Five Things to Know about the International Criminal Court

Illustrative: Police escort a group of supporters of former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo outside the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. (AP/Peter Dejong)
Illustrative: Police escort a group of supporters of former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo outside the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. (AP/Peter Dejong)
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Five Things to Know about the International Criminal Court

Illustrative: Police escort a group of supporters of former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo outside the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. (AP/Peter Dejong)
Illustrative: Police escort a group of supporters of former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo outside the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Thursday, Feb. 6, 2020. (AP/Peter Dejong)

The International Criminal Court, which celebrates its 20th anniversary on July 1, is the world's only permanent tribunal to investigate and try alleged cases of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and aggression where member states are unable or unwilling to do so.

Here are five things to know about the court based in the Dutch city of The Hague, which is investigating alleged war crimes in Ukraine, AFP reported.

- US, Russia, Israel opted out -
A total of 123 countries have ratified the court's founding Rome Statute, meaning they recognize its jurisdiction, but there are some conspicuous absences, notably the United States, Russia and Israel.

Both the United States and Russia have signed the Rome treaty but never ratified it. Moscow in 2016 withdrew its signature over an ICC report calling its annexation of the Crimean peninsula an occupation.

Israel opposed the court from the outset, fearing that its leaders and/or military could be targeted in politically motivated cases.

Other notable non-members include China, India and Myanmar.

The ICC can pursue nationals of non-member states for crimes committed on the soil of a member country or, as in the case of Ukraine, a non-member that recognizes its jurisdiction.

The UN Security Council can also call on the court to investigate potentially serious international crimes, as for instance in Libya and Sudan.

- Five convictions in two decades -
Between 2012 and 2021, the ICC successfully convicted five men of war crimes and crimes against humanity, all Africans.

Three of the five were former militia leaders from the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, with Bosco Ntaganda, a rebel leader nicknamed "Terminator" receiving the longest jail sentence the court has issued of 30 years for mass murder, rape and abduction.

The court also sent Dominic Ongwen, a commander of Uganda's notorious Lord's Resistance Army militia to jail as well as Malian extremist Ahmad al Faqi al Mahdi, who was convicted of destroying a mosque and mausoleums in the ancient Malian city of Timbuktu.

Former Ivory Coast president Laurent Gbagbo was the first former head of state to be tried by the ICC in 2016 but he was acquitted of crimes against humanity.

Some convictions were overturned on appeal, notably that of former Congolese vice-president Jean-Pierre Bemba, who was convicted of crimes committed by rebels under his command in Central African Republic but later cleared of responsibility.

- Failures and fugitives -
The court suffered a major setback in 2014 when its highest profile case -- over Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta's involvement in the inter-ethnic violence that broke out after disputed 2007 elections -- collapsed.

Kenyatta reluctantly appeared before the court, the first sitting head of state to do so, but the prosecutor was forced to drop the case amid allegations of witness intimidation and bribery.

Former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir is also still being wanted by the ICC for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in the western Sudanese province of Darfur. But three years after he was deposed Sudan has yet to hand him over.

The son of former Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi, Seif al-Islam Kadhafi, has been wanted by the court on war crimes charges for over a decade.

- Dispute with Trump -
The ICC infuriated US president Donald Trump's administration in March 2020 by authorizing an investigation into alleged war crimes by US forces serving in Afghanistan.

Washington imposed sanctions on the ICC's prosecutor in protest but his successor Joe Biden later lifted them.

The investigation, which also included violence by the Taliban and ISIS group, was later suspended at the Afghan government's request but relaunched after the Taliban takeover.

Since it resumed however, it has focused on violence by the Taliban and IS to the exclusion of alleged US atrocities.

- Pivot to Ukraine -
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has vaulted the former Soviet state to the top of the agenda of a court often accused of unfairly focusing on Africa. Four days after the war started ICC prosecutor Karim Khan announced an investigation into possible war crimes.

Ukraine is not an ICC member either but it has accepted the court's jurisdiction.

A 42-strong team of ICC investigators visited Ukraine in May to gather evidence and Khan visited the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where dozens of civilians were found murdered after the withdrawal of Russian troops.



COP29 - How Does $300 Billion Stack up?

A demonstrator sitting on the ground holds a poster during a climate protest in Lisbon, to coincide with the closing of the COP29 Climate Summit Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP)
A demonstrator sitting on the ground holds a poster during a climate protest in Lisbon, to coincide with the closing of the COP29 Climate Summit Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP)
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COP29 - How Does $300 Billion Stack up?

A demonstrator sitting on the ground holds a poster during a climate protest in Lisbon, to coincide with the closing of the COP29 Climate Summit Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP)
A demonstrator sitting on the ground holds a poster during a climate protest in Lisbon, to coincide with the closing of the COP29 Climate Summit Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024. (AP)

Countries agreed at the UN's COP29 climate conference to spend $300 billion on annual climate finance. Here are some ways of understanding what that sum is worth:

MILITARY MIGHT

In 2023, governments around the globe spent $6.7 billion a day on military expenditure, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.

That means the $300 billion annual climate finance target equates to 45 days of global military spending.

BURNING OIL

$300 billion is currently the price tag for all the crude oil used by the world in a little over 40 days, according to Reuters calculations based on global crude oil demand of approximately 100 million barrels/day and end-November Brent crude oil prices.

ELON MUSK

According to Forbes, Elon Musk's net worth stood at $321.7 billion in late November. The world's richest man and owner of social media platform X has co-founded more than half a dozen companies, including electric car maker Tesla and rocket producer SpaceX.

STORM DAMAGE

Hurricane Katrina, one of the most devastating and deadliest cyclones in US history, caused $200 billion in damage alone in 2005.

This year's climate-fueled Hurricane Helene could end up costing up to $250 billion in economic losses and damages in the US, according to estimates by AccuWeather. While preliminary estimates by Morningstar DBRS suggest Hurricane Milton, also supercharged by ocean heat, could cost both the insured and uninsured nearly $100 billion.

BEAUTY BUYS

The global luxury goods market is valued at 363 billion euros ($378 billion) in 2024, according to Bain & Company.

COPPER PLATED

The GDP of Chile - the world's largest copper producing country - stood at $335.5 billion in 2023, according to World Bank data.

GREECE'S BAIL OUT

Euro zone countries and the International Monetary Fund spent some 260 billion euros ($271 billion) between 2010 and 2018 on bailing out Greece - the biggest sovereign bailout in economic history.

BRITISH BONDS

Britain's new government needs to borrow more to fund budget plans. Gilt issuance is expected to rise to 296.9 billion pounds ($372.05 billion) for the current financial year.

TECH TALLY

A 10% share of tech giant Microsoft is worth just over $300 billion, according to LSEG data. Meanwhile the market cap for US oil major Chevron stood at $292 billion.

CRYPTO

The annual climate finance target amounts to 75% of the total value of the global market for crypto currency Ether, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency.

Alternatively, 3 million Bitcoin would cover the annual climate finance target as the world's largest cryptocurrency closes in on the $100,000 mark following a rally fueled by Donald Trump winning the Nov. 5 US presidential election.