The International Criminal Court (ICC) has, to date, opened cases exclusively in Africa. Cases concerning 25 individuals are open before the Court, pertaining to crimes allegedly committed in six African states: Libya, Kenya, Sudan (Darfur), Uganda (the Lord's Resistance Army, LRA), the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic. This report provides background on current ICC cases and examines issues raised by the ICC's actions in Africa.

This report discusses the background and history of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and the U.S.'s response. The LRA is a small armed group that originated in northern Uganda in 1987 and is currently operating in remote border areas between the Central African Republic (CAR), Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Sudan, and Sudan. The LRA's actions--which include massacres, abductions (notoriously of children), sexual assault, and looting--have caused humanitarian suffering and instability.