(Regional Director, Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa) On April 22 a young woman in Sudan, Intisar Sharif Abdalla, was sentenced to death by stoning, accused of Zina (adultery). She is married and mother to three small children. Intisar was accused of having a relationship and getting pregnant by a man who wasn’t…
With somewhat predictable familiarity, we witness another round of violence and another round of displacement in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo’s North Kivu province. Make no mistake: what is happening in North Kivu has nothing to do with “tribalism”, or the idea that somehow Congo and the Congolese people are intrinsically violent – a racist…
Tomorrow, June 15, Madam Fatou Bensouda will be sworn in as the new prosecutor for the ICC taking over from Luis Moreno Ocampo whose term has ended. Mme Bensouda takes up this high profile position at a time when much controversy surrounds the ICC. Mr. Ocampo has had numerous run-ins with a number of governments…
Since the ICC Chief Prosecutor identified Uganda as a situation of concern in 2003, Uganda has become internationally recognised as a country in transition from conflict to peace. And the showpiece of that transition has been the issuing of arrest warrants against Joseph Kony and his senior commanders. The consequent flurry of activity by international…
Transitional justice mechanisms, including trials, truth commissions and reparations are often employed in the same countries which have also experienced mass displacement. The connection is clear: transitional justice mechanisms are designed to address the consequences of the same large scale violations of human rights and violent conflict that are the cause of mass displacement. Yet,…
On March 14, 2012, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued the first verdict since it began operations 10 years ago in the case of Thomas Lubanga, a former militia leader from the region of Ituri in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Lubanga, whose forces had sought regional autonomy for Ituri, was convicted of conscripting…
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 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…
As the trial of Jean-Pierre Bemba started in The Hague on November 22, Kinshasa was abuzz with the news. Newspapers carried the story as front page news. “Bemba Giving Up His Ex” cried the full page cover of Le Soft, while La Prosperite read “Bemba Faces the Judges.” Congolese television broadcast the opening statements in…
Published Criminal Law Reform and Transitional Justice Human Rights Perspectives for Sudan, Ashgate, November 2011.
On August 26, 2011, the International Criminal Court (ICC) Appeals Chamber ruled that three witnesses, who had been called to The Hague to testify for the defense in the Katanga case, could, in principle, be returned to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Prior to their transfer to The Hague, the three former militia leaders…
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…
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…
For watchers of the International Criminal Court (ICC), there has been a flurry of recent activity around the suspension of the proceedings against Thomas Lubanga. The Office of the Prosecutor is appealing and spectators are eagerly awaiting the decision from the appeals chamber. At the same time, there has been talk about the failure of…
