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Uganda: Seminar on the Domestication of the Rome Statute in Africa; US sanctions on Kony; Related news and opinions

12 Sept 2008

Dear all,

Please find below information about recent developments related to the
International Criminal Court's investigation in Uganda.

This message includes media coverage on a capacity-building workshop
organized last week by the UCICC, the CICC and the Legal and
Parliamentary Affairs Committee of the Ugandan Parliament on the
domestication of the Rome Statute in Africa (I); news articles and
opinions on US sanctions on Kony (II); as well as related news and
opinion pieces (III).

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.

With regards,

CICC Communications
[email protected]

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

I. RECENT SEMINAR ON THE ROME STATUTE IN AFRICA: RELATED MEDIA COVERAGE

i. 'The Domestication of the Rome Statute in Africa: Challenges and
Prospects'

On 5-6 September 2008, The Uganda Coalition for the International
Criminal Court (UCICC) in collaboration with the Coalition for the ICC
and the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee of the Ugandan
Parliament held a capacity-building workshop on "The Domestication of
the Rome Statute in Africa : Challenges and Prospects" in Entebbe,
Uganda. The workshop aimed to address the implications of domesticating
the Rome Statute by States Parties and share experiences from countries
that have already domesticated the treaty. The workshop was organized to
build the capacity of members of the committee and help clarify a number
of issues as they prepare to consider the ICC Bill 2006 currently before
the Uganda Parliament. For additional information, contact the UCICC at:
[email protected]

You will find below media coverage on the event.

ii. "Parliament urged to pass ICC Bill", by Francis Emorut (New Vision),
8 September 2008, http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/13/648699

"Members of Parliament have been urged to pass the International
Criminal Court Bill into law in order to strengthen the justice system
in Uganda. High Court advocate Moses Adriko said this would enable
Uganda to try war criminals.

He was speaking at a symposium held at the Imperial Resort Beach Hotel
in Entebbe. The event was organised by Uganda's coalition on the
International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday.

Adriko said: 'By passing the Bill, we shall be able to reject the notion
of immunity extended to the Head of State in power.' ..."

iii. "War crimes court threatens Museveni's immunity", Paul Amoru (the
Monitor), 8 september 2008,
http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/news/War_crimes_court_threatens_
Museveni_s_immunity_71188.shtml

"The local war crimes tribunal being set up along the lines of the
International Criminal Court will have jurisdiction to try foreign
presidents forcing law makers to ask what would happen to President
Yoweri Museveni's own constitutional immunity from prosecution.

Daily Monitor has learnt that resolving the legal dilemma is threatening
to delay the domestication of the ICC statute through a bill in
parliament which would eventually give birth to the court. The bill is
already four years late. ... "Presidential immunity is absolute in our
national law, but this ICC Statute does not recognise it, Mr Chairman,
how do I deal with that?" Kampala MP Erias Lukwago asked at a meeting
organised by the Uganda Coalition on the ICC- a body advocating the
dispersal of the courts standards. Mr John Francis Onyango who is
coordinating UCICC said the coalition will fight on to ensure that the
Bill goes through Parliament."

iv. "UPDF must face world court - MP", by Hillary Nsambu and Ann Mugisa
(New Vision), 1 September 2008, http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/16/647557

"NWOYA county MP Simon Oyet has said if justice is to prevail in Uganda,
both the LRA and the UPDF commanders who committed war crimes must face
the courts of law. 'In the interests of the victims of the northern war,
both parties must be brought before the International Criminal Court
(ICC) to account for war crimes and crimes against humanity in order to
bring meaningful and sustainable peace in the region,' the youthful MP
said.

... Oyet was on Thursday addressing magistrates and court registrars on
a topic entitled 'community perspectives on the role of the ICC in
northern Uganda'.

The two-day symposium was organised by the Uganda Coalition and the
Uganda Judicial Officers Association. The Deputy Chief Justice, Laetitia
Mukasa-Kikonyogo, opened the workshop at the Imperial Resort Beach
Hotel, Entebbe. ..."

II. US SANCTIONS ON KONY: NEWS AND OPINIONS

i. "US Imposes Sanctions on LRA Leader", By Rosebell Kagumire (IWPR), 05
September 2008,
http://www.iwpr.net/?p=acr&s=f&o=346556&apc_state=henpacr

"In an apparent response to calls for increased international pressure
on the Lord's Resistance Army, LRA, the United States has added Ugandan
rebel leader Joseph Kony to a terrorist blacklist. The move, which
provoked a mixed response, is aimed at curtailing support for the LRA by
individuals, groups or countries, as well as increasing the pressure on
Kony sign a peace deal that has been two years in the making. On August
28, Kony's name appeared at the top of the US list of 'specially
designated global terrorists' - a list created in 2001 in a measure
intended to cut off funding for extremists worldwide. Adding the militia
leader's name to the list will ban US citizens from dealing with Kony,
and also means that any assets the rebel leader has in US institutions
will be frozen.

The list is created and maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets
Control, an agency of the US Treasury Department. It affects thousands
of individuals and organisations around the world that may have funds in
the US or do business with American organizations. Kony has been an
object of US attention ever since 2004, when the LRA was listed as a
terrorist group on the government's Terrorist Exclusion List. The list
is drawn up by the State Department to designate international terrorist
groups which do not pose a direct threat to the US but are active in
their home regions.

While the latest designation is largely symbolic and depends on
international cooperation to be effective, it could directly affect a
clandestine network of LRA supporters around the world, some of whom are
said to live in the US and Britain...

The addition of Kony to the list prompted complaints from Nairobi-based
Matsanga, who said the sanctions would not work and claimed they show
that the US is not sincere in its desire for a peace deal in the north.
...

Rugunda, who is Ugandan interior minister, said the sanctions would put
pressure on the rebel leader to sign the deal. ... He said the US
sanctions showed that 'the only way Kony can acquit himself from
terrorism is [to] submit himself to Uganda's [planned] special war
crimes court'.

While the two sides in the talks have agreed that a special court should
be established, its future remains in doubt - not least because Uganda
does not have laws against war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Neither has the proposed court been sanctioned by the International
Criminal Court, ICC, where the rebel leader and his top commanders are
wanted on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Kony alone
faces 33 counts. ... Rugunda said he did not think the sanctions would
prevent his government from asking the UN Security Council to drop the
ICC warrants if and when Kony signs a peace deal. 'The agreement was
clear,' Rugunda said. 'We as a government will bring Kony to a Ugandan
court and the ICC warrants won't apply any more, and such sanctions will
only help us in convincing Kony to surrender himself and end the
conflict peacefully.'

As recently as this spring, however, the ICC asked for an end to the
support, including food and water, that has been provided to Kony's army
while the peace process is ongoing. It wanted to force Kony to sign a
peace deal so and then be brought to trial in The Hague, not Uganda.
..."

ii. "America declares Kony global terrorist Friday", By Henry Mukasa
(New Vision), 29 August 2008, http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/646987

"... Kony and his commanders, Okot Odhiambo and Dominic Ongwen, were
were indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and
crimes against humanity and arrest warrants were issued against them in
2005.

... 'What has been done by the US is what is expected. The only way that
Joseph Kony can extricate himself from that type of high level ranking
of a terrorist is for him to disarm and submit himself to the
jurisdiction of the High Court of Uganda for purposes of accountability
and to provide a basis to lasting peace and reconciliation,' Rugunda
commented.

... The ICC chief prosecutor, Maurice Ocampo, has accused the LRA of
using the peace talks to recruit and regain strength for renewed
conflict. The ICC has, therefore, dismissed calls for it to suspend
indictments for the rebel leaders during the peace talks.

... Fearing arrest because of the ICC warrants of arrest, Kony has never
come out in the open but meets selected guests including Acholi leaders,
at his base."

iii. "Give Kony deadline", New Vision, 31 August 2008,
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/14/647284

"The US has slapped new sanctions on the Lord's Resistance Army rebel
leader Joseph Kony. ... The decision follows failure by the rebel leader
to sign the Peace Agreement in April, a move which has upset the
stakeholders in the talks including the donors.

... The agreements so far signed including the one on reconciliation and
accountability offer the best hope for solving the 21- year conflict.
The main challenge both sides face is implementation of what has been
agreed on.

Another major sticking point remains the arrest warrants issued by the
International Criminal Court which have not legally been challenged. The
Rome statute provides that it is only through a successful legal
challenge by the government which referred the matter to the world court
or the rebels that the arrest warrants can be lifted.

The Government has said the request to withdraw the indictments will be
made to the UN Security Council once the rebels sign the peace deal. The
Government is also trying to set up local mechanisms for trying the LRA
leaders from Uganda.

This has been challenged by international human rights organisations
which argue that such trial would not meet international standards of
trying war criminals.

There is also divided opinion on whether criminal prosecutions should be
upheld while peace efforts are being pursued. Kony should seize the
opportunity and sign the agreement without any further delay if he is to
survive the sanctions and the indictment."

iv. "US Sanctions on Ugandan Rebel Joseph Kony is a Plus", by Steve
Paterno (Sudan Tribune), 1 September 2008,
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article28466

The US government newly additional sanctions imposed on Joseph Kony, the
leader of Ugandan rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) is an
encouraging effort, which in concert with other measures will ultimately
bring peace in the regions devastated by the LRA.

... [T]hese measures will serve many noble purposes among which, the
measures will exert much pressure against LRA by denying them their much
needed supports as well as the measures will combat corruptions within
the entities that deal with the LRA. The measures will also help in
holding accountable those who in one way or another assist with
advancing impunity by supporting lethal terrorist groups like the LRA.
... Nonetheless, as of now, the measures in place are good enough to
inflict as much damage to the LRA and its handlers, but short of
eradicating the LRA once and for all, meaning the LRA though will be
seriously weakened, they can still cause havoc in regions they operate
in until a comprehensive strategic plan is drawn to eradicate the threat
altogether."

See also:

v. "US Administration imposes new sanctions on Uganda's Kony", Sudan
Tribune, 29 August 2008,
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article28435

III. OTHER RELATED NEWS AND OPINIONS

i. "Govt sends team to meet Kony", by Grace Matsiko (The Monitor), 9
September 2008,
http://www.monitor.co.ug/artman/publish/news/Govt_sends_team_to_meet_Kon
y_71237.shtml

"The government has sent a team to Rikwangba on the Sudan-Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) border, as part of the multinational delegations
to convince Lords Resistance Army (LRA) rebel leader Joseph Kony to
appendix his signature on the peace agreement. ... Internal Affairs
Minister and leader of the government team which has been negotiating
with LRA, Dr Ruhakana Rugunda confirmed the development. ..."

ii. Rebel leader targeted in DR Congo, BBC News, 8 September 2008,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7605164.stm

"The Democratic Republic of Congo's army and the UN have begun a
military operation to try to contain the activities of rebel leader
Joseph Kony. The campaign follows failed attempts to negotiate an end
to the rebellion by his Lord's Resistance Army.

... UN military spokesman Col Jean Paul Dietrich told the BBC that the
new campaign aimed to deter or prevent human rights violations by the
LRA against the local population. ..."

iii. "LRA accused of abuses in Northeast as army moves in", UN IRIN,10
September 2008, http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=80276

"As the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) mounted a military operation
against the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in northeastern DRC, human
rights activists released a list of abuses allegedly committed by the
Ugandan rebels there over the last year. 'Our investigations, which are
continuing, show that there were eight killings, 52 abductions, of which
11 cases involved girls under the age of 18, and nine rapes,' said
Benoit Kinalebu, a Catholic priest and head of the Dungu branch of the
Justice and Peace Commission. He said the offences were committed
between August 2007 and July 2008.... On September 9, LRA spokesman
David Matsanga said the action by the DRC army in Dungu was ill-advised.
'The announcement has baffled all of us because it will work as a
spoiler to the peace process we have engaged our times on for the past
two years,' Matsanga said ..."

iv. "LRA shot itself in the foot during peace negotiations", Daily
Nation, 31 August 2008,
http://www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/-/440808/466196/-/3la41t/-/

"The long-awaited signing of the final peace agreement between the
Uganda Government and the Lord's Resistance Army will not be taking
place in the foreseeable future. This is the chilling message delivered
in Nairobi last week by Mr David Matsanga, leader of the LRA peace
delegation to the Juba peace talks.

After treating the international community to a circus of sorts, LRA
leader Joseph Kony and his brigade have woken up - albeit a bit late in
the day - to the reality of the International Criminal Court (ICC)
warrants issued in 2005 against him and his commanders, two of whom have
since died. Whereas the warrants remained a sticking point during the
negotiations that came to a close in June, it is unconscionable that the
LRA is abandoning the agreement despite the efforts and resources that
have been invested in the peace process. The LRA peace delegation
understood the implications of the warrants, and should not have wasted
the international community's time.

For, unlike pervious peace efforts characterised by threats and
ultimatums from the Government, the Juba talks presented them with a
chance of a lifetime, which has been squandered. ... With the ghost of
the ICC warrants returning to haunt the signing ceremony, the gains so
far made in the talks will be painfully reversed, and northern Uganda -
where the LRA holds sway - will bear the brunt.

...The current stalemate would have been avoided if the LRA delegation
had been carefully chosen. From the outset, observers expressed concerns
over the composition of the delegation, mostly regarded as having little
understanding of the situation on the ground. Such concerns have now
come to pass. Nothing illustrates the incompetence of the LRA delegation
better than the flaws in the agreements they have signed. ... When all
is said and done, the agreements fall short of the original goals
envisioned for ending the conflict, injustices and inequality. Even if
the final peace agreement is signed, the agreements and implementation
protocols in their current status won't guarantee peace and equitable
development to Uganda, in particular to northern Uganda...."

********

CICC's policy on the referral and prosecution of situations before the
ICC:

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independent NGO movement dedicated to the establishment of the
International Criminal Court as a fair, effective, and independent
international organization.

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2500 CM the Hague
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