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2337 - DRC, PART I: CICC and Human Rights Watch Media Statements About Seco

18 Oct 2007

Dear all,



As you all know, the Court today opened a second case in the situation in the
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Please see below for the full text of media
statements by the CICC and Human Rights Watch. We will send the second part of
this digest shortly to reflect media coverage of this development.



Please 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,



Anaga Dalal

CICC Communications

[email protected]





I.

Coalition for the International Criminal Court

www.coalitionfortheicc.org <http://www.coalitionfortheicc.org/>









MEDIA ADVISORY In New York:
Anaga Dalal,

18 October 2007
(+)1.646.465.8517, [email protected]


In The Hague: Oriane Maillet

(+)31 70 311 10 82, [email protected]





ICC ANNOUNCES SECOND ARREST IN DRC SITUATION

FRPI leader Germain Katanga transferred to The Hague for alleged war crimes and
crimes against humanity



WHAT: On Thursday, 18 October at approximately 11 a.m. in The Hague, the
International Criminal Court (ICC) announced the surrender and transfer of Mr
Germain Katanga, alleged commander of the Force de résistance patriotique en
Ituri (FRPI) to the ICC. This marks the ICC's second case in the situation in
the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The ICC's first case against Thomas
Lubanga Dyilo will result in the Court's first trial, which is expected to
commence in early 2008.



Upon an application of the ICC Prosecutor on 25 June 2007, the ICC Pre-trial
Chamber I had issued a sealed warrant of arrest for Katanga on 2 July 2007. The
arrest warrant was unsealed on 18 October 2007, following the surrender and
transfer of the suspect on the previous day. The arrest warrant focuses on the
period between January and March 2003 and in particular on the attack of the
village of Bogoro on 24 February 2003, listing three crimes against humanity and
six war crimes in Ituri, a territory in eastern DRC. The alleged acts include
murder, inhumane acts, inhuman or cruel treatment, the use of child soldiers,
sexual slavery, willful killing, intentional attacks against the civilian
population and pillage.



"The opening of this second DRC case represents yet another turning point for
the ICC," said CICC Convenor William Pace. "In this instance, the Court was able
to secure the cooperation necessary to arrest and then transfer the suspect to
The Hague in a timely manner."



Christian Hemedi, coordinator of the DRC national coalition, added "The conflict
in the DRC is one of the most brutal of this century, but it has consistently
fallen off the radar screen of the international community. The message the
Court sends today, however, is loud and clear: an end to impunity for the grave
crimes committed in DRC is near."



WHO: Germain Katanga, also known as "Simba", is a national of the DRC and the
alleged leader of Force de résistance patriotique en Ituri. According to CICC
member Human Rights Watch, "Germain Katanga helped lead one of the largest
massacres in Ituri, that at Nyakunde Hospital in September 2002...he also led
FRPI combatants at other massacres, including those in Bunia, Komanda and Bogoro
in 2002 and 2003." Mr. Katanga had been previously detained in the DRC. Germaine
Katanga is the second person transferred to the ICC Scheveningen detention
center. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo was surrendered and transferred to The Hague in
March 2006.



COMMENT AND BACKGROUND: Experts from DRC human rights organizations and
international NGOs are listed on the following pages for comment and background
on this arrest.



Important notice: The Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC), an
independent NGO movement, is dedicated to the establishment of the International
Criminal Court as a fair, effective, and independent international organization.
The Coalition as a whole, and its secretariat, does not endorse or promote
specific investigations or prosecutions or take a position on situations before
the ICC. However, individual CICC members may endorse referrals, provide legal
and other support on investigations, or develop partnerships with local and
other organizations in the course of their efforts.



NGOs in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)



Alphabetical by last name



Bukeni W. Beck, WITNESS and former Director and Founder of Jeunes pour le
Developpement Integre-Kalundu/Projet Enfants Soldats (AJEDI-Ka/PES - Youth
Development and Integration/Child Soldiers Project)

Currently in New York, New York, but originally from Uvira, South Kivu:

Telephone: + 646-744-8064; +718-783-2000 ext.307

E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]

(English, French)



Alpha Fall, Senior Associate, Centre International pour la Justice
Transitionnelle (International Center for Transitional Justice)

Kinshasa

Telephone: +243 810 155 080 and + 243 812 746 859

Email: [email protected]

(English, French)



Christian Hemedi, Coordonnateur de la Coalition nationale pour la CPI (Head of
the DRC National Coalition for the International Criminal Court)

Kinshasa

Telephone: + 243 99 99 166 96; + 243 81 700 5452

E-mail: [email protected]



Mpinga Tshibasu Michel Innocent, Président de l'Observatoire national des droits
de l'homme (President of the Bar Association and of the National Council on
Human Rights)

Kinshasa

Telephone: + 243 99 831 37 40; + 243 99 99 80 857

E-mail: [email protected] and [email protected]



Roger Muchuba, Secrétaire Exécutif de Héritiers de la Justice (Secretary of the
Inheritors of Justice)

Bukavu

Telephone: +243 99 86 76 6477

E-mail: [email protected]



Bisimwa Ntakobajira, Coordonnateur de l'Association de promotion et de défense
des droits de l'homme (Head of the Association for the Promotion and Defense of
Human Rights)

Bukavu

Telephone: + 243 81 355 1835

E-mail: [email protected] and [email protected]



Anneke van Woudenberg, Senior Researcher on the DRC, Human Rights Watch

Kinshasa

Telephone: +243 81 085 2407

Email: [email protected]

(English, French)





International NGOs



Listed alphabetically by organization name



John Washburn, Convenor, American NGO Coalition for the ICC

New York, New York:

Office telephone: +1 212 907 1317

Mobile: +1 917 589 5988

Email: [email protected]

(English)



Christopher Hall, International Justice Project Senior Legal Adviser, Amnesty
International

London, England:
Office telephone.: +44 207 413 5733 (Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday)
Telephone.: +44 207 241 1728 (Monday and Thursday)
E-mail: [email protected]

(English)



Martien Schotsmans, Head of the International Justice Legal Department, Avocats
Sans Frontières

Brussels, Belgium

Telephone: 0032 2 22 33 654

E-mail: '[email protected]'

(English and French)



Dr. Karine Bonneau, Director of the International Justice Desk, Fédération
Internationale des Ligues des Droits de L'Homme (FIDH - International Federation
for Human Rights)

Paris, France:

Telephone: +33 1 43 55 25 18

Mobile telephone: +33 6 72 34 87 59

Email: [email protected]

(French, English, Spanish)



Richard Dicker, International Justice Program Director, Human Rights Watch

New York, New York:

Office telephone: +1 212 216 1248

Mobile number: +1 917 747 6731

Email: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>

(English, French)



Alison Smith, Legal Counsel, No Peace Without Justice

Brussels, Belgium

Telephone: +32 2 548 3912

Mobile phone: +32 486 986 235

Email: [email protected]

(English)



Mariana Goetz, ICC Outreach & Advocacy Adviser, REDRESS

London, England

Telephone : +44 20 7793 1777

Email: [email protected]

(English, French, Spanish)



Brigid Inder, Executive Director, Women's Initiatives for Gender Justice

The Hague, Netherlands

Office telephone: +31 70 3 02 99 11

E-mail: [email protected]

(English)



###





II. For Immediate Release



ICC/DRC: Second War Crimes Suspect to Face Justice in The Hague

Investigation Should Expand to Include Senior Officials in the Region



(New York, October 18, 2007) - The International Criminal Court's successful
arrest warrant against a major war crimes suspect in the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC) should be followed up by the court extending its investigation to
include senior military and political figures in the Great Lakes region who
backed local warlords, Human Rights Watch said today.



Earlier today, the International Criminal Court (ICC) unsealed its arrest
warrant against General Germain Katanga, the former chief of staff of the
Patriotic Force of Resistance in Ituri (FRPI), the military wing of the Front
for National Integration (FNI) militia. The Lendu-based group is considered
responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Ituri district of
north-eastern Congo. Katanga is charged with 3 counts of crimes against humanity
and 6 counts of war crimes for his involvement in killings, pillaging, using
child soldiers, and sexual enslavement during an attack on the town of Bogoro.
Congolese authorities surrendered General Katanga yesterday, and he has been
transferred to the ICC.



"We welcome the charges against Germain Katanga, a senior military commander of
an ethnic militia in Ituri," said Param-Preet Singh, counsel with Human Rights
Watch's International Justice Program. "The FRPI, together with the FNI,
committed horrible crimes against Hema civilians and others. The victims of
these crimes deserve to see justice for their suffering."



Katanga's arrest comes more than 18 months after the arrest and transfer to The
Hague of the ICC's first suspect, Thomas Lubanga, former leader of the Union of
Congolese Patriots, for enlisting, recruiting and using child soldiers in the
Ituri conflict. Lubanga's trial on those charges is slated to begin early next
year in what will be the first trial in the ICC's history.



In a recent interview, Katanga told a Human Rights Watch researcher that his
militia group regularly received financial and military support from
high-ranking officials in Kinshasa and Uganda and that he had personally been
involved in meetings where such support was discussed. His allegations are
consistent with other information collected by Human Rights Watch and by those
described in a public letter by the president of the militia group, Floribert
Njabu, in February 2007, where he implicated senior government officials.



"The prosecutor should also pursue the political masters in Kinshasa, Kampala
and Kigali who armed and supported the militia groups operating in Ituri," said
Singh. "The ICC must not stop at the local warlords if it is going to tackle the
widespread impunity in the Democratic Republic of Congo."



Katanga, Njabu and others have been in detention in the DRC since March 2005.
They were charged with genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity under
Congolese law, but have not been yet brought to trial. Their continued detention
violates Congolese law.



"The Congolese authorities must take swift action to bring those accused of
international crimes to justice," said Singh. "This includes full cooperation
with the ICC, but it also means prosecuting suspects now in Congolese custody in
fair and effective trials."



In April 2004, the transitional Congolese government referred crimes committed
in the country to the ICC. On June 23, 2004, the prosecutor announced the
beginning of the court's investigation in the DRC.



Background



Germain Katanga was a senior military leader in the FRPI and the FNI, two
closely linked armed groups established in late 2002 that promote the interests
of the ethnic Lendu, one of the main tribes in Ituri. The FNI consisted
predominantly of Lendu from the north of Ituri, while the FRPI was largely made
up of the Ngiti ethnic group, frequently referred to as the Lendu from the
south. Katanga is a Ngiti.



Under the leadership of Floribert Njabu, the FNI temporarily integrated with the
FRPI to combat the Union of Congolese Patriots, an ethnic Hema group whom the
Lendu considered to be their enemies. The FNI and FRPI branches split into
separate armed groups in 2004 after leadership wrangles.



Both the FNI and the FRPI received military and financial support from Uganda
and, from late 2002, from Kinshasa as the central government attempted to forge
new allies in eastern Congo. While Ugandan forces were in Congo in 2003, they
carried out joint military operations with the FNI and the FRPI. In 2002 and
2003, the FNI and FRPI also benefited from military training and support from a
national rebel group, the RCD-ML, led by the current foreign minister, Mbusa
Nyamwisi.



Over the past six years, Human Rights Watch has gathered hundreds of testimonies
documenting widespread human rights abuses by all armed groups in Ituri,
including the FNI and the FRPI. According to witnesses, Katanga participated in
and led FRPI combatants at several massacres, including those in Bunia, Komanda
and Bogoro in 2002 and 2003. He ordered, tolerated or personally committed
ethnic massacres, murder, torture, rape, mutilation and the recruitment of child
soldiers.



In December 2004, President Joseph Kabila signed a decree naming numerous armed
group leaders from Ituri as generals in the Congolese army, including Katanga.
No checks were carried out as to his suitability for the role. After his arrest
in March 2005 by Congolese authorities, the FRPI continued under the leadership
of Cobra Matata, a close collaborator of Katanga. The group continued to carry
out human rights abuses, including the illegal arrest and torture of local
authorities, some of whom were later killed. Since 2006, the FRPI have agreed to
disarm and to integrate their combatants into the national army, and Cobra
Matata was officially named a colonel. Again, no checks were carried out as to
his suitability for the role.



For more of Human Rights Watch's work on international justice in the Democratic
Republic of Congo, please visit:

http://www.hrw.org/doc/?t=justice&c=congo



For more information, please contact:

In New York, Richard Dicker (English): +1-917-747-6731 (mobile); or
+1-212-216-1248

In New York, Param-Preet Singh (English): +1-917-586-1140 (mobile); or
+1-212-216-1821

In New York (until October 18 / London after October 18), Anneke Van Woudenberg
(French, English): +44-77-11-66-49-60

In The Hague (until October 18 / Brussels after October 18), Géraldine Mattioli
(French, English): +32-485-57-7962 (Brussels mobile); or +32-273-71-487
(Brussels office)







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
Criminal Court as a fair, effective, and independent international organization.
The Coalition will continue to provide the most up-to-date information about the
ICC and to help coordinate global action to effectively implement the Rome
Statute of the ICC. The Coalition will also endeavor to respond to basic queries
and to raise awareness about the ICC's trigger mechanisms and procedures, as
they develop. The Coalition as a whole, and its secretariat, do not endorse or
promote specific investigations or prosecutions or take a position on situations
before the ICC. However, individual CICC members may endorse referrals, provide
legal and other support on investigations, or develop partnerships with local
and other organizations in the course of their efforts.

Communications to the ICC can be sent to:
ICC
P.O. Box 19519
2500 CM The Hague
The Netherlands