Jan
31

Nicholas Kristof on War Crimes in The Congo

Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times posted in his column today stories of the horrible war crimes being inflicted in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  The column, available here, describes the rape of young girls, their being abducted to serve as sex slaves for the rebel armies, and the terror the civilians live in because of the ongoing civil war.

Thomas Lubanga of the DRC is currently on trial at the International Criminal Court for using child soldiers in the conflict.  Charges of rape, abduction and child soldiers were considered, but the court determined the attempt to amend the case was too late and the prosecution was limited to the facts alleged at the confirmation of charges hearing.  Recently the trial resumed with the defense case, and some victims who are seeking reparations testified in support of their case.

The Germain Katanga and Matthieu Ngdolo Chui case from the DRC, the second ICC case to go to trial also arose from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Katanga and Chui are charged with directing attacks on civilian targets.

The girls attacked in these cases may be eligible to seek reparations from the warlords convicted at the ICC, and funded by the Association of State’s Parties.  Persons seeking reparations must make application to the court and have a right to legal counsel  at court expense to pursue their claims.

Jan
26

Second ICC trial resumes

The trial of Germain Katanga and Matthieu Ngdolo Chui resumed today at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.  This is the second ICC case to proceed to trial.  Katanga and Chui are charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity as part of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  They are charged specifically with an attack on the Bagoro village.

War crimes include attacks by armed combatants on civilians, targeting civilians rather than other combatants is a focus of current war crimes prosecutions.  The Katanga and Chui trial was delayed in December when one of the three judges was injured in a car accident.  The court’s press release on the resumption is available here.

Jan
26

Victims Called back by Defense in Lubanga Case

The defense in the Thomas Lubanga case called two of the witnesses back to testify.  The victims had testified last week on their own behalf, as part of the court’s process allowing victims to seek reparations.  The victims had previously testified in closed session and were questioned again in closed session so it is not clear what the substance of the testimony was.

The court allows victims seeking reparations to participate anonymously and allows questioning in closed session to protect the identity of victims.  Some details of the day’s events are here.

Thomas Lubanga is the first case to go to trial at the International Criminal Court and these victims are the first to use the court’s process to seek reparations.  Thomas Lubanga is accused of using child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo and was brought to the court in 2007 his trial started in January 2008.

Jan
22

Third Lubanga Victim Testifies Seeking Reparations

A third child soldier victim of Thomas Lubanga testified about the treatment of young soldiers at the direction of Lubanga.  The victim testified about his abduction and conscription into the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC in French).  A detailed report on the day of testimony is available here.

The testimony is part of the court’s unique process allowing the victims to participate in the case as it goes on, and to seek reparations.  The reparations will be funded by the victims fund, persons convicted may be directed to contribute by paying fines as well as serving sentences, but the fund will also be supported the state’s parties.

Persons who have a potential claim before the court can seek victim’s status and appointed counsel to represent their interests.  A person who applies may choose their own lawyer at the time of the application, or they will be assigned to the Office of the Public Counsel for Victims, which will handle the case within their pool of cases.

Jan
21

Lubanga Victims Testify

The Lubanga trial entered an unprecedented phase last week as the victims who are seeking reparations from Lubanga and the court testified about the harm they suffered because of Lubanga.  The victims tesitfied about their experiences being abducted as child soldiers and of others being held in sexual slavery. A summary of the testimony of the  first week of victims seeking reparations is available here.

The ICC process is unique in the history of war crimes prosecutions.  Never before have the victims of war crimes had an opportunity to seek reparations and never have they had the opportunity to participate in the case as it is going on.  This creates a difficulty for the defense as they have to defend the case on multiple fronts.  Reparations will be funded not just by the parties convicted, but by a victims fund which the member states contribute to.

Victims may seek reparations, including psychological and physical rehabilitation services. To assist them in seeking reparations, victims may request appointed counsel of their choosing, if they do not select counsel, they will be represented by the Office of Public Counsel for Victims.   Appointed counsel will not be funded by the courts and not by the victims personally.

Jan
06

Lubanga Defense to start its case January 7th.

On January 7th, the Defense will begin to put in its case in the Thomas Lubange Trial at the International Criminal Court. The trial started on January 26, 2009.  Lubanga is accused of using child soldiers and other war crimes. 

The prosecution case lasted for 22 weeks and presented 28 witnesses.  The case has been adjourned since July 26, 2009, while the court considered a request to amend the charges to include sexual slavery.  The appeals chamber denied that request in December and the defense may now begin their presentation.

 103 victims are participating in the case, represented by three teams of lawyers.  Victims have a right to participate, ask some questions of witnesses and ultimately seek reparations for the harms they have suffered.  Those reparations may include material support while cases are ongoing and physical and pyschological rehabilitation services.  This process is unique to the ICC and the Lubanga case is its first test. 

Victims wishing to participate must establish for the court their identity as victims, by filling out forms.  They may however participate anonymously.  Victims have the right to court appointed counsel and may choose their own counsel.  Victims who do not select their counsel at the time of application may be assigned to the Office of Public Counsel for Victims rather than a lawyer who practices in their geographic area.  

 

Categories

Recent Comments

Tags

abduction Abu Garda Afghanistan Arrest warrant Bahar Idriss Abu Garda Callixte Mbarushimana Central African Republic child soldiers complementarity counsel crimes against humanity Darfur Democratic Republic of Congo Den Haag genocidal intent Genocide Germain Katanga Government of Sudan Grenada ICC International Criminal Court ISAF Ivory Coast Jean-Pierre Bemba Kenya Libya Lubanga lubange Luis Moreno-Ocampo Matthieu Ngdolou Chui New York Times Nicholas Kristof Omar Al Bashir President of Sudan Qadafi rape reparations Rome Statute sexual slavery Sudan The Hague Thomas Lubanga Union of Congolese Patriots victims war crimes
Go back to top

Switch to our mobile site