Ottawa may be celebrating victory in Libya, but NATO and its members could yet face the scrutiny of the International Criminal Court (ICC) over their actions during the conflict, the Associated Press reported earlier this month (Slobodan Lekic and Mike Corder, “AP Exclusive: NATO may face possible ICC probe,” Associated Press, 11 November 2011).

The ICC intends to examine allegations of crimes committed by NATO “impartially and independently,” said ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo. The Court remains uncertain as to whether or not it will launch a formal investigation, however, and a final decision is unlikely before March.

NATO, for its part, has declared itself confident that the Alliance acted within the law.

NATO leaders also maintain that their forces were careful to keep the number of civilian deaths caused by the bombing to a minimum. However, the Alliance is currently embroiled in a civil suit in Belgium in which it is accused of killing 13 civilians when NATO forces bombed a residential compound near Tripoli (“Belgium Live Blog“, Aljazeera, 28 July 2011).

DND photo