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DRC: Ministry of Justice seminar on fight to end impunity

27 July 2007

Dear All,

Please find below information on recent developments related to the
International Criminal Court's investigation in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (DRC), specifically: the opening of a Kinshasa seminar on the nation and
international fight against impunity and a news wire story on sexual violence in
war zones with mention of DRC-related statistics. Please note that the
unofficial translation of the first two excerpts was prepared by the Coalition
Secretariat.

Please also take note of the Coalition's policy on situations before the ICC
(below), which explicitly states that the CICC will NOT take a position on
potential or pending situations before the Court. The Coalition, however, will
continue to provide the most up-to-date information about the ICC.

Regards,

Sasha Tenenbaum
CICC Information Services Coordinator
[email protected]
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I. DRC MINISTRY OF JUSTICE OPENS SEMINAR ON THE FIGHT TO END IMPUNITY

i. "Ministère de la Justice: Ouverture d'un séminaire de formation sur la lutte
contre l'impunité," by Séverine Katanda (La Prospérité), 22 June 2007,
http://www.laprosperiteonline.net/affichage_article.php?id=1563&rubrique=Politiq
ue (in French only)

"A three-day seminar on the fight to end impunity opened last Thursday, June 21,
2007 at the Grand Hôtel Kinshasa. This well-attended seminar brought together
the Democratic Republic of the Congo Minister of the Justice, Konrad Adenuaer,
Vice Minister of the Justice, Madame Kaunda Matumula, as well as lawyers and
other associations working toward a just world.

Different actors in the field of justice participated in the numerous
discussions held such as: 'Traditional Justice in Post-Conflict Settings;' 'The
principle of complementarity: the ICC and national justice (presentation on
justice in the RDC);' 'Co-operation among member states;' 'Rules of procedure
for lawyers before the ICC;' 'The role of the Office of the Defense Council,'
'Support by the Registry;' and 'The participation of victims and their
protection.'

...Professor Luzolo Mbambi highlighted some of the main difficulties in
implementing justice in the RDC... [while] the Magistrat Mutanzanie focused on
the issue of co-operation between the ICC and the RDC in particular... Given
that the relationship between the DRC and the ICC is still in its infancy and
has not yet reached a major level of co-operation, there needs to be more
attention paid to justice and procedure-especially in light of the fact that in
40 days the ICC will be turning five."

ii. "Recommendations du séminaire sur la lutte contre l'impunité," by Hilaire
Kayembe, 26 June 2007, Le Potentiel,
http://fr.allafrica.com/stories/200706260338.html (in French only)

"...Seminar participants presented several recommendations following the
aforementioned seminar. These recommendations mostly concerned the desire to see
the reorganization of the national magistrate as a means to strengthen
cooperation between the DRC and the ICC...as well as increased participation
from NGOs and their local partners which is viewed as having a catalyzing
role...

One common concern heard throughout the thematic discussions was the the need to
see the country accelerate the adoption by the National Assembly of an
implementing law vis-à-vis the Rome Statute...

In this same vein...participants expressed a strong desire to see that the
September Assembly General meeting address this very concern...likewise,
capacity building and human resource development were noted as being needed both
at the magistrate level as well as the lawyers' bar.

... [P]ressure must be placed on those deciding on the justice sector budget so
that it can be sensibly augmented from its current level of 0.3 % to 6 or 7% as
is the case elsewhere, because with a larger budget the national justice system
would function independently from international justice..."

II. SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN WAR ZONES

"Civilians still being brutalized in war zones: UN," by Evelyn Leopold
(Reuters), 22 June 2007,
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSN2219294820070622

"Despite campaigns to protect civilians in war zones, progress is gradual and
failure too obvious in many places in the world, the U.N. emergency relief
coordinator said on Friday.

...Holmes said there were improvements that would have an effect over time,
including indictments against killers by the International Criminal Court as
well as more robust peacekeeping missions to help protect civilians.

But the statistics were still horrific, Holmes said...'We see this in calculated
attacks by Janjaweed and other militias on innocent villagers in Darfur and
Chad; in brutal sectarian, ethnic and political violence in Iraq; in large-scale
killing and abduction of civilians, particularly women and girls, in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo,' Holmes said.

...Too often rape is a weapon of war...'Survivors are left with horrific
physical and psychological scars,' Holmes said. In the South Kivu province of
the Congo, 27,000 cases of sexual violence were reported in 2005 and 2006 and in
March and April this year, 6,000 cases were reported in the eastern region of
Ituri."

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CICC'S POLICY ON THE REFERRAL AND PROSECUTION OF SITUATIONS BEFORE THE ICC:

The Coalition for the ICC is not an organ of the Court. The CICC is an
independent NGO movement dedicated to the establishment of the International
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