Luis Moreno Ocampo
[Moreno Ocampo's surnames are often hyphenated in English-language media to mark Moreno as a surname, not a given name.] (born 4 June 1952) is an Argentine lawyer who served as the first
Prosecutor
A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the common law adversarial system or the Civil law (legal system), civil law inquisitorial system. The prosecution is the legal party responsible for presenting the ...
of the
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals ...
(ICC) from 2003 to 2012. Previously, he played a major role in Argentina's democratic transition (1983–1991).
Judicial highlights
As first prosecutor of the
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals ...
, his mandate was to establish the Office of the Prosecutor and decide where to initiate the first investigations. Under his mandate, the Office of the Prosecutor analyzed 17 situations around the world and opened investigations in seven different countries. He successfully prosecuted for
crimes against humanity
Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...
three heads of state, including the president of
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
,
Omar al-Bashir.
At the age of 32, Luis Moreno Ocampo became deputy prosecutor of the
Trial of the Juntas
The Trial of the Juntas ( es, Juicio a las Juntas) was the judicial trial of the members of the ''de facto'' military government that ruled Argentina during the dictatorship of the Proceso de Reorganización Nacional (''el proceso''), which laste ...
, where those most responsible for the
Argentine military dictatorship
The National Reorganization Process (Spanish: ''Proceso de Reorganización Nacional'', often simply ''el Proceso'', "the Process") was the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983, in which it was supported by the United Sta ...
between 1976 and 1983 were tried for the first time. He also conducted trials for military negligence of those most responsible for the
Malvinas–Falklands War, cases of corruption by senior government officials, and trials for the military rebellions of January 1988 and the last one in December 1990.
Moreno Ocampo has been a visiting professor at the American Stanford (2002) and Harvard universities (2003),
Hebrew University
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...
and
USC
USC most often refers to:
* University of South Carolina, a public research university
** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses
**South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program
* University of ...
, and a senior fellow at
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
,
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
and
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
. He has acted as a consultant to the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
, the
Inter-American Development Bank
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America, and serving as the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribb ...
and the United Nations. He was a member of the advisory council of
Transparency International
Transparency International e.V. (TI) is a German registered association founded in 1993 by former employees of the World Bank. Based in Berlin, its nonprofit and non-governmental purpose is to take action to combat global corruption with civil ...
and a founder of
NGO
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
Poder Ciudadano.
Luis Moreno Ocampo received the Legion of Honor of France and was distinguished in 2011 as one of 100 Global Thinkers by the publication
Foreign Policy
A State (polity), state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterall ...
. In the same year,
The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
included him among its "Brave Thinkers", a guide to people risking their reputations, fortunes and lives in pursuit of big ideas.
Career in Argentina
Born in
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, Moreno Ocampo graduated from the
University of Buenos Aires
The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one o ...
Faculty of Law
A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...
in 1978. From 1980 to 1984, he was an assistant secretary and legal secretary advising the General Attorney of Argentina on preparing judgments at the
Supreme Court of Justice
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
.
[Luis Moreno-Ocampo (2003). Retrieved 3 February 2009.]
![MorenoOcampo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/MorenoOcampo.jpg)
In 1985, he was assistant prosecutor in the
Trial of the Juntas
The Trial of the Juntas ( es, Juicio a las Juntas) was the judicial trial of the members of the ''de facto'' military government that ruled Argentina during the dictatorship of the Proceso de Reorganización Nacional (''el proceso''), which laste ...
held before the Federal Chamber of Criminal Appeals to try the heads of the military juntas that governed
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
during the last military dictatorship in 1976. There the prosecution proved criminal responsibility against the former presidents
Jorge Rafael Videla
Jorge Rafael Videla (; ; 2 August 1925 – 17 May 2013) was an Argentine military officer and dictator, Commander in Chief of the Army, member of the Military Junta, and ''de facto'' President of Argentina from 29 March 1976 to 29 March 1981. H ...
and
Roberto Viola
Roberto Eduardo Viola (13 October 1924 – 30 September 1994) was an Argentine military officer who briefly served as president of Argentina from 29 March to 11 December 1981 as a military dictator.
Early life
He was born as Roberto Eduardo Vio ...
, Admirals
Emilio Massera
Emilio Eduardo Massera (19 October 1925 – 8 November 2010) was an Argentine Naval military officer, and a leading participant in the Argentine coup d'état of 1976. In 1981, he was found to be a member of P2 (also known as ''Propaganda Due'' ...
and
Armando Lambruschini
Armando Lambruschini (June 15, 1924 – August 15, 2004) was an admiral in the Argentine Navy.
Life and career
Lambruschini enrolled at the Argentine Naval School in 1942, and graduated as a midshipman in 1946. He was later named Captain of ...
, and Brigadier
Orlando Agosti
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures relea ...
, who were convicted on 9 December 1985.
This was the first proceeding since the
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies of World War II, Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II.
Between 1939 and 1945 ...
where senior military commanders were prosecuted for mass killings.
Harvard Professor
Kathryn Sikkink Kathryn Sikkink (born 1955) is an author, human rights academic, and scholar of international relations working primarily through the theoretical strain of constructivism. She is currently at professor at Harvard Kennedy School.
Academic career
Ka ...
sees it as central to
The Justice Cascade, which analyzes the
human rights
Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
impact of trials on geopolitics and global justice.
For Moreno Ocampo, the trial of the juntas not only established the individual responsibility of
Massera,
Videla and the other commanders, but gave a voice and a face to the victims, who could explain what happened to them. It changed those who did not believe in what had happened and ended the
coups d'état forever.
In 1986 he was involved in cases against the Junta's subordinate commanders and officers. One such was against General
Ramón Camps
Ramón Juan Alberto Camps (25 January 1927 – 22 August 1994) was an Argentina, Argentine general and the head of the Buenos Aires Provincial Police during the National Reorganization Process (1976–1983). Although he was found guilty of mul ...
, former chief of the Buenos Aires police, and eight other officers accused of murder, kidnapping and torture. He was also part of a team sent to
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
to request extradition of General
Guillermo Suárez Mason Carlos Guillermo Suárez Mason (January 2, 1924 – June 21, 2005) was an Argentine military officer convicted for Dirty War crimes during the 1976–1983 military dictatorship. He was in charge of the Batallón de Inteligencia 601.
Biography ...
, which was done in 1988.
In 1988, he led the prosecution of the leaders
carapintadas
The ' ( en, Painted Faces) were a group of mutineers in the Argentine Army, who took part in various uprisings between 1987 and 1990 during the presidencies of Raúl Alfonsín and Carlos Menem in Argentina. The rebellions, while at first thought t ...
for two attempted coups in 1987 and 1990, and led the prosecution of
Leopoldo Galtieri
Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri (; 15 July 1926 12 January 2003) was an Argentine general and politician of Italian descent who served as President of Argentina from December 1981 to June 1982. Galtieri ruled as a military dictator during the Natio ...
,
Jorge Anaya
Admiral Jorge Isaac Anaya (27 September 1926 – 9 January 2008) was a Commander-in-Chief of the Argentine Navy. He was born in Bahía Blanca, in the province of Buenos Aires. He participated in the right-wing military dictatorship known as th ...
and
Basilio Lami Dozo
Basilio Arturo Ignacio Lami Dozo (1 February 1929 – 1 February 2017) was a member of the Argentine Air Force. He participated in the military dictatorship known as the National Reorganisation Process (1976–1983) and, along with Leopoldo Fortu ...
for breach of military duty during the
Falklands–Malvinas War. He also led dozens of public corruption cases against federal judges, national ministers and heads of public companies.
In 1992, he left his position in the judicial system and began to work in the private sector from his law firm, conducting investigations into cases of corruption in the private and public sectors and violations of
human rights
Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...
. The firm worked
pro bono
( en, 'for the public good'), usually shortened to , is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment. In the United States, the term typically refers to provision of legal services by legal professionals for pe ...
on public-interest cases such as political bribery, representing the victims in Italyʹs requested extradition of Nazi officer E. Priebke and the daughters of Chilean General
Carlos Prats
Carlos Prats González (; February 24, 1915 – September 30, 1974) was a Chilean Army officer and politician. He served as a minister in Salvador Allende's government while Commander-in-chief of the Chilean Army. Immediately after General August ...
, murdered by Chilean secret police in 1974 in Buenos Aires.
In 1997, he hosted a reality television programme, ''Fórum, la corte del pueblo'', in which he arbitrated private disputes.
[BBC Mundo (14 July 2008).]
Perfil de Luis Moreno Ocampo
. Retrieved on 12 February 2009. In his own words, "It was a way of divulging the mechanisms of mediation... bringing to the TV show some of the rules of the judicial system, which are based on respect for the parties, and that they be heard".
The International Criminal Court
![Building of the International Criminal Court in The Hague](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Building_of_the_International_Criminal_Court_in_The_Hague.jpg)
On 21 April 2003, Moreno Ocampo was unanimously elected first prosecutor of a new International Criminal Court.
[International Criminal Court.]
". Retrieved 3 February 2009.[Stephen Cviic (21 April 2003).]
Profile: Luis Moreno Ocampo
. BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...
. Retrieved 3 February 2009. On 16 June 2003, as the conflict with
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
began, he sworn in for a non-renewable nine-year term as Chief Prosecutor of the
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals ...
. There were fears that the
ICC would be unable to function, it its first nine years, the Office of the Prosecutor opened investigations in four states: the
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
,
Uganda
}), is a landlocked country in East Africa
East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...
, the
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...
and
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
– and in
Darfur
Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju, ...
and
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
, at the request of the UN Security Council, and in
Côte d'Ivoire
Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire, officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital is Yamoussoukro, in the centre of the country, while its largest city and economic centre is ...
at the request of its national authorities.
In his capacity as the prosecutor of the court, Moreno Campo initiated . Moreno Ocampo led an investigation of leaders of the
Lord's Resistance Army
The Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), also known as the Lord's Resistance Movement, is a rebel group and heterodox Christian group which operates in northern Uganda, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Co ...
, who in 2005 faced ICC arrest warrants for crimes against humanity. Moreno Ocampo directed an investigation against
Germain Katanga
Germain Katanga (; born 28 April 1978), also known as Simba (), is a former leader of the Patriotic Resistance Force in Ituri (FRPI), an armed group in the Ituri Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).International Criminal Court ( ...
and
Matthieu Ngudjolo Chui,
["Las FARC pueden ser investigadas por 'crímenes de lesa humanidad'" March 200]
who received arrest warrants in 2007 and 2008 for
crimes against humanity
Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...
in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In March 2008, according to an Argentine online news report, Moreno Ocampo claimed that
FARC
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army ( es, link=no, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de ColombiaEjército del Pueblo, FARC–EP or FARC) is a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian conflic ...
, the largest guerrilla group in
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
, should face an investigation by the
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt) is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals ...
.
He began implementing preliminary tests in Colombia, which involved evaluating prosecutions of
paramilitary
A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...
commanders in Colombia, and interviews with victims of FARC, among others. Moreno-Ocampo claimed that FARC could be investigated for crimes against humanity.
He visited Colombia in August, after which the ICC launched an investigation on the "support network for FARC rebels outside Colombia".
During his tenure at the ICC, the first trial ended with the conviction of
Thomas Lubanga
Thomas Lubanga Dyilo (born 29 December 1960) is a convicted war criminal from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the first person ever convicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC). He founded and led the Union of Congolese P ...
.
Ben Ferencz
Benjamin Berell Ferencz (born March 11, 1920) is an American lawyer. He was an investigator of Nazi war crimes after World War II and the chief prosecutor for the United States Army at the Einsatzgruppen Trial, one of the 12 Subsequent Nurember ...
, who at age 27 participated as prosecutor in the
Nuremberg trials
The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies of World War II, Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II.
Between 1939 and 1945 ...
, closed the ICC prosecution at the age of 93. On 10 July 2012, Trial Chamber 1 sentenced Lubanga to 14 years in prison, from which six remand years were deducted.
In July 2008, Moreno Ocampo accused
Omar al-Bashir of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur. That November, he called for arrest warrants against rebels accused of killing members of an international peacekeeping force in Darfur.
The International Criminal Court sent in 2009 and 2010 two international arrest warrants against al-Bashir, who denied all charges. According to the United Nations, in 16 years of conflict from the 2003 uprising of two rebel groups in Darfur, he had caused 300,000 deaths and 2.5 million displacements.
In 2019, Al-Bashir was also sentenced to imprisonment for embezzling up to $9 billion in oil revenues. In 2020, Sudan's ruling generals finally agreed to hand Al-Bashir over to the ICC to face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in courts in The Hague, where he could be sentenced to the death penalty.
Moreno Ocampo announced on 15 December 2010 six "prime suspects" – the
Ocampo Six – in the
Kenya post-election violence of 2007. Named as leading perpetrators where the suspended Minister of Higher Education
William Ruto
William Kipchirchir Samoei Arap Ruto (born 21 December 1966) is a Kenyan politician who is serving as the fifth and current president of Kenya since 13 September 2022. Prior to becoming president, he served as the 11th deputy president of Ken ...
, Minister for Industrialisation
Henry Kosgey
Henry Kiprono Kosgey is a Kenyan politician who was a member of parliament for Tinderet Constituency and was a Minister for Industrialization. He was also the Chairman of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM);The longest serving Mp for Tinderet ...
, Deputy Prime Minister
Uhuru Kenyatta
Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta (born 26 October 1961) is a Kenyan politician who served as the fourth president of Kenya from 2013 to 2022.
Kenyatta was chosen by Daniel Arap Moi as his preferred successor, but Kenyatta was defeated by opposition le ...
, former commissioner of the
Kenya Police
)
, formedyear = 1906
, formedmonthday =
, preceding1 =
, dissolved =
, superseding =
, employees = approx. 101,000=
, volunteers =
, budget =
, country = Kenya
, ...
Major General
Mohammed Hussein Ali
Major General Mohammed Hussein Ali ( so, Maxamed Xuseen Cali; born 1956 in Eldoret) is a Kenyan military commander. He was formerly commissioner of the Kenya Police. He is currently chief executive of the Postal Corporation of Kenya.
Early l ...
, head of public services
Francis Muthaura
Francis Kirimi Muthaura (born 20 October 1946 in Meru, Kenya) is a Kenyan former civil servant and close ally of former President Mwai Kibaki. He is the former Head of Civil Service and Secretary to the Cabinet.
From 14 March 1996 to 24 Apri ...
, and journalist Joshua Arap Sang.
On 3 March 2011, Moreno Ocampo declared "there will be no impunity in Libya" as he announced an investigation of crimes against humanity committed by either Libyan security forces loyal to leader
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...
or the opposition to the
Gaddafi government
Muammar Gaddafi became the ''de facto'' leader of Libya on 1 September 1969 after leading a group of young Libyan Army officers against King Idris I in a bloodless coup d'état. After the king had fled the country, the Revolutionary Comman ...
during the
2011 Libyan civil war
The First Libyan Civil War was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were seeking to oust his government. It erupted with the Liby ...
. On 16 May 2011, he filed a request to the ICC to issue arrest warrants against Gaddafi, his son
Saif al-Islam and Libyan intelligence chief
Abdullah Senussi
Abdullah Senussi ( ) is a Libyan national who was the intelligence chief and brother-in-law of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. He was married to Gaddafi's sister-in-law.
Scottish police officers plan to interview him in connection with the Lockerbie ...
, for crimes against humanity. The Court issued these on 27 June 2011.
On 15 June 2012, Moreno Ocampo finished his term and was replaced by
Gambia
The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...
lawyer
Fatou Bensouda
Fatou Bom Bensouda (; ; born 31 January 1961) is a Gambian lawyer and former Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC). She served as Prosecutor from June 2012 to June 2021, after having ...
.
After the ICC
After his ICC term, Luis Moreno Ocampo joined the New York law firm Getnick and Getnick as global counsel.
From 2013 to 2015, he was a senior fellow at the
Jackson Institute for Global Affairs
The Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs (formerly the Yale University Jackson Institute for Global Affairs) is a professional school of Yale University that specializes in global affairs.
Based in New Haven, Connecticut, the school's mission ...
at
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
. Currently he is a senior fellow at the
Carr Center for Human Rights Policy
Carr Center for Human Rights Policy is a research center at Harvard Kennedy School founded in 1999. The center's scholars address issues related to human rights, including human security, global governance and civil society, economic justice, and e ...
at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, where he is working on a book about the first nine years of the Rome Statute and its relations with the UN Security Council.
In August 2015, Moreno-Ocampo joined forces with Kerry Propper, Taylor Krauss and Elizabeth Schaeffer Brown to help the campaign group Yazda in efforts to bring a case before the ICC against
ISIL
An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...
for crimes of genocide against members of Iraq's
Yazidi
Yazidis or Yezidis (; ku, ئێزیدی, translit=Êzidî) are a Kurmanji-speaking endogamous minority group who are indigenous to Kurdistan, a geographical region in Western Asia that includes parts of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. The majo ...
community. The initiative was part of the campaign
It's On U
It's On U was a campaign launched in 2015 in order to draw attention to Genocide of Yazidis by ISIL, ISIS's crimes against the Yazidis and bring Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIS before the International Criminal Court (ICC) so it could ...
, which sought to persuade heads of state to recognize the genocide, engage key government officials and pressure the UN
Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, and ...
to refer the case to the ICC. Moreno Ocampo and the campaign teamed up with
Nadia Murad
Nadia Murad Basee Taha (; ar, نادية مراد باسي طه; born 10 March 1993) is an Iraqi Yazidis, Yazidi Human rights activists, human rights activist who lives in Germany. In 2014, she was kidnapped from her hometown Kocho, Iraq, Koch ...
and approached
Amal Clooney
Amal Clooney (; ar, أمل علم الدين; born 3 February 1978) is a Lebanese and British barrister.
Her clients include Filipino and American journalist Maria Ressa; former President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed; Julian Assange, the ...
to help with the case and provide pro-bono legal services to Murad and
Yazda
Yazda: Global Yazidi Organization (, ar, يزدا; ku, یەزدا ,Yazda), is a United States-based global Yazidi nonprofit, non-governmental organization (NGO) advocacy, aid, and relief organization. Yazda was established to support the Yazidi, ...
.
In July 2017, Moreno Ocampo was appointed special adviser on crimes against humanity by the
Organization of American States
The Organization of American States (OAS; es, Organización de los Estados Americanos, pt, Organização dos Estados Americanos, french: Organisation des États américains; ''OEA'') is an international organization that was founded on 30 April ...
(OAS), to evaluate human rights violations in
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
, meet with interested parties in the conflict and explore the possibility of launching legal proceedings at the ICC against those responsible for the atrocities.
Controversies
In 2017 the French digital newspaper ''
Mediapart
''Mediapart'' is an independent French investigative online newspaper created in 2008 by Edwy Plenel, former editor-in-chief of ''Le Monde''. ''Mediapart'' is published in French, English and Spanish.
''Mediapart's'' income is solely derived ...
'' received from unknown sources a copy of all Moreno Ocampo's emails. On that basis, ''
Der Spiegel
''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
'' revealed the existence of accounts and companies
offshore belonging to Moreno Ocampo, who did not deny their existence, claiming that he works "offshore", as he does not pay taxes in
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
because he has not lived there since 2003.
As part of the same investigation, the European journalism network
EIC revealed that Moreno Ocampo had as a client
Hassan Tatanaki
Hassan Tatanaki ( ar, حسن طاطاناكي) is a Libyan-born businessman who invests in building of local Libyan communities civil society programs ranging from organic farming, water resource management, water and waste water treatment, the co ...
, a Libyan magnate suspected of having supported war criminals in
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
. It was made clear that Tatanaki was seeking justice in
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
and that he was never suspected of committing crimes by the ICC.
In 2017, the ''
Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'' reported that leaked emails from the ICC showed that Moreno Ocampo wanted to enlist the help of
movie star
A movie star (also known as a film star or cinema star) is an actor or actress who is famous for their starring, or leading, roles in movies. The term is used for performers who are marketable stars as they become popular household names and w ...
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...
, and possibly also that of her then-husband
Brad Pitt
William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. ...
, to lure fugitive Ugandan
warlord
A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...
Joseph Kony
Joseph Rao Kony (likely born 1961) is a Ugandan militant who founded the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a Christian fundamentalist organization, designated as a terrorist group by the United Nations Peacekeepers, the European Union and various ...
to a dinner with her, where he then could be arrested.
[https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/angelina-jolie-volunteered-to-snare-warlord-joseph-kony-in-dinner-honeytrap-q3xw8bpzt The Times (in English). 8 October 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2020.]
Notes
References
External links
International Criminal Court: Office of the Prosecutor*, "World Affairs", Spring 2009
The Controversial Actions of the ICC Prosecutor: a Crisis of Maturity? "The Hague Justice Portal", 15 September 2008
"Farmers and Chickens"An interview with Luis Moreno Ocampo by
Guernica Magazine
''Guernica / A Magazine of Art and Politics'' is an online magazine that publishes art, photography, fiction, and poetry from around the world, along with nonfiction such as letters from abroad, investigative pieces, and opinion pieces on internat ...
's Joel Whitney
BBC News (translate) review of Moreno's Profile*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moreno Ocampo, Luis
1952 births
20th-century Argentine lawyers
Harvard Law School faculty
International Criminal Court prosecutors
Living people
Lawyers from Buenos Aires
Stanford University staff
University of Buenos Aires alumni
21st-century Argentine lawyers