Comment: Lubanga Just a Small Fish

The International Criminal Court, ICC, is considering the possibility of holding some of the Thomas Lubanga trial in the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC. This praiseworthy initiative has some advantages but also difficulties.



Among the advantages is the necessity to bring international justice closer to the population concerned by international crimes. It is in the country where crimes have been committed that the victims, suspects and evidence are located. It is therefore legitimate and easier that justice be rendered where the crimes have been committed. Also, holding trials in the Congo educates the whole society and allows the work of the ICC to be made credible.



Lubanga was the president of the Union of Congolese Patriots, UPC - a militia whose objective was to protect the interest of the Hema ethnic group in the Ituri region. This group was involved in ethnic massacres, acts of torture and rapes.



He was transferred to the ICC on March 17 and charged with war crimes, including the recruitment of child soldiers. Judges confirmed the charges in January, and we are now expecting the trial.



The ICC will have to make all necessary efforts to explain to the inhabitants of the DRC the important legal procedures which are currently taking place in The Hague.



So why not do that by holding part of the trial in the Congo itself?



For one thing, the security situation in the northeast could lead the ICC to give up this idea to organise part of the Lubanga trial here.



It would be difficult, perhaps impossible, for the Congolese government to ensure the security of all parties during a trial in Ituri, even with the intervention of MONUC, the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. How can the victims and witnesses be protected?



That’s why some observers propose that the trial be held in the capital city Kinshasa.



The arrest and transfer of Lubanga to the ICC triggered great hopes for victims in particular and the Congolese population in general.



However, Lubanga is for us a “small fish” compared to others who continue to enjoy impunity in the Congo.



The “big fish” are not bothered by international or national justice. This is the reason why the population is sceptical about the ICC.



Indeed, the Congolese people hope that the big fish will be held accountable for their deeds before the ICC, but the reality in the field causes doubts.



Crimes were committed in Ituri with the blessing of some of the militia leaders of the region. All these persons are not involved in any legal procedure so far and some of them are even members of the new national army.



Human Rights Watch said in its 2002 Ituri report that acts of cannibalism, rape and massacres were committed by armed groups notably Ngili and Lendu militias, Hema forces of the UPC, and the RCD-N (Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie- National) and the RCD-ML (Rassemblement Congolais pour la Democratie - Mouvement de Liberation ).



The ICC still hasn’t issued any arrest warrants against Lendu militia leaders, despite their alleged involvement in a number of serious crimes. And the public is still waiting, after three years, for the names of other people who could be targeted by international arrest warrants.



“There is no justice anymore in our country”, is a cry that constantly comes from the people. What stability, what future can be expected in a nation where citizens do not trust justice anymore?



It is clear that to build a democratic and peaceful society, the DRC will have to overcome huge challenges. One of the most important will be to fight against the tradition of impunity.



The question for the ICC is whether it will be able to help with those challenges ahead by hitting higher and harder.



Eugène Bakama Bope is the president of the organisation Friends of Law in the Congo.