FIAE IHL MOOT PROBLEM 2024

THE SITUATION IN AZANIA

(Prosecutor v. General Rahama)
Pre-Trial Chamber IV

1. Azania is a state in the continent of Lazima. Azania follows a federated system of

government where it is composed of 24 states, each with ‘devolved’ responsibility for
issues such as employment, internal military affairs, finance and education within their
territory. To unite the decentralized states, 24 Regional Representatives elected by the
citizens serve in the Azanian Federal Government and vote for a president out of the 24
Regional Representatives. Some issues are ‘reserved’ to the Azanian Federal Government,
meaning the States are not able to legislate in those areas, such as constitutional affairs and
foreign policy.
2. The Bantu region of Azania takes pride in its history, the ancient Kingdom of Bantu, that
existed independently for several centuries. A century ago, the Kingdom was occupied by
the former Kingdom of Azania, which eventually transferred to the contemporary
democratic model under a federated system. Nevertheless, the Bantu region is fiercely
proud of its unique language, history and culture.
3. Of the 24 federal regions, Bantu contributes the most to Azania's development and
economic prosperity due to the discovery of diamonds in 1994. This injected substantial
revenues into Bantu, allowing for significant advances in technology and military
capabilities. General Rahama, the State Governor of Bantu, has a reputation for heavily
investing in new weapons utilizing artificial intelligence. Bantu's closest trading ally is the
neighbouring, militarily powerful State of Changamire led by General Zuwa.
4. The relationship between Bantu and Changamire dates back to when General Rahama
attended the military academy in Changamire through an exchange program between the
two nations of Azania and Changamire. The ties strengthened further once General Zuwa
seized control of Changamire from President Lamu in a coup in 1984. There are unverified
accounts suggesting General Zuwa assisted General Rahama’s rise to governor of Bantu
by financially contributing $150,000 to her political campaign.
5. Both Azania and Changamire are UN Member States and Permanent Members of the UN
Security Council, members of the African Union (AU), and State Parties to the Geneva
Conventions of 12th August 1949. Azania ratified the First Additional Protocol to the
Geneva Conventions of 8th June 1977 on the 22nd October 2020, while Changamire ratified
it on 10th January 1997. Azania is also a State Party to the Second Additional Protocol to
the Geneva Conventions of 8th June 1977 and to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, both
of which it ratified in 2010. Azania has also signed and ratified the Protocol on
Amendments to the Protocol on the Statute of the African Court of Justice and Human &
Peoples’ Rights (the Malabo Protocol), as amended, along with sixteen other AU Member
States.
6. During Azania’s 2020 national elections, Bantu put forth its representative to run for the
presidency. A fiercely contested campaign ensued with Bantu’s primary opponent being
the candidate from the region of Daura. Unlike the developed Bantu, Daura had invested
its limited resources mainly into education, believing that was the path out of poverty. As
a consequence, Daura took pride in producing many intellectuals across Azania. Daura is
also home to the Azanian federal nuclear facility, Midona.
7. Daura’s candidate, Fahari, worked as a doctor. After becoming an orphan at a young age,
he struggled to obtain an education. However, due to his strong academic abilities, he
received a state scholarship to study at a top international university. Upon completing his
education abroad, Fahari returned to Daura to serve his community as a doctor – an act that
was well-received. This popularity led the people of Daura to elect Fahari as their state
representative in the central government, and later support his run for the presidency.
8. In contrast, Bantu’s state representative in the central government, Xanugu, was a career
military officer who touted his role in ensuring the region’s protection. Xanugu had risen
through the ranks to become a high-ranking commander under Governor Rahama. Pre-
election polls by a monitoring group found most regions preferred Fahari as presidential
candidate. They viewed Xanugu as little more than a proxy for General Rahama’s authority.
After an intense month-long campaign, election day arrived. In a vote by the state
representatives, Fahari obtained a two-thirds majority. Dissatisfied with the outcome,
Bantu disputed the results and alleged voter manipulation through bribery and the hacking
of voting machines.
9. In a sternly worded communiqué on 24th August 2020, General Rahama registered
Bantu’s rejection of the electoral verdict with the Federal Election Commission. The
next day, a crackling burst disrupted Azania’s social media networks. It was Professor
Kikuyu, the well-respected doyenne of cybersecurity and ethical hacking at Bantu
University, broadcasting her findings. After poring over terabytes of polling data with
her brilliant students, Professor Kikuyu produced evidence that the voting system had
been hacked to boost Fahari’s presidency. She emphasized that her analysis was
independently conducted without endorsement or assistance from the Bantu
administration. Following Professor Kikuyu’s thunderous announcement, a social-
media storm exploded, with the hashtag #stolenvictory trending on social media
platforms across Azania.
10. Two hours after Professor Kikuyu’s social media post, General Rahama gave an angry
televised address:
“I am extremely frustrated with the election commission’s failure to protect and secure
the election system. Reports have proven the system was hacked, as evidenced by
Professor Kikuyu’s post. Bantu contributes far more than any other region to the
central government. Unless this issue is resolved within a week, we will have no choice
but to secede from Azania and become an independent state,”.
11. The Federal Election Commission called for calm as they thoroughly examined the voting
system. Two days later, they released a report finding no unauthorized access. All foreign
election observers, except those from Changamire, confirmed this evaluation. The
Changamire observers reported evidence of intrusion. Following the Commission’s
conclusion, Fahari was inaugurated as president seven days later. In his maiden speech,
President Fahari made it categorically clear that the central government of Azania would
not allow any region to secede from Azania and that anyone who tried would face the full
weight of the government of Azania.
12. As an act of defiance, General Rahama wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on the 3rd of
September 2020, that from that point forward, Bantu would no longer be known solely as
Bantu, but instead as the Republic of Bantu, demonstrating a shift toward more autonomous
rule. He cited Bantu’s history, having historically been occupied by Azania, and claimed
that the Bantu people were being denied meaningful access to governmental autonomy in
 order to pursue their political, economic, social and cultural development. In an effort to
accelerate Bantu’s autonomy, on the 10th of September 2020, General Rahama gave an
order for starting the formal process of recognition of Bantu as a state. One week later,
Bantu University conducted a ‘border poll’ asking residents if Bantu should become
independent. Turnout in the poll was high – about 75% of Bantu residents – with 82% of
the participants agreeing with secession. Legislation was passed in the Bantu State
Parliament, unanimously approving legislation declaring Bantu a constitutionally
independent republic, citing Article 1 of the UN Charter and paragraph 2 of UN General
Assembly Resolution 1514 of December 1960. This was followed by a statement from the
foreign relations office of Bantu that it had sent a letter to the UN Secretary General on the
30th of September 2020 informing him of the independence of Bantu.
13. Azania strongly condemned Bantu’s unilateral declaration of independence as
unconstitutional. Additionally, Azania’s allies at the UN rejected the legitimacy of the
declaration. However, Changamire, a long-standing partner to Bantu, issued its own
statement recognizing Bantu as a sovereign state. In its statement, Changamire noted this
recognition had the stated support of 14 UN member states, with three of the five permanent
members of the Security Council voicing their opinion in support, and one yet to make a
statement.
14. Tensions drastically increased between Bantu and Azania. In response, General Rahama
ordered the Bantu military to take control of the border with the neighboring Daura region.
Troops established border checkpoints and denied crossing into Bantu unless a special
online visa was obtained through Bantu’s foreign affairs office. This assertive action
tightened Bantu’s control over movement in and out of its territory. Upon learning of
Bantu’s border control actions, President Fahari immediately convened an emergency
meeting of Azania’s Federal Army generals. A resolution was passed authorizing the
deployment of Azanian federal troops to the Daura-Bantu border, including to Daura’s own
border posts, to counter Bantu’s measures.
15. On December 23, 2020, Bantu forces launched an aerial bombing raid in Daura close to
the established border checkpoint installation along the Daura-Bantu border, using Kinzhal
hypersonic air-launched ballistic missiles. The aim was to destroy alleged Azania military
installations that were said to be preparing to launch a ground invasion into Bantu. Bantu’s
 intelligence assessments at the time indicated the installations housed Azania special
forces, but also noted that the installation was 500 metres from grazing lands that Dauran
farmers habitually grazed their flocks. While no Azanian military personnel were killed or
injured during the strike, several Dauran farmers were killed as a result of the attack on the
military installation and the subsequent effects of the attack. In the aftermath, General
Rahama declared that with President Fahari was posing a grave threat, it was crucial to
remove him from power by any means necessary.
16. On February 5, 2021, General Rahama approved “Operation Sogoli”, a Bantu military
initiative. Clashes broke out between Azanian and Bantuan forces within the Daura region.
The clashes in Daura forced about 300,000 local residents to flee the combat zone. In
response, President Fahari surged additional Azanian military personnel to the frontlines
in Daura. This shift in troop numbers allowed Azania’s forces to gain significant tactical
advantage over Bantu’s military within the region. The fighting subsequently spilled over
into Bantu’s own borders as Azania pressed its momentum. Facing setbacks on the
battlefield, General Rahama sought outside assistance to help repel the Azanian forces now
encroaching on Bantuan soil.
17. On June 19, 2021, General Rahama reached out to General Zuwa requesting military
assistance against Azania. However, General Zuwa redirected her to contact his brother-
in-law, General Vuta, who leads Tahadhari – a prominent private military company.
General Vuta is a top Changamirian military officer who established Tahadhari in 2012.
Headquartered in Changamire’s capital city, Tahadhari employs 10,000 troops divided into
four regiments, each commanded by a veteran leader.
18. While Tahadhari Group has no official affiliation with Changamire’s armed forces, the
country is by far its largest client for security and defence services, with Changamire
placing heavy reliance on Tahadhari. As such, Tahadhari personnel routinely access
Changamire’s military training facilities and occasionally receive confidential intelligence
from Changamire’s intelligence agency. Changamire also serves as the primary source of
weapons, equipment and supplies for Tahadhari Group’s forces. Beyond establishing and
leading the company as President, General Vuta maintains the supreme military command
authority over all Tahadhari soldiers. He receives direct reports from the four regiment
 heads and personally directs operations on the field. Additionally, both General Vuta and
the rest of Tahadhari Group’s staff and forces hold citizenship of Changamire.
19. On August 17, 2021, General Rahama signed a contract on behalf of Bantu’s government
to hire two regiments (approximately 5,000 troops) from Tahadhari Group to support
fighting against Azania’s armed forces. According to the agreement, the Tahadhari soldiers
would not serve under General Rahama’s formal command within Bantu’s military
structure. Instead, General Vuta traveled to Bantu personally direct Tahadhari Group forces
on the ground. The Changamire military committed substantial financial backing for
operations and agreed to assist with combat planning and strategy for operations while
sharing tactical and intelligence data as needed. New weapons, ammunition, vehicles and
supplies would also be provided by Changamire. Tahadhari forces were granted access to
nearby Bantu bases along the Azania border for lodging. Additionally, Tahadhari Group
retained responsibility for organizing and executing specific missions and updating
General Rahama regularly. Bantu military officials avoided involvement in Tahadhari’s
day-to-day decisions despite General Vuta’s briefings. Both parties fulfilled their
obligations under the lucrative deal.
20. On October 3, 2021, Tahadhari Group launched its offensive against Azania’s military.
Seeking to gain a major advantage, General Rahama supplied cluster munitions for
Tahadhari to deploy against Azanian forces. Cluster munitions disperse many small
bomblets across wide areas from projectiles. To minimize civilian harm, General Rahama
issued to Tahadhari a military Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) outlining appropriate
cluster munition use. It instructed deploying the weapons only in areas clear of civilians
and civilian objects. Additionally, the SOP mandated providing 48 hours advance notice
for any civilians to evacuate targeted zones.
21. On October 29, 2021, graphic images went viral on social media platforms, showing the
deaths of several children aged approximately 14/15 and a destroyed mosque. Reports
surfaced that Tahadhari Group had used cluster munitions in Daura, resulting in the child
deaths and mosque damage. This prompted strong condemnation from the African Union
Peace and Security Council. Additionally, an emergency session was called by the UN
Security Council to address the matter. However, no UNSC resolution could be passed
because Changamire, as a permanent member, vetoed all proposed actions targeting Bantu.
22. General Vuta dismissed the disturbing photos as “fake news” unreliable in today’s social
media landscape. He claimed cluster munitions could only be deployed via an AI system
developed by Bantu to autonomously operate based on guidelines provided in the SOP.
However, that evening President Fahari presented verified drone footage on live TV
displaying the missile launch dispersing bomblets that killed the children. President Fahari
pointed out because of Tahadhari Group offensive the children had obtained rocket
launchers at the mosque to defend themselves against Tahadhari forces. He condemned the
use of autonomous weapons that seem not to differentiate between children and
combatants.
23. On November 2, 2021, leveraging its cyber capabilities, the Bantu army conducted hacks
targeting Azania’s critical infrastructure to weaken their offensive abilities. One such
operation targeted a huge computer server cluster located in Daura. The cluster was
operated under contract by Francisco Integrated Services (FIS), an Azanian private
company, on behalf of the Azanian Federal government. The cluster hosted the computing
networks for the Midona nuclear facility, an Azanian federal facility also located in Daura
which manufactured tactical nuclear warheads for the Azanian military’s use. The FIS
server cluster also hosted patient medical data for all of Daura’s medical facilities, and
processed all digital financial transactions carried out in Daura on behalf of the Daura State
Bank.
24. The cyber operation against the FIS cluster took the form of a ‘ransomware’ operation. It
required IT software in the cluster to be replaced but did not cause a permanent loss of
functionality to the computing systems or data storage. However, the operation did
temporarily disable all operations at Midona for a period of weeks. Following the cyber
operation, radioactive ‘heavy water’ was found to have flowed from the Midona facility
into local drinking water supplies, leading to around 4,000 deaths in Daura, both civilians
and Azanian service personnel, from people consuming the poisoned water.
25. The ransomware operation against the FIS clusters also impacted on Daura’s hospitals and
banking system. Although patient medical data was not stolen or destroyed, it was rendered
unavailable for several weeks, leading to significant delays in patient treatment and, it is
thought, several deaths. The operation also blocked transmission of transaction data of
 Daura’s citizens, meaning the majority of commerce in the state was rendered impossible
for several weeks, with dramatic negative effects on the local economy and businesses.
26. In response to these events, President Fahari brought the matter before the African Union
Assembly of Heads of State. They passed a resolution on March 29, 2022, directing the
case to the prosecution team at the African Court of Justice and Human and Peoples’ Rights
(ACJHPR). The ACJHPR subsequently issued arrest warrants on January 15, 2023, for
General Rahama, citing war crimes committed in Daura. On February 5, 2024, while
returning from a holiday in the neighbouring state of Mwari (a State Party to the Malabo
Protcol), General Rahama was intercepted at the airport in Mwari. She was taken into
custody and transferred to the ACJHPR to face charges related to the lethal attack.

The matter is coming up as a confirmation of charges hearing. The Pretrial Chamber IV has
scheduled the agenda for the confirmation of charges as follows:
1. Whether the ACJHPR has jurisdiction, and the case against General Rahama is admissible.
2. Whether there are substantial grounds to believe that the following war crimes pursuant to
Article 28D of the Malabo Protocol were committed in Azania.
a. In regard to the attack on Azania Military Installation on December 23, 2020 in
Daura that Killed Dauran farmers:
War Crime of Intentionally Directing an Attack in the knowledge that such an
attack will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian
objects or widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment
which would be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall
military advantage anticipated Contrary to Article 28D of Malabo Protocol.
b. In regard to the use of cluster munition that caused the death of the children and the
destruction of the mosque:
War Crime of Employing Weapons, projectiles and materials and methods of
warfare which are of a nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering,
or which are inherently indiscriminate Contrary to Article 28D of Malabo Protocol.
c. In regard to the cyber-attack made on Francisco Integrated Services (FIS) Servers:
War Crime of Intentionally directing attacks against civilian objects, that is, objects
which are not military objectives Contrary to Article 28D of Malabo Protocol.
3. Whether there are substantial grounds to believe that General Rahama is individually
criminally responsible under Article 46B of the Malabo Protocol with regards to the above
offences.