The run up to the International Criminal Court (ICC) verdict in Ituri was marked by fear and anticipation, highlighted by rumors that the judgment would be favorable to Thomas Lubanga. Since the announcement of the verdict last week, there have been no major security incidents, but the mood remains tense and a serious national debate…
The International Criminal Court (ICC) will announce its first verdict in the case of Thomas Lubanga, former leader of the Congolese rebel group, the Union des Patriots Congolais (UPC) tomorrow. In eastern DRC’s Ituri region, where Lubanga led the UPC and is accused of committing the crimes for which he is on trial, all eyes…
4 October 2011) On 25 May 2011, a Tripartite Commission comprised of the governments of Tanzania and Burundi and the UNHCR met to discuss the future of approximately 38,000 refugees in Mtabila camp in Tanzania. The talks ended with a decision to close the camp on 31 December 2011. The government of Tanzania has announced…
Rumor and speculation are rife in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) North Kivu province regarding the anticipated return of Congolese refugees from Rwanda. Sparked by the signing of a tripartite agreement between the governments of the DRC, Rwanda and UNHCR in February 2010, feelings of hostility towards the idea of their “return” are widespread….
As Congolese head to the polls on November 28, 2011 to elect a new president, the front-running opposition candidate in the previous election, Jean-Pierre Bemba, sits in a jail cell in Schevingen in the custody of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Bemba has not, however, taken his incarceration to mean that he should be sidelined…
(August 2011) Intermediaries play a critical role in the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC) providing specialist information services and expertise and linking various organs of the ICC with constituencies on the ground. And these roles are likely to only expand as the ourt expands its work. The International Refugee Rights Initiative and the…
(June 2, 2011) Six international NGOs, including the International Refugee Rights Initiative, called for stronger AU action in response to the worsening crisis in Abyei.
At the International Criminal Court, Germain Katanga and Mathieu Ngudjolo Chui are charged with the particularly bloody joint attack on the village of Bogoro in February 2003. The facts of this attack are particularly disturbing: at least 200 civilians are estimated to have been killed, civilian women were raped and held as sexual slaves, and…
IRRI’s Senior Researcher Lucy Hovil has written UNHCR’s latest working paper on the process of repatriation of Southern Sudanese refugees in Uganda. While the official repatriation process continues, the paper demonstrates that refugees are creating their own durable solutions through a combination of economic and social integration and ongoing movement in and out of Sudan….
The October 8, 2010 decision by the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) was awaited with apprehension by victims of international crimes in Ituri, politicians, and others. While the Union des Patriotes Congolais (UPC) declared that they were eagerly awaiting Lubanga’s return, many victims feared the potential security consequences. The Ligue pour la…
Last week, Congolese President Joseph Kabila arrived in Ituri as part of a tour of the eastern part of the country, which has also touched the Kivus and Katanga. His visit promised a number of development projects for Ituri, but not everyone was impressed. To some, the visit was dismissed as so much campaigning ahead…
