted war criminals from all corners of the globe. While Serge Brammertz declares the continued belief of the ICTY that Ratko Mladi? is in Serbia, other less ‘famous’ war criminals are also still being hunted. The Simon Wiesenthal Centre (SWC), known worldwide for its efforts in hunting Nazis and having them brought to justice, has stepped up its efforts to find surviving Nazi war criminals that it believes are living in various locations around the world. The Centre has noted a dramatic increase in investigations in the past year, and has published a list of the ten most wanted Nazi war criminals– the whereabouts of all but one are known. They are located in countries as diverse as Croatia, Germany, the USA, Venezuela and Australia. The SWC has also launched a campaign called Operation Last Chance, which offers rewards for information leading to the capture and arrest of any Nazi war criminals. A UK-based NGO, African Rights, reports that Oswald Rurangwa, convicted and sentenced in absentia for genocide crimes by the Gacaca courts in Rwanda, has been living in the United States since 1996. The group has revealed that he has changed his name to Oswald Rukemuye and lives in the town of Dayton, Ohio. Continue reading →

By Mel O’Brien

This week the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I made the decision to unseal an arrest warrant issued against Bosco Ntaganda. The warrant was originally issued in August 2006, but for reasons including the risk to victims and the possibility that Ntaganda would flee or go into hiding, the warrant remained sealed until 28 April 2008. The arrest warrant covers allegations of enlistement and conscription of children, and the use of children to participate in hostilities, under article 8 (2)(b)(xxvi), or article 8(2)(e)(vii) of the Rome Statute. Both individual and command responsibility are covered as means of criminal responsibility. Ntaganda’s history goes as far back as the Rwandan Patriotic Front, fighting against the Rwandan government during the genocide in 1994. From 2002 to 2006 he was the military chief of the Forces Patriotiques pour la libération du Congo (FPLC), the military wing of the UPC in Ituri. In 2006 he became the military chief of staff of the National Congress for the Defense of the People (CNDP) in North Kivu. Continue reading →