On June 27, ICC judges issued arrest warrants for Libyan leader Muammar al Qadhafi, his son Sayf al Islam al Qadhafi, and intelligence chief Abdullah al Senussi, having found "reasonable grounds" to believe that they are responsible for crimes against humanity, including murder and "persecution." (See " Libya ," below.) The trial of Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, in ICC custody since 2006, is expected to bring the Court's first final verdict before year's end. The six Kenyan suspects sought by the ICC, most of them senior government officials, appeared voluntarily before the Court in April 2011. Charges against them have not yet been confirmed by ICC judges. In March 2011, ICC judges confirmed war crimes charges sought by the Prosecutor against two Darfur rebel commanders, paving the way for a trial (see " Darfur Rebel Commanders ," below). On June 23, 2011, the ICC Prosecutor requested authorization from ICC judges to open a formal investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity following Côte d'Ivoire's disputed presidential run-off vote in November 2010. A U.N. investigation concluded in June that "serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law were committed by different actors," potentially amounting to crimes under ICC jurisdiction. Côte d'Ivoire is not a state party, but its government submitted it to ICC jurisdiction in 2003. The government of newly inaugurated President Alassane Ouattara has also accepted ICC jurisdiction, and signed a cooperation agreement with the ICC on June 28. The Statute of the ICC, also known as the Rome Statute (the Statute), entered into force on July 1, 2002, and established a permanent, independent Court to investigate and bring to justice individuals who commit war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. The ICC's jurisdiction extends over crimes committed since the entry into force of the Statute. The ICC is headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands. As of March 2010, 111 countries were parties to the Statute. The United States is not a party to the ICC. The ICC's Assembly of States Parties provides administrative oversight and other support for the Court, including adoption of the budget and election of 18 judges, a Prosecutor (currently Luis Moreno-Ocampo from Argentina), and a Registrar (currently Bruno Cathala from France). As outlined in the Statute, situations may be referred to the ICC in one of three ways: by a state party to the Statute, the ICC Prosecutor, or the United Nations (U.N.) Security Council. Currently, four situations have been publicly referred to the Prosecutor. The governments of three countries (all parties to the ICC)—Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic—have referred situations to the Prosecutor. The U.N. Security Council has referred one situation (Darfur, Sudan) to the Prosecutor. One situation, Kenya, is under investigation following an application by the ICC Prosecutor. At least six others remain under consideration. The ICC is considered a court of last resort—it will only investigate or prosecute cases of the most serious crimes perpetrated by individuals (not organizations or governments), and then, only when national judicial systems are unwilling or unable to handle them. This principle of admissibility before the Court is known as "complementarity." Although many domestic legal systems grant sitting heads of state immunity from criminal prosecution, the Statute grants the ICC jurisdiction over any individual, regardless of official capacity. The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute. The United States signed the Statute on December 31, 2000, but at the time, the Clinton Administration had objections to it and said it would not submit it to the Senate for its advice and consent to ratification. The Statute was never submitted to the Senate. In May 2002, the Bush Administration notified the United Nations that it did not intend to become a party to the ICC, and that there were therefore no legal obligations arising from the signature. The Bush Administration opposed the Court and renounced any U.S. obligations under the treaty. Objections to the Court were based on a number of factors, including the Court's assertion of jurisdiction (in certain circumstances) over citizens, including military personnel, of countries that are not parties to the treaty; the perceived lack of adequate checks and balances on the powers of the ICC prosecutors and judges; the perceived dilution of the role of the U.N. Security Council in maintaining peace and security; and the ICC's potentially chilling effect on America's willingness to project power in the defense of its interests. The Bush Administration concluded bilateral immunity agreements (BIAs), known as "Article 98 agreements," with most states parties to exempt U.S. citizens from possible surrender to the ICC. These agreements are named for Article 98(2) of the Statute, which bars the ICC from asking for surrender of persons from a state party that would require it to act contrary to its international obligations. The U.S. government is prohibited by law from providing material assistance to the ICC in its investigations, arrests, detentions, extraditions, or prosecutions of war crimes, under the American Servicemembers' Protection Act of 2002, or ASPA ( P.L. 107-206 , Title II). The prohibition covers, among other things, the obligation of appropriated funds, assistance in investigations on U.S. territory, participation in U.N. peacekeeping operations unless certain protections from ICC actions are provided to specific categories of personnel, and the sharing of classified and law enforcement information. Section 2015 of ASPA (22 U.S.C. 7433, known as the "Dodd Amendment"), however, provides an exception to these provisions: Nothing in this title shall prohibit the United States from rendering assistance to international efforts to bring to justice Saddam Hussein, Slobodan Milosevic, Osama bin Laden, other members of Al Qaeda, leaders of Islamic Jihad, and other foreign nationals accused of genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity. In her confirmation hearing as Secretary of State before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in January 2009, Hillary Clinton said, "Whether we work toward joining or not, we will end hostility toward the ICC and look for opportunities to encourage effective ICC action in ways that promote U.S. interests by bringing war criminals to justice." Speaking in Nairobi, Kenya, in August 2009, Secretary of State Clinton said that it was a "great regret" that the United States was not a party to the ICC, but that the United States has supported the Court and "continue[s] to do so." Obama Administration officials have recently indicated, amid a wider review of U.S. policy toward the Court, that the Administration is "considering ways in which we may be able to assist the ICC, consistent with our law, in investigations involving atrocities." A January 2010 review by the Department of Justice concluded that diplomatic or "informational" support for "particular investigations or prosecutions" by the ICC would not violate existing laws. In November 2009, the United States began formally attending meetings of the ICC's Assembly of States Parties as an observer nation, and in May 2010 sent a delegation led by Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues Stephen Rapp and State Department Legal Advisor Harold Koh to the Review Conference of the Rome Statute in Kampala, Uganda. Administration officials reiterated at the Conference the United States' intention to support current cases before the ICC. In addition, Rapp stated that Administration officials had "renewed our commitment to the rule of law and capacity-building projects in which we have ongoing in each" African country in which ICC prosecutions are taking place. At the same time, Rapp averred that the Administration was "nowhere near that point" of submitting the Rome Statute for ratification. The United States voted in favor of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1970, referring the situation in Libya to the ICC, the first time it has done so. The post-World War II Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals to prosecute Nazi and Japanese leaders for crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity established precedent for other ad hoc international courts and tribunals, such as the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda. In addition, the United Nations authorized the creation of a Special Court for Sierra Leone (SC-SL) to prosecute those with the greatest responsibility for serious violations of international humanitarian law and domestic law committed in the territory of Sierra Leone since November 30, 1996. Separate judicial mechanisms have also been set up for cases involving East Timor (Timor-Leste) and Cambodia. Further, the U.N. Security Council authorized establishment of a Special International Tribunal for Lebanon in 2007, which began functioning in March 2009. These courts and tribunals are distinct from the ICC. While established by the U.N. Security Council to address allegations of crimes against humanity in various countries, these tribunals were case-specific, limited in jurisdiction, and temporary. By contrast, the ICC was established by multilateral treaty and is a permanent, international criminal tribunal. It is not a U.N. body. The International Court of Justice (ICJ), also located in The Hague, is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. The ICJ does not prosecute individuals; its role is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by states. Only states may submit cases for consideration, although the ICJ will also give advisory opinions on legal questions when requested to do so by authorized international organizations. Members of Congress have taken a range of positions on the ICC with regard to Africa. Many in Congress are concerned about massive human rights violations on the continent, and some see the ICC as a possible means of redress for these crimes.