ICC Prosecutor's statement on referral by DRC

Statement of the Prosecutor of the #ICC, #KarimAAKhanKC, on the referral by the Democratic Republic of the Congo regarding the situation in its territory ⤵️ https://t.co/U5tgSENiq0

— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) June 15, 2023

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ICC releases Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga Dyilo

• Last week, ICC proceedings against Lubanga were suspended after the defence complained that prosecution led by Argentinean lawyer Luis Moreno-Ocampo was not disclosing information by not identifying a key witness.

• The ICC trial chamber judges said on Thursday that Lubanga "an accused cannot be held in preventative custody on a speculative basis, namely that at some stage in the future the proceedings may be resurrected".

• The Prosecutor has failed to implement two of the Chamber's orders; those of July seven. For the reasons set out in the decision imposing the stay, this constituted a deliberate and in our judgement, wholly unjustified refusal to comply with the directions of the Court", Judge Fulford said.

From Hindustan Times
ICC releases Congolese warlord
Press Trust Of India
First Published: 11:44 IST(16/7/2010)
Last Updated: 11:49 IST(16/7/2010)

(United Nations - 16 July 16, 2010) - The International Criminal Court (ICC) has ordered the release of Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, who used child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's civil war. Last week, proceedings against Lubanga were suspended after the defense complained that prosecution led by Argentinean lawyer Luis Moreno-Ocampo was not disclosing information by not identifying a key witness.

The ICC trial chamber judges said on Thursday that Lubanga "an accused cannot be held in preventative custody on a speculative basis, namely that at some stage in the future the proceedings may be resurrected".

The Prosecutor has failed to implement two of the Chamber's orders; those of July seven. For the reasons set out in the decision imposing the stay, this constituted a deliberate and in our judgement, wholly unjustified refusal to comply with the directions of the Court", Judge Fulford said.

"It is fair that the issue of sanctions should await the outcome of the appeal," he added.

Lubanga, the former leader of the Union of Congolese Patriots from 1999 to 2003, operated in the Ituri region of the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

He has been charged with war crimes for recruiting and using child soldiers in inter-ethnic conflict in Congo's Ituri Province.

Lubanga, who surrendered in 2006, was the first person to go on trial at the ICC. He has pleaded not guilty.

The hearings, which began in January 2009, have been bogged down by procedural irregularities.

Several witnesses asked for special protection during the trial since the Ituri region is still a dangerous place.

The prosecution has five days to appeal the decision.

The court also noted that before the order releasing Lubanga could be implemented, arrangements would have to be made for his transfer to a country that would receive him.

The ICC is presently dealing with situations in four countries, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and the Central African Republic.

In 2009, the ICC issued its first arrest warrant for a sitting head-of-state, Sudanese President Omar-al Bashir, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Darfur conflict. This week, it added genocide to the charges against Bashir.

In April, the judges of The Hague based ICC, gave Moreno-Ocampo the green signal for investigating the ethnic violence that erupted after the disputed elections in Kenya, two years ago.

First visit of ICC President to DR Congo

Source: International Criminal Court (ICC)
First visit of ICC President to the Democratic Republic of the Congo
KINSHASA, Dem. Rep. of Congo (DRC) December 10, 2009/APO/ — ICC-CPI-20091209-PR485

The President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Judge Sang-Hyun Song, will begin tomorrow, 10 December, 2009, a visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where he will be meeting with senior government representatives, members of the local civil society, and affected communities in Ituri, until 15 December, 2009. This first visit of the ICC President to the DRC will provide an opportunity to strengthen the country’s co-operation and to enhance local awareness in order to fulfil the Court’s mandate in the DRC.

In the country’s capital, Kinshasa, President Song will meet with the Congolese Minister of Foreign Affairs, with the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Mission in the DRC and with members of the diplomatic community.

President Song will address the members of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) during its conference on Justice and peace in the Great Lakes’ region and Central Africa. The focus of the conference will be on the impact of justice in the Great Lakes and Central Africa, including the DRC and on security and post-conflict recovery, with particular attention on the protection of women and children. He will also participate in an outreach event of the Court with Congolese academic and judicial communities.

The President will then travel to Bunia, the capital of the Ituri District, in eastern Congo, where he will meet the members of communities affected by the crimes currently under investigation before the ICC and with local authorities, members of local tribunals, local human rights organisations, and journalists.

His journey will conclude in the town of Fataki, 85 km north of Bunia, one of the sites of conflict in 2003, for a town-hall style meeting with the general public, including local authorities, religious and traditional leaders, teachers, women’s groups representatives and local media.

The situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was referred to the Court by the Government of the DRC on 3 March, 2004. The case of The Prosecutor v. Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui is the second case in the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo after that of Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, whose trial commenced on 26 January, 2009, before Trial Chamber I. A fourth warrant of arrest was issued by Pre-Trial Chamber I on 22 August, 2006, against Bosco Ntaganda, who remains at large.

For further information please contact Ms Sonia Robla, Head of Public Information and Documentation Section at +31 (0)70 515-8089 or +31 (0) 6 46 44 87 26 or at sonia.robla@icc-cpi.int.

2,000 Congolese crossed Ugandan border into Ishasha, Kanungu Nov 11 bringing total number of Congolese refugees who fled into Uganda to over 12,000

See Uganda Watch Sunday, November 16, 2008: - UNHCR: Situation report No. 2 - Congolese refugee influx into Uganda 13 November 2008.

ICC renews call for Ugandan LRA rebel leader Kony's arrest

Copy of AFP report via MONUC Monday, 06 October 2008 - ICC renews call for Ugandan rebel leader Kony's arrest:

THE HAGUE, Oct 6, 2008 (AFP) - The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court renewed calls Monday for the arrest of Lord's Resistance Army leader Joseph Kony following attacks by the Ugandan rebel group on Congolese citizens.

"In the light of serious and converging information on attacks by the LRA against civilians in the DRC, ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo calls for renewed efforts to arrest LRA leader Kony and his top commanders," said a statement issued in The Hague.

"The criminals remain at large and continue to commit crimes and they are threatening the entire region. Arrest is long overdue."

The prosecutor claimed the LRA attacked villages in the Haut Uele district of the Democratic Republic of Congo on September 17.

"These attacks all follow a similar method with markets surrounded and looted, students abducted from school, properties burned and dozens of civilians killed, including several local chiefs," said the statement.

"Tens of thousands have now been displaced.

The ICC issued arrest warrants for Kony and two other top LRA commanders, Okot Odhiambo and Dominic Ongwen, in 2005.

They are accused of raping and mutilating civilians, enlisting child soldiers and massacring thousands.

In July, southern Sudanese lawmakers urged the ICC to defer the indictments to encourage the rebel leaders to sign a Sudan-mediated Ugandan peace agreement.

Kony has so far refused to sign the accord on the basis of the ICC arrest warrants.

"Kony -- just as he has many times in the past -- uses the peace talks to gain time and support, to rearm and attack again," said the prosecutor's statement.

"The price paid today by civilians is high."

Moreno-Ocampo's office urged regional and international organisations to support DR Congo and Uganda in planning and executing the arrests.

A semi-literate former altar boy, Kony took charge in 1988 of a regional rebellion among northern Uganda's ethnic Acholi minority.

Twenty years of fighting between the rebels and government forces have left tens of thousands dead and displaced two million people, mainly in northern Uganda.

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