…but war crimes are dealt with by the ICC Amnesty should pave the way to peace. The Central African Republic's (CAR) parliament has passed an amnesty law on Monday in order to conclude peace talks between government forces and rebels. The amnesty excludes international human rights abuses which are dealt with by the International Criminal Court.

The CAR's new amnesty law aims at laying the foundations for a process of "inclusive political dialogue" between the government and rebels. Officials said the legislation will protect both rebels and certain government officials from prosecution for crimes.

The amnesty covers violence from 15 March 2003. Serious crimes under international law such as acts of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes are excluded. The law also calls for an immediate ceasefire and for armed groups to hand in their weapons.

Stumbling block
Peace talks, which are held in Gabon, have hit numerous obstacles along the way and this amnesty law was the latest stumbling block. One rebel leader, whose group had earlier rejected the amnesty, was quoted as saying he would have to study the detail of the text.

But as the peace process should be underway, a rebel group was reported to have seized control of a village in the north near Sudan. About 20 armed men from the Forces for the Unification of the Central African Republic (Firca) took over Am Dafok, east of Birao on Monday.

Widespread atrocities
The Central African Republic has suffered decades of armed revolts, coups and rebellions since it gained independence from France in 1960. The peak of violence from 2002-03 was marked by the large number of atrocities against civilians including large-scale torture, rape and other fierce attacks on human dignity by various rebel groups and government forces

But tensions in the country did not cease. Since mid-2005, hundreds of civilians have been killed, more than 10 thousand houses burned, and approximately 212,000 persons have fled their homes in terror to live in desperate conditions deep in the bush in northern Central African Republic (CAR). Bordering eastern Chad and war-ravaged Darfur in Sudan, this area has been destabilised by at least two major rebellions against the government of President François Bozizé.

Jean-Pierre BembaJean-Pierre Bemba
In 2004, the CAR government referred the ongoing situation of crimes in the country to the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the ICC. Following an analysis of the situation, the ICC announced its decision to initiate investigations in the CAR in 2007. Bemba is the first, and yet the only one, to face justice before an international criminal tribunal for the atrocities in CAR.

While amnesty is promised for lesser crimes, the prosecutor of the ICC has indicted Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo of committing mass-rapes in the CAR. These crimes constitute crimes against humanity. Bemba was arrested earlier this year and is awaiting trial in The Hague.

In October 2002 the rebel-turned Bemba was invited by President Ange-Felix Patassé to fight down the rebellion waged by old chief of staff François Bozizé. The latter subsequently took power after a coup in March 2003. Other foreign forces also took part in the conflict, including Chadian mercenaries. Jean-Pierre Bemba was Vice-President and is a Senator in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but has no immunity before the ICC.