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Lost track of what's going on at the International Criminal Court? Here's a quick update. Sudan: ICC issues arrest warrant for Omar Al Bashir, President of Sudan Today, Pre-Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for the arrest of Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir, President of Sudan, for war crimes and crimes against humanity. He is suspected of being criminally responsible... for intentionally directing attacks against an important part of the civilian population of Darfur, Sudan, murdering, exterminating, raping, torturing and forcibly transferring large numbers of civilians, and pillaging their property. This is the first warrant of arrest ever issued for a sitting Head of State by the ICC. The International Criminal Court is accepting supporting evidence of children's drawings of the alleged crimes committed in Darfur. Read more here Comment: Keeping a lid on ICC arrest warrants (Institute of War and Peace Reporting) DR Congo: Lubanga trial continues Four former child soldiers have testified before the International Criminal Court against Thomas Lubanga, who is currently on trial for enlisting children under 15 and using them to participate actively in hostilities. Read daily reports on the trial of Thomas Lubanga, including testimonies of former child soldiers, at: http://www.lubangatrial.org/ Meanwhile, the ICC is discussing whether the Palestinian Authority "is enough like a State" to bring charges against Israel for committing alleged war crimes in Gaza. Hamas accuses Israel of killing some 400 children in the recent conflict. Israel insists that fewer than 300 civilians – including women, children, elderly people and non-combatants – were killed. The difference could partly be explained by the differing definitions of “child”: whereas Hamas considers anyone under the age of 18 a child, Israel's definition of a child is those under 16 for Palestinians (in Military Order No. 132) and those under 18 where Israeli children are concerned (as stated in the 1962 Guardianship and Legal Capacity Law, and the Youth (Trial, Punishment and Modes of Treatment) Law). [Israel National News, Concluding Observations 2002, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child) Useful links
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Israel: ICC deliberates case