Lucille Mazangue is a lawyer and human rights activist with the Association des Femmes Juristes in the Central African Republic (CAR)

11 years ago to the day, the ICC was created during a conference held in Rome. Some 120 governments came together to build a Court capable of trying individuals for the most serious crimes known to human kind: war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

It is worth recalling that the Central African Republic (CAR) joined this historical institution [3 October 2001] in a moment of national crisis—both military and politically speaking. This period was followed by the painful events of October 2002 to March 2003 in which grave crimes were allegedly committed in CAR by Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo, chief of the “Mouvement de Libération du Congo” (MLC) and former Vice-President of the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as Senator in the Parliament of the DRC.

On 15 June 2009, ICC judges confirmed two counts of crimes against humanity (rape and murder) and three counts of war crimes (rape, murder and pillaging) against Jean Pierre Bemba Gombo, sending his case to trial. The Central African Coalition for the ICC which was established in 2006 was a key actor in this remarkable process.

Yet today, what is clear is that building a base of unconditional support from states and civil society groups for the Court remains an immense challenge. At the same time, it is what the Court needs most and without this precious support little can be done to effectively win the battle against impunity.

Please Note: This is an unofficial translation by the CICC Secretariat from the original French.