ICC Needs to Probe Uganda Role in DRC

Friday, 20 March, 2009

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IWPR

Institute for War & Peace Reporting

While renegade leader Joseph Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army, LRA, top the list of Ugandans due for trial at the International Criminal Court, ICC, some suggest that the ICC needs to look more closely at Uganda’s role in the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC.

Indeed, it is becoming increasingly possible that Ugandans could eventually appear at The Hague over their country’s well documented involvement in the Ituri region of DRC – between 1996 and 2003 – if not as defendants, then as witnesses.



Since the trial of accused Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga began in late January, Uganda has repeatedly been mentioned as having allegedly sponsored, trained and armed his militia, and in so doing made it possible for Lubanga to commit the crimes for which he is charged.



When they entered Congo in the mid-Nineties, Ugandan troops occupied much of the Ituri region, reportedly controlling it through proxy militias such as those associated with Lubanga.



Early on, Uganda and Rwanda teamed up to back former DRC president Laurent Kabila, who overthrew Mobutu Sese Seko’s regime.



Uganda then, it is claimed, proceeded to help itself to resources in Ituri, which is well documented in United Nations and Human Rights Watch reports, systematically removing some of the region’s gold, diamonds and timber.



For that, a UN panel implicated several Ugandan military commanders, many of whom have very close ties to the upper echelons of the Ugandan government.



For the alleged plunder, Uganda has been ordered by the International Court of Justice to pay compensation, which remains undetermined and unpaid.



Perhaps the Office of The Prosecutor at the ICC should take a keener interest in Uganda’s past activities in Ituri.



According to testimony, Ugandan commanders helped Lubanga establish his group, train his fighters, and obtain arms.



Now the alleged Ugandan protégé is at The Hague facing war crimes accusations related to the conscription and use of child soldiers.



While the Ugandan army has been mentioned by a number of witnesses in Lubanga’s trial, the most explicit connections were in a video recorded in 2003 and screened at the trial in February.



It showed Lubanga accusing Ugandan troops of arming child soldiers in various Congolese militia groups.



In the video, Lubanga said Ugandans had plundered Congo's resources and encouraged conflict between different Congolese ethnic groups.



Lubanga is not the only alleged former protégé of Ugandan commanders currently facing international justice.



Jean-Pierre Bemba, whose rebel forces at one time held nearly one third of Congolese territory, is another.



Uganda allegedly worked closely with Bemba. It is claimed they armed his Movement for Congolese Liberation, MLC, trained his fighters, and provided troops to fight alongside his group.



As a militia leader, Bemba now stands accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including rape, torture, murder, and pillaging.



These alleged crimes were not committed in the DRC or during actions that involved Ugandans, but in the Central African Republic in late 2002 and early 2003.



While much of the alleged Ugandan connection to the events in Ituri occurred before the ICC’s mandate took effect in July 2002, Uganda did not formally withdraw until a year later in 2003.



Though well documented, there has been an obvious reluctance by the ICC, in particular the prosecutor’s office, to explore and expose what appears to be Uganda’s critical role there.



Despite that reluctance, it is conceivable, however, that based on existing UN reports and the accumulating weight of testimony at the ICC, some Ugandans in the army could be investigated, charged, or called as witnesses at the ICC over their alleged involvement with Bemba and Lubanga.



As Lubanga’s attorney, Jean-Marie Biju-Duval, argued at the start of his client’s trial, government leaders in Uganda and Rwanda who provided weapons and support to disparate Congolese militia groups are culpable in the crimes committed in that country.



But would Uganda be prepared to hand over officials indicted by the ICC?



There has been a reluctance among some African countries to transfer suspects to The Hague. It is based on the idea that peace and reconciliation should be promoted, rather than a blind commitment to the principles of justice.



This line of thinking is what Congolese authorities offer for their reluctance to hand over indicted militia leader Bosco Ntaganda. Ntaganda, Lubanga’s former confidante, who has been charged with crimes similar to those faced by Lubanga.



This thinking also reflects that of some African leaders who oppose the ICC arrest warrant for Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir. They say it complicates the delicate peace processes in Southern Sudan and Darfur.



Wairagala Wakabi is a Ugandan journalist and IWPR contributor based in Sweden.



The views expressed in this article are not necessarily the views of IWPR.