The International Criminal Court prosecutor said Wednesday that he will present to the UN Security Council in May a comprehensive report on alleged war crimes committed during the conflict between rebels and the former Moamer Gaddafi regime, dpa reported.
The ICC was requested by the 15-nation council in March to investigate crimes committed by both sides in Libya after popular unrest erupted in mid-February against Gaddafi. The leader was captured and killed last month by rebel forces, ending his 42-year dictatorship.
ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo addressed an open council session, saying that information and evidence collected so far by his office "do not indicate which side was responsible for the crimes."
He said the ICC was investigating whether Gaddafi and intelligence chief Abdullah Sanussi had decided to use rape as a weapon against protesters.
"We had contacts and sources reporting of multiple victims of rape, but it is premature to specifically say the number of victims," he said, adding there were reports of "hundreds" of victims of rape.
Moreno-Ocampo said, however, that the transitional government in Tripoli has begun investigating alleged crimes and the killing of Gaddafi by rebel troops. He said in this case, ICC regulations do not allow the court to interfere in a country that is genuinely investigating the same crimes that have been referred to the ICC.
The New York-based Human Rights Watch on Wednesday asked the council to ensure the arrest of Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam and Sanussi, both of whom are wanted by the ICC for war crimes.
"The Security Council has made the court's investigation of atrocities in Libya possible," said Richard Dicker, international justice director at Human Rights Watch.
"Now it needs to reaffirm its commitment to accountability and ensure that the suspects are brought to the dock to face fair trial in The Hague," he said.
Saif al-Islam and Sanussi, who are believed to have led a violent crackdown against a rebellion that ended Gaddafi's 42-year rule in August, are still at large. Their exact whereabouts are unknown, but unconfirmed reports say they may be hiding in southern Libya.