December 16, 2002 (Monday)
- Former Bosnian Serb President Biljana Plavšić pled guilty to one count of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague for her part in atrocities against Bosnian Muslims and Croats during the 1992–95 Bosnian War.
- Opposition protesters blockaded highways in and around the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, angered by President Hugo Chávez's resolve to hang on to power, called for an escalation in its campaign to remove him.
- Former Vice President and 2000 Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore announces on the CBS News' 60 Minutes that he will not seek election to the presidency in 2004.