Luis Moreno-Ocampo, chief prosecutor of the International Court (ICC), met yesterday with Libyan officials who reiterated their refusal to hand over Saif Gaddafi to the ICC. 

Saif, along with his late father Muammar Gaddafi and Gaddafi's former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senoussi, have been charged by the Court with crimes against humanity following an investigation last spring after the U.N. Security Council referred the situation in Libya to the ICC.  The new Libyan government had previously pledged to work with the ICC and hand over the indictees so they could face trial in The Hague.  Since then, however, Libya had pushed to keep Saif in Libya and try him there, while the ICC had insisted he be turned over to the Court.

March 14, 2012 marks an extraordinary moment in world history. This morning, the International Criminal Court (ICC) completed its very first trial, convicting Thomas Lubanga Dyilo of forcing children to serve as soldiers in the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. More than 74 million viewers have watched Invisible Children's Kony 2012 video, calling for the arrest and ICC trial of Joseph Kony. But few are aware that Lubanga, a man as despicable as Kony, has laid the groundwork for the kind of trial that Joseph Kony surely deserves.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) announced yesterday that it will release a verdict in the trial of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo on March 14^th.  This will mark an important milestone for the Court: its first verdict and completed trial since its creation.

Lubanga is accused by the Court of conscripting child soldiers in battle in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He is alleged to be the founder of Union des Patriotes Congolais (UPC) and the Forces patriotiques pour la libération du Congo (FPLC); the former Commander-in-Chief of the FPLC, and president of the UPC.  He is charged with war crimes including enlisting and conscripting child soldiers under the age of 15 into the FPLC.  His trial began in January 2009 and concluded last August 2011.

We will update you with further information when the verdict in the Lubanga trial is announced.

Today, I attended the opening session of the Tenth Assembly of States Parties meeting of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in New York City.  As I walked into the United Nations building this morning to collect my badge, I was excited to see what the day would bring at my first ASP meeting.  It turned out to be quite an interesting and eventful morning.  Some highlights:

--Ambassador Tiina Intelmann of Estonia was elected as President of the Assembly of States Parties, and presided over the day's session;

--The President of Botswana gave an outstanding speech urging African state parties to cooperate with the ICC, for the mutual benefit of the Court and Africa, and called out UN Security Council members who have vetoed important resolutions due to "politics;"