The main purpose of the 2-4 February visit was to follow up on the OTP’s previous mission to Moscow, and to gather further information from Russian authorities regarding on-going national investigations into crimes allegedly committed in the context of the armed conflict in South Ossetia, Georgia in August 2008. The Court has jurisdiction over ICC crimes allegedly committed in the territory of Georgia by all parties to the conflict, including forced displacement of civilians, directing attacks against protected persons and widespread destruction of civilian objects.

The delegation met with senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and representatives of the Prosecutor-General’s Office of the Russian Federation, and received a comprehensive update on the progress of national investigations undertaken by the investigative committee.

“We commend the Russian authorities for their cooperation and for their willingness to share their preliminary conclusions with the Office” said the Prosecutor.

The OTP made public the preliminary examination in August 2008. Georgia has been a State Party to the Rome Statute since 5 September 2003. Both the Russian and Georgian authorities provided substantial information on their respective national investigations. The Office conducted a previous visit to Russia in March 2010, and to Georgia in June 2010.

Other situations under preliminary examination by the Office include Afghanistan, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Honduras, Nigeria, The Republic of Korea and Palestine.

The Office of the Prosecutor is currently investigating in five situations: The Democratic Republic of Congo, Northern Uganda, the Darfur region of Sudan, the Central African Republic, and Kenya.

The International Criminal Court is an independent, permanent court that investigates and prosecutes persons accused of the most serious crimes of international concern, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes if national authorities with jurisdiction are unwilling or unable to do so genuinely.