Volume 5, Issue 2, 2024, pp. 81-92

ABSTRACT: The armed conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo is considered one of the most deadly conflicts witnessed by the African continent in the late twentieth century, with more than 5 million casualties. It has seen some of the worst international crimes and serious violations of human rights and humanitarian law. Various internal and international factors and causes contributed to its outbreak. In the face of the national judiciary’s inability to conduct independent investigations into the alleged crimes, the country’s president requested the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to open an investigation into the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as his country is a party to the Rome Statute. The Prosecutor responded by opening an investigation, which led to indictments against key war criminals, resulting in convictions being issued against them.