07 08 12 Lubanga case: Trial Chamber I issues first ICC decision on reparations for victims
PRESS RELEASE
Lubanga case: Trial Chamber I issues first ICC decision on reparations for victims
THE HAGUE, Netherland, August 7, 2012/ — Today, 7 August 2012, Trial Chamber I of the International Criminal Court (ICC) (http://www.icc-cpi.int)
decided, for the first time in proceedings at the ICC, on the
principles that are to be applied to reparations for victims in the
context of the case against Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, who was found guilty (http://bit.ly/RwP2zi),
on 14 March 2012, of the war crimes of enlisting and conscripting
children under the age of 15 years and using them to participate
actively in hostilities. He was sentenced on 10 July 2012 to a total of
14 years of imprisonment. The Chamber ordered that proposals for
reparations, as advanced by the victims themselves, are to be collected
by the Trust Fund for Victims (http://www.
and presented to a newly-constituted Trial Chamber I for approval.
Reparations will then be implemented through the resources of the Trust
Fund for Victims that are available for this purpose.
Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/
The
Chamber, composed of Judge Adrian Fulford (United Kingdom), Judge
Elisabeth Odio Benito (Costa Rica), and Judge René Blattmann (Bolivia),
considered that it is of paramount importance that the victims, together
with their families and communities, participate in the reparations
process, and they should be able to express their particular points of
view and communicate their priorities.
In
accordance with the Chamber’s decision, the potential beneficiaries of
an order for reparations are the direct and indirect victims who
suffered harm following the crimes of enlisting, conscripting and using
children under the age of 15 in Ituri in the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC), from 1 September 2002 to 13 August 2003. This includes the
family members of direct victims, along with individuals who intervened
to help the victims or to prevent the commission of these crimes.
The
principles established by the Chamber particularly stress the need to
ensure that reparations are implemented without any discrimination as
regards age, ethnicity or gender, and they should be directed at
reconciling the victims of child recruitment and their families and
communities in Ituri, whilst preserving their dignity and privacy.
Furthermore, the reparations measures are to be formulated taking into
account the age of the victims and the sexual violence that they may
have suffered, along with the need to rehabilitate the former child
soldiers within their communities.
The
Chamber has determined that in the present case reparations are to be
implemented through the Trust Fund for Victims, within the limits of its
resources. Trial Chamber I highlighted that in order for the
reparations award to have effect, the States Parties – including
particularly the DRC – and non-states parties must cooperate, and the
Trust Fund will need to receive sufficient voluntary contributions in
order to be able to implement a meaningful and efficient reparations
programme.
Mr
Lubanga has been declared indigent and no assets or property referable
to him have been identified to date. It is open to Mr Lubanga to
volunteer an apology to the victims, on a public or confidential basis.
The Chamber considered that other symbolic reparations may be
appropriate; indeed, it decided that Mr Lubanga’s conviction and his
sentence are examples of relevant symbolic reparations given these
events are likely to have significance for the victims and their
families and communities. Other forms of reparations may include
campaigns to improve the position of victims; issuing certificates that
acknowledge the harm they suffered; and outreach and promotional
activities, along with educational programmes, which provide information
and are directed at reducing the stigmatisation and marginalisation of
the victims, avoiding discrimination of any kind.
The
Trust Fund for Victims has been created by the Assembly of States
Parties to the Rome Statute. Its resources are primarily generated
through voluntary contributions by States, as well as by private
donations. Two mandates govern the activities of the Fund. Under the
assistance mandate, which does not depend on the outcome of judicial
proceedings before the ICC, the Trust Fund for Victims provides physical
or psychological rehabilitation or material support for the benefit of
victims, and their families, of crimes within the jurisdiction of the
International Criminal Court. Over the past four years, activities under
the assistance mandate have benefited over 80,000 victims, including in
Ituri. With the Chamber’s decision on reparations, the mandate of the
Trust Fund for Victims to design and implement reparations will be
activated for the first time in its history.
The
ICC is the first permanent, treaty-based, international criminal court
established to help end impunity for the perpetrators of the most
serious crimes of concern to the international community, namely war
crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression.
At present, 16 cases have been brought before the Court in the context
of seven situations that are currently under investigation: Uganda, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Darfur
(Sudan), Kenya, Libya and Côte d’Ivoire. The ICC Judges have issued 22
warrants of arrest (two were withdrawn following the death of the
suspects) and nine summonses to appear. Currently, five individuals are
in the ICC custody and 12 suspects remain at large.
Distributed by the African Press Organization on behalf of the International Criminal Court.
Decision establishing the principles and procedures to be applied to reparations: http://bit.ly/N07kbq
For further information, please contact Fadi El Abdallah, Spokesperson and Head of Public Affairs Unit, International Criminal Court, by telephone at: +31 (0)70 515-9152 or +31 (0)6 46448938 or by e-mail at: fadi.el-abdallah@icc-cpi.int.
You can also follow the Court’s activities on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/
SOURCE
International Criminal Court (ICC)