The International Criminal Court (ICC) missed important opportunities to maximize the impact of its work in Côte d'Ivoire, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. The report offers wider lessons for the ICC's work around the world, finding that to maximize the impact of its work, court officials need to engage a broader set of victims and local communities.
The 88-page report, "Making Justice Count: Lessons from the ICC's Work in Côte d'Ivoire," draws on interviews with activists, journalists, and ICC staff in Abidjan and The Hague to assess whether the ICC has done what it can to ensure that its proceedings are relevant, meaningful, and accessible to Ivorians. Human Rights Watch found that the prosecution's decision to limit its initial investigations to one side of the country's 2010-2011 post-election crisis was a misstep, compounded when other court staff adopted the same narrow focus in their efforts to engage Ivorians in the court's work. This lessened the court's potential impact in the country.
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