ICC Prosecutor Refuses to Meet With Alleged War Criminals

Ugandan rebels who want the International Criminal Court’s prosecutor to lift indictments against them prior to their signing of a final peace agreement will not get that opportunity.^[1]

According to prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the leaders of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army can approach the court's judges if they want to challenge his case.^[2]

Moreno-Ocampo stated that his case was sound and that, "any LRA legal representative would have to follow the judicial procedures and file applications before the pre-trial chamber."^[3]

Recently, Uganda's government and the LRA signed a series of documents which opened the way for a peace agreement.^[4] Ruhakana Rugunda, Uganda's Internal Affairs Minister, contends that the final peace deal would be signed by March 28. Rugunda went on to say that, "this is to allow the LRA delegation to proceed to the ICC in The Hague and then to Ri-Kwangba."^[5]

However, the rebels are unwilling to set a date for a final deal unless Joseph Kony, their leader who is believed to be in hiding, is granted immunity by the Hague court.^[6]

Although Kony had given power of attorney to representatives planning to meet the prosecutor, Moreno-Ocampo declined to see them.^[7]An ICC official stated that the court's registry is willing to meet the LRA representatives to discuss procedural issues if they come to The Hague.^[8]

The Ugandan government states that it will seek a resolution from the U.N. Security Council to defer the ICC case against the LRA, it has refused rebel demands for immunity for Kony before a final peace deal is signed.^[9]

The ICC has accused Kony and two of his deputies of crimes against humanity. Included in the charges against the LRA are murder, rape, the abduction of children and slicing off body parts during 20 years of conflict.^[10]

Africa's longest running conflict, the Ugandan conflict was initiated by a 1986 rebellion in the north when a southern Ugandan, President Yoweri Museveni, took power. Since that time tens of thousands have been killed and some two million people have been displaced from their homes.

As we have reported before, the indicted LRA leaders have cited the ICC charges as a roadblock to the realization of any real peace. According to a 2006 statement by LRA’s spokesperson, Vincent Otti, the rebel organization's leadership would stay in hiding until the indictments are lifted.^[11]

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[1] Emma Thomasson, War Crimes Prosecutor Won’t Meet Uganda Rebels. Reuters, March 4, 2008 (available at http://www.reuters.com/article/featuredCrisis/idUSL04271632).
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Id.
[9] Id.
[10] Id.
[11] Samuel Okiror Egadu, Institute for War & Peace Reporting,Uganda: Kampala Rules Out Blanket Amnesty for LRA, Allafrica.com, Oct. 8, 2007.