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DRC: ICC outreach in DRC; A Congolese deputy is planning to appeal

10 Apr 2008

Dear Colleagues,

Please find below information on recent developments related to the
International Criminal Court's investigation in the Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC).

This digest includes two press releases related to ICC outreach efforts in the
DRC, articles on a political-spiritual movement that is trying to enlist the ICC
in a case against the government, and finally, an editorial piece on the
difficulties of international justice.

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 and
current situations before the Court or situations under analysis. The Coalition,
however, will continue to provide the most up-to-date information about the ICC.

Special thanks to Shelly Sayagh for helping translating those articles.

Regards,

Linda Gueye
CICC Communication Section
[email protected]

------------------------------------------------

I. ICC OUTREACH IN DRC

i. "The ICC Organizes Outreach Sesions for Police Officers in Bunia," ICC Press
Release, The Hague, 2 April 2008,
http://www.icc-cpi.int/press/pressreleases/353.html

"From 24 to 25 March 2008, the International Criminal Court (ICC) organized
outreach sessions for police officers from the Bunia garrison. Close to 300
police officers, including police judiciary officers, attended the sessions. The
Chief Inspector and all his superintendents also attended these sessions
organized to increase their knowledge of the ICC. Special emphasis was laid on
crimes that fall within the jurisdiction of the Court and on the general
principles of individual criminal responsibility...
It was the first time that these police officers, many of whom fought in
militias before joining the national police force, were attending such outreach
sessions on the ICC. Most of their questions focused on the principle of
complementarity and victim reparations and compensation. The participants
manifested a clear interest in the ICC and requested the organization of more
outreach activities that specially target women and youths to discourage them -
especially the latter - from joining the militias that are still active in the
region. To that end, they agreed to continue supporting ICC outreach activities
and urged the Outreach Unit to continue its efforts of engaging in direct
dialogue with local communities."

ii. "The ICC conducts outreach in Bogoro, DRC," ICC Press Release, The Hague, 3
April 2008, http://www.icc-cpi.int/press/pressreleases/354.html&l=en

"On 29 March 2008, the International Criminal Court organized an outreach
session for the affected communities of Bogoro in Ituri. This meeting was the
first exchange of information between the Court and the inhabitants of this
village, which was the alleged theatre of violent clashes between various armed
groups in 2002 and 2003. The participants, an estimated 112 people, were mostly
composed of fishermen, livestock breeders, farmers, teachers, students and
traditional chiefs. The message disseminated included general information about
the Court, but also information on the two ongoing cases. At the end of the
presentation, the participants wished to know whether other militia leaders in
Ituri would be prosecuted. Other questions were put about victim participation
and the rebuilding of infrastructure destroyed during the war. Lastly, the
participants expressed the fervent hope that they would be able to see live the
trial of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, which will commence on 23 June..."

II. CONGOLESE DEPUTY DECIDES TO APPEAL TO THE ICC BUT ICC MAY NOT TAKE ON THE
BDK QUESTION

i. "Congo-Kinshasa: BDK Against the Government, the ICC will decide!," La
Prospérité, 8 April, 2008, http://fr.allafrica.com/stories/200804080148.html (in
French)

"The conflict between the Government of the DRC to political-religious movement
Bundu dia Kongo (BDK) takes a new turn. Ne Mwanda Nsemi, spiritual leader of
BDK, has decided to take advantage of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and
the United Nations. He accuses the Government of turning a blind eye or of
encouraging, in its own words, the massacres of the people of Bas-Congo.
...According to him, the army continues to kill in the areas of Kibanza, Kenge
and Munguluwala to Luozi.

...These are serious accusations made by Ne Mwanda Nsemi against the
Government.... While observers were wondering about their chances of seeing the
end result of the steps Ne Mwanda Nsemi took, the Alliance for the Presidential
Majority (AMP), the Head of State's political party, made known its position on
the development of this case. For the executive secretary of the AMP, Koya
Gialo, a former governor of Katanga who was in power at the time of the
Lubumbashi massacres, Ne Mwanda Nsemi's approach is completely unfounded. He
contends that condemning the Government is out of the question. And that the
International Criminal Court can only be seized upon when national courts do
nothing. However, in the case of Bas-Congo, the national courts have been seized
of this matter, the magistrates have taken on the Bas-Congo file. According Koya
Gialo, the question is a matter for the judiciary. The ICC will not be able to
take up the BDK issue. "

Translation is unofficial and provided by CICC Secretariat.

ii. "Review of the Congolese Press for Tuesday, 8 April 2008"
http://www.digitalcongo.net/article/50782 (in French)

"...Forum des As [Ace's Forum, a Congolese newspaper] signals that under the
referral procedure, Ne Mwanda Nsemi's approach poses a problem for the ICC.

At a time when it was believed that the Bundu dia Kongo case was closed with
Recommendations from the National Assembly, here Mwanda Nsemi returned to the
charge by deciding to solicit the International Criminal Court against the DRC
on the grounds that the killings would continue against his followers in the
Bas-Congo.

'But, with respect to the process,' said the colleague who cites sources close
to the International Criminal Court (ICC), 'BDK's approach poses a serious
problem in terms of bringing this international judicial institution to taken on
this case. The problem would lie in the procedure or the conditions to be met
in order to convince the ICC Prosecutor..."

Translation is unofficial and provided by CICC Secretariat.

III. OP-ED

"The Difficult International Justice" by Gil Courtemanche, Le Devoir, 6 and 7
April 2008,
http://www.wikio.fr/international/justice_internationale/cour_penale_internation
/ale?wfid=51904048 (in French)

"I am settling for a long time in this small, monotonous and bourgeois town in
order to familiarize myself with international justice, and then describe it.
...The first trial of this body, put in place by the United Nations in 2002,
will begin on June 23. It is the trial of Thomas Lubanga, a militia leader
accused of recruiting child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

With respect to this justice that moves in and transgresses borders and national
sovereignties, I have always hesitated between skepticism and idealism.
...Communities need their own government so long governments as these
governments ensure the safety and the welfare of their citizens. In contrast,
the history of the last 100 years pleads in favor of a richly endowed
international justice, one that is efficient and exemplary.

The first experiences of international justice were certainly not exemplary.
...Bosnia and Rwanda forced us to revise our concept of justice of the people
and add to the crimes of nations those committed by militias, civil wars or
ethnic cleansing. If the Special Tribunal on Rwanda was exemplary in terms of
the pursuit of justice, it was not so in terms of efficiency. On the other
hand, the Special Tribunal for Yugoslavia will bring a new dimension to justice:
the emergence of victims as part of the judicial process. This is a huge step in
the fight against impunity that is still ravaging Africa: proof that even the
smallest person can unbolt from his stature the most powerful of dictators or
the most terrifying of torturers with his/her testimony.

Generally speaking, most of the criticisms that have been made are of two
orders: international justice is slow and does not judge the big fish. This last
statement should be qualified. After all, Milosevic was the first head of state
to appear before the justice of mankind, and today, in The Hague, the trial of
the former president of Liberia, Charles Taylor is still ongoing. But, in
effect, in the case of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which led to the arrest
of two militia leaders by the ICC, their commanders, the Presidents Museveni of
Uganda and Kagame of Rwanda, will not face justice. We can nonetheless hope that
these trials of 'small fish' will help to establish the criminal responsibility
of those 'big fish' in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people in Ituri
province..."

Translation is unofficial and provided by CICC Secretariat.

**********************************

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 (potential and
current), or situations under analysis 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