The Hague: Dr Mutlaq bin Majid Al Qahtani, Ambassador of Qatar to the Netherlands, met the ICC Prosecutor. The Ambassador met Karim Khan (ICC prosecutor) on Thursday, 2nd November 2023.

During the meeting, many issues were discussed, including the issue of the Israel-Hamas war. It is to be specifically mentioned that the International Criminal Court is an independent judicial body. The main objective behind the establishment of the ICC was to prosecute those guilty of war crimes, accused of crimes against humanity, like genocide, along with guilty of the crime of aggression.

Moreover, the agreement among the countries to build an international criminal court reflected the commitment of many countries to bring to justice those criminals who misused the protection of impunity. Although the court was established in 2002, it started its function in the year 2003.

It is worth mentioning that the International Criminal Court has opened more than two dozen cases in many countries. More importantly, it has also initiated the investigation of the war crimes committed in Afghanistan. The war crimes of Afghanistan not only included the crimes of the Taliban. Rather, there were allegations against the Afgan national security forces and the United States military and central intelligence agencies known as (the CIA).

The Ambassador and the ICC prosecutor both expressed concern over the growing Humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. Since the beginning of the War on 7th October, a large number of civilian and children has been killed in the Gaza Strip.

Qatar’s Ambassador Apprises the ICC prosecutor about the different humanitarian initiatives being taken by the Qatat to end the conflict. Moreover, Qatar is also making efforts for the safe and early release of the hostages. It is noteworthy that with the negotiation of Qatar, Hamas agreed to release some hostages, which also include the two American women, from their custody.