By Steven Enatu
SOROTI
The Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) is yet to deliver its reparation order or ruling for the victims in Dominic Ongwen’s case.
This was revealed by Eric MP Odong, field Victims participation and reparation section assistant attached to ICC while in a dialogue with stakeholders in Soroti city today, 25th April,2023. The dialogue was aimed at updating the public about the development at ICC following Ongwen’s conviction.
On the 15th December 2022, the Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) delivered its judgments, in which it confirmed the decisions of Trial Chamber IX on Dominic Ongwen’s guilt and sentence.
In those decisions, the Trial Chamber had found Dominic Ongwen guilty of 61 crimes comprising crimes against humanity and war crimes, committed in Northern Uganda between 1 July 2002 and 31 December 2005, and sentenced him to 25 years of imprisonment.
In 2016, the judges had ordered for registration of victims forms to confirm that they were victims of Ongwen’s case. According to Odong, the registered victims are vetted by the defense team and the judges.
This then means that the victims of the case where Ongwen committed the different crimes as the Lord Resistance Army Commander are the only ones upon verification to the effect.
Reparations are measures intended as far as possible to acknowledge and remedy victims’ harm by a responsible actor. The ICC allows victims to claim reparations against a convicted person.
Under article 75 of the Rome Statute, the decision to reparate victims is done upon the accused being found guilty and it’s the person found guilty in this case Ongwen to compensate. If he is found to be bankrupt, for the purposes of reparations, the court orders a trust fund to implement the reparation of victims.
As stakeholders express worry on the delay of the process saying that some of the victims have died, Odong reiterated on this noting that the reparation order is expected before close of the year and they also keep reminding prosecution on the delay to reparate victims.
He also noted that ONLY victims in the Ongwen’s case as an individual who commanded will be considered and not victims of the LRA situation in general.
Asked about the potential beneficiaries in the reparation of victims on Ongwen’s case, Odong said it can only be determined by the ICC court. It should be noted that both individuals and institutions are victims and can be reparated. At the ICC, only three cases have so far reached the reparation stage, in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in Mali. All three cases have faced implementation challenges.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is the first ever permanent international court established to prosecute the gravest international crimes, namely genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Since 17 July 2018, the Court also has jurisdiction over the crime of aggression.
The Court is designed to promote the rule of law and ensure that those most responsible for the gravest international crimes are brought to justice. The ICC was established by an international agreement, the Rome Statute, on 17 July 1998. The Rome Statute sets out the Court’s jurisdiction, structures and functions. The Rome Statute entered into force on 1 July 2002, after its ratification by 60 States. Only crimes committed on or after this date can be prosecuted by the ICC.
Who is Dominic Ongwen?
Ongwen was known as one of the more ruthless commanders of the rebel group the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). He is from northern Uganda. His family indicates that he was born in 1980 and that the rebel group abducted him on his way to school in 1990, when he was about 10. Senior LRA leaders gave him military training, and he eventually became an LRA commander.
How did the ICC come to bring charges against Ongwen?
In December 2003, Uganda referred the situation of the Lord’s Resistance Army to the ICC. In July 2004, the ICC prosecutor announced that the ICC was opening an investigation into the situation in northern Uganda. In July 2005, the ICC issued sealed arrest warrants for war crimes and crimes against humanity for the LRA’s top five leaders at that time: Joseph Kony, Vincent Otti, Okot Odhiambo, Raska Lukwiya, and Dominic Ongwen. The warrants were unsealed in October 2005. Lukwiya was killed in 2006 and Otti in late 2007. Odhiambo’s body was found in the Central African Republic in early 2015.
On January 6, 2015, United States military advisers working with the African Union (AU) Regional Task Force in the Central African Republic received Ongwen into custody.
Ongwen was transferred to the custody of AU forces on January 14. Two days later, he was transferred to Central African Republic authorities and then to ICC custody. On January 26, Ongwen made his first appearance before Pre-Trial Chamber II of the ICC.
The trial began on 6 December 2016. On 4 February 2021, Trial Chamber IX found Dominic Ongwen guilty for a total of 61 crimes comprising crimes against humanity and war crimes, committed in Northern Uganda between 1 July 2002 and 31 December 2005. On 6 May 2021, Trial Chamber IX sentenced Dominic Ongwen to 25 years of imprisonment.
On 15 December 2022, the Appeals Chamber confirmed the decisions of Trial Chamber IX on Dominic Ongwen’s guilt and sentence.
The conviction and the sentence are now final. The ICC Presidency shall designate a State of enforcement for the sentence. In the meantime, Ongwen is still in the ICC detention center.
